The Top Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2026: Part 1 (16-20)

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Eric Hartline, Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Dating back to 2018, I've created these rankings every year in early January. The idea is to take stock of talent throughout the Twins organization to understand what the front office has to work with, and to contextualize how their best players fit in — either as building blocks or trade candidates.

In essence, we're trying to answer the question, "Which current players in the organization are most indispensable to fulfilling the vision of building a champion?"

We account for age, contract, controllability, upside, etc. It's not exactly a ranking of trade value, because that would be more team-agnostic, whereas this list aims to capture a very Twins-specific point of view. As such, players at areas of scarcity (i.e. shortstop) get elevated, while those at areas of abundance (i.e. lefty-hitting corner outfielders) get downgraded a bit.

Going back through the lists year by year (linked below) provides a progressive glimpse into Minnesota's evolving talent landscape. We've seen players rise and fall. We've seen some young players fulfill their promise while others have fallen far short. 

Putting together the rankings this year, in the aftermath of a major talent overhaul at the trade deadline, has proven to be fascinating. One thing to note up-front is that despite the big purge, the Twins actually didn't trade any of the players who we viewed as most being their most essential (yet). Although Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran and Carlos Correa were among the team's best players, the first two are relievers and the second is a 30-year-old underperformer on a huge contract, which are big detractors in this analysis. They ranked 10th, 12th and 18th respectively on last year's list.

You can review that list, plus the previous seven, below. From there we'll kick off our 2026 list with a look at the players I chose to rank 16th through 20th. 

Past organizational rankings:

• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2025
• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2024
• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2023
• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2022
• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2021
• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2020
• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2019
• Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2018

Okay, now let's dive into the 20 Twins players and prospects who are — in my humble opinion — most critical to making this rebuild effort a success, starting with their top draft pick from this past season.

The Top 20 Twins Player Assets of 2026: 16-20

20. Marek Houston, SS
Age: 21
Controlled through: 2031+
2025 Ranking: NR

When the Twins traded Correa and his contract at the deadline, they committed to a new future course at shortstop. Right now it's not clear exactly how that course will take shape, at least long-term, which is one of the biggest question marks surrounding the team's outlook. 

In terms of pure ability to play the position, Houston is pretty much unparalleled in the organization. His glove was his ticket to being selected in the mid-first round. Many evaluators believe he could play shortstop defensively in the majors right now. Hitting is where the developmental challenge lies for the Wake Forest product.

He held his own at two levels of Single-A, batting .270 in 24 games after being drafted, but posted a .680 OPS with no power. Currently he projects as a light-hitting defensive specialist. That can play at short, but his ceiling will be capped unless he can turn a big corner at the plate.

 

19. Ryan Jeffers, C
Age: 28
Controlled through: 2026
2025 Ranking: 11

Jeffers is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Houston: his value is all tied up in the short-term, but he is proven and essential. The Twins replaced Christian Vazquez with Alex Jackson, leaving Jeffers as the only catcher in the organization with a modicum of hitting ability or track record as a starter. 

Although his production has been unspectacular the past couple years, Jeffers remains a high-end offensive player at the position: Since 2023 his .772 OPS ranks fifth in the majors among catchers with 1,000+ plate appearances. His defense has declined, detracting from his overall value, but Jeffers is so far-and-away the team's best all-around catching option for the immediate future that losing him would feel like a complete white flag for 2026. There aren't many other players you can singularly say that about.

 

18. Brooks Lee, SS
Age: 24
Controlled through: 2030
2025 Ranking: 6

I want to believe. He just hasn't given us much concrete reason up to this point. Lee's 12-spot drop in the rankings from last year reflects an extremely discouraging first full season in the majors. The production was lackluster and the underlying metrics were uninspiring. Lee has physical limitations — speed and arm strength chief among them — and has shown no capability of offsetting them in the majors. 

At the same time, he's 24 years old, and a former top draft pick and top prospect. The book is far from closed on him. Lee has shown occasional bursts of power and he can definitely make contact with consistency. He's a credible shortstop and likely a strong defender at second or third. Those are good ingredients to build around. But his overall game is trending the wrong way.

 

17. Bailey Ober, RHP
Age: 30
Controlled through: 2027
2025 Ranking: 3

Another free-fall in the rankings from one year ago. The 2025 season saw Ober struggle with mechanics and health, lose precious ticks of velocity, and post an ERA that was 16% below league average. His strikeout rate plummeted and batters teed off for a career-high 30 home runs in just under 150 innings. Now past 30, Ober no longer has youth on his side.

What he does have, though, is a superb track record prior to last year. Ober's ERA was above average in each of his first four MLB seasons and he had developed into a legit frontline starter heading into 2025, which is why this list had him ranked as a top-three organizational asset at the time. His drop-off is alarming in several ways, but we can't dismiss the possibility of a turnaround driven by a velocity uptick or arsenal tweak. 

 

16. Connor Prielipp, LHP
Age: 24
Controlled through: 2031+
2025 Ranking: NR

From down-and-out to up-and-coming. Prielipp has yet to make his major-league debut, but it's likely to come this year (maybe even on Opening Day) if he can stay healthy. That's the big hitch: Prielipp originally fell in the draft due to concerns over his health, which have been validated. He's thrown only 113 innings in the minors since joining the Twins org in 2022, after logging just 28 official innings in college at Alabama.

Prielipp turns 25 in a few days, and hasn't even thrown 85 innings in a season. That puts him on a pretty surefire relief path, which the Twins haven't really shied away from. But in that role, there seems to be little doubt he can be a major difference-maker, with his explosive fastball/slider combo drawing loose comparisons to Josh Hader. If Minnesota is able to field a capable bullpen in 2026, I believe Prielipp will be a big part of the reason. He just needs to stay healthy.

 

How important do you view these five players to the future of the Minnesota Twins? Share your thoughts in the comments, and check back tomorrow to find my picks for 11th through 15th in the rankings.

View full article

[Linus]

It might just be me but the definition of the exercise is so vague that it’s not useful. Building the “vision” of a championship team or building an actual championship team?  In what time frame?  If it’s a near term time frame including next year then Jeffers would be really high on the list and Houston not even on it. If it’s three to five years Jeffers and Ober won’t be here. Appreciate the player analysis however. 

[rdehring]

Even though I don't fully understand how these rankings are compiled, I look forward to them every winter.  Thanks, a lot!

When I began reading this piece, I clicked on the 2025 rankings for a quick review.  Can't tell you how shocked I was seeing that Miranda was #17 and Julien #20.  Not going to criticize last year's rankings.  Just perplexed how far these two very good young players have fallen. 

As for this year's group, am most excited about Prielipp who could help solve a huge problem for the Twins.  Like most of us, I can't wait until I see him on a Target Field mound pitching for the Twins.  Will it be in their home opener?

Also intrigued by Houston.  The Twins, like every major league team, are much better with a really good shortstop.  Will Houston hit enough to not be a black hole in the lineup?  I guess that's the question?

As you hinted at, I am confident that Ober's problems last year were all injury related.  If he returns healthy, the Twins should have a very good starting rotation.  And as Tom Kelly often said, "you are only as good as your next days starting pitcher."

 

[jjswol]

I will believe it when I see it as far as ranking Prielipp above Ober. 

[Nick Nelson]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

It might just be me but the definition of the exercise is so vague that it’s not useful. Building the “vision” of a championship team or building an actual championship team?  In what time frame?  If it’s a near term time frame including next year then Jeffers would be really high on the list and Houston not even on it. If it’s three to five years Jeffers and Ober won’t be here. Appreciate the player analysis however. 

It's meant to be a blend of near-term and long-term. I put a little extra weight in the near future but I try to basically look at it from a 5-year view. Comparing the value of someone like Jeffers vs someone like Marek is challenging through this lens but it's what I find interesting. 

[TJSweens]

Houston: sounds like Wander Javier. It was said Javier's SS defense was so good that sometimes  opponent's runs actually came off the board when the ball was hit to him. The problem was that his bat had the same impact on his own team's offense. The Twins were waiting for projected hitting growth that never happened.

Jeffers: Twins painted themselves in a corner here. He has all the leverage in contract negotiations and his trade value is compromised by being a rental player.

Lee: drafted as a fully developed bat that would quickly transition to the majors. Not seeing it. Terrible defensive player.

Ober: I would trade him. His value took a hit last year and I have a feeling it will only get worse.

Prielipp: move to the pen? NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! He still projects as a front line starter. He needs to be stretched out even if means delaying his major league debut. Temporary moves to the pen always wind up being permanent with this team. Don't do it.

[tony&rodney]

Marek Houston seems very similar to Noah Miller with the main difference, worth noting, being that Houston comes out of a top college program versus Miller being signed out of a Wisconsin high school.

Either way, Houston has only one year of minor league baseball thus far and while it is true his glove was fine the bat was needy. I only watched Houston about 4-5 times, not enough to be overly impressed by anything except for how overmatched he was versus the pitchers. I don't believe I can make any fair statement on him as acclimation to professional baseball is a huge task.

At this time his body of work is still from Wake Forest. Hopefully a full offseason allows Houston to adapt more smoothly to the minor leagues. We shouldn't (at least I don't) hold his 2025 pro debut against him. Houston wouldn't be the first guy to have a rough summer in their first go at pro ball after a long college season. Similarly, while I like the optimism shown on Twins Daily regarding the glove, we should let Houston play a full year before proclamations that were heaped on Noah Miller.

I'm optimistic and eager to see how Marek plays in 2026.

[amjgt]

2 hours ago, Linus said:

It might just be me but the definition of the exercise is so vague that it’s not useful. Building the “vision” of a championship team or building an actual championship team?  In what time frame?  If it’s a near term time frame including next year then Jeffers would be really high on the list and Houston not even on it. If it’s three to five years Jeffers and Ober won’t be here. Appreciate the player analysis however. 

Seems to me that it's basically a trade value rankings. Within that, depending on where a given team is at, the might prefer the value of 6+ years on Prielipp control over 2 years of Ober control. 

If you were a contenting team, you might prefer the Ober side of a theoretical Ober/Prielipp swap, but if you were a rebuilding team you might prefer the Prielipp side (if I type his name enough times I might remember how to spell it)

Based on Nick's response it seems like he's baked that in a little bit, by acknowledging where the Twins are at right now in the competitive cycle. If, say, the Twins were coming off of a Wild Card birth and hadn't gutted their bullpen, this Twins-specific list might have Ober a few spots higher and Prielipp a few spots lower.

[sweetmusicviola16]

24 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Marek Houston seems very similar to Noah Miller with the main difference, worth noting, being that Houston comes out of a top college program versus Miller being signed out of a Wisconsin high school.

Either way, Houston has only one year of minor league baseball thus far and while it is true his glove was fine the bat was needy. I only watched Houston about 4-5 times, not enough to be overly impressed by anything except for how overmatched he was versus the pitchers. I don't believe I can make any fair statement on him as acclimation to professional baseball is a huge task.

At this time his body of work is still from Wake Forest. Hopefully a full offseason allows Houston to adapt more smoothly to the minor leagues. We shouldn't (at least I don't) hold his 2025 pro debut against him. Houston wouldn't be the first guy to have a rough summer in their first go at pro ball after a long college season. Similarly, while I like the optimism shown on Twins Daily regarding the glove, we should let Houston play a full year before proclamations that were heaped on Noah Miller.

I'm optimistic and eager to see how Marek plays in 2026.

I always appreciate your perspectives tony as I know you watch more milb than most here, even the writers. 

[Nashvilletwin]

26 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Marek Houston seems very similar to Noah Miller with the main difference, worth noting, being that Houston comes out of a top college program versus Miller being signed out of a Wisconsin high school.

Either way, Houston has only one year of minor league baseball thus far and while it is true his glove was fine the bat was needy. I only watched Houston about 4-5 times, not enough to be overly impressed by anything except for how overmatched he was versus the pitchers. I don't believe I can make any fair statement on him as acclimation to professional baseball is a huge task.

At this time his body of work is still from Wake Forest. Hopefully a full offseason allows Houston to adapt more smoothly to the minor leagues. We shouldn't (at least I don't) hold his 2025 pro debut against him. Houston wouldn't be the first guy to have a rough summer in their first go at pro ball after a long college season. Similarly, while I like the optimism shown on Twins Daily regarding the glove, we should let Houston play a full year before proclamations that were heaped on Noah Miller.

I'm optimistic and eager to see how Marek plays in 2026.

If he’s the best defensive SS in the majors, we shouldn’t care if he hits a buck eighty.  

[tony&rodney]

6 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

Houston: sounds like Wander Javier. It was said Javier's SS defense was so good that sometimes  opponent's runs actually came off the board when the ball was hit to him. The problem was that his bat had the same impact on his own team's offense. The Twins were waiting for projected hitting growth that never happened.

Jeffers: Twins painted themselves in a corner here. He has all the leverage in contract negotiations and his trade value is compromised by being a rental player.

Lee: drafted as a fully developed bat that would quickly transition to the majors. Not seeing it. Terrible defensive player.

Ober: I would trade him. His value took a hit last year and I have a feeling it will only get worse.

Prielipp: move to the pen? NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! He still projects as a front line starter. He needs to be stretched out even if means delaying his major league debut. Temporary moves to the pen always wind up being permanent with this team. Don't do it.

Any post that includes Wander Javier automatically receives a thumbs up.

Jeffers holds 100% of the leverage. There are a few teams that would gladly trade for Jeffers.

Lee? Rough start but he is all the Twins have at shortstop.

Ober can come back from injury. I like the Twins inexperienced starters and thought a Ober-Lawler deal made some sense. Guess we just hope he is 2024 Ober.

Prielipp? If other starting pitchers can begin their careers as relief pitchers, why can't Prielipp? He turns 25 this week, still young. Exposure to MLB bats out of the pen would help Connor refine his pitches and teach him sequencing. I tried to catch most of his starts on milb.com and found him toying with hitters and getting away from pitching at times. He needs a challenge.

[JD-TWINS]

13 minutes ago, amjgt said:

Seems to me that it's basically a trade value rankings. Within that, depending on where a given team is at, the might prefer the value of 6+ years on Prielipp control over 2 years of Ober control. 

If you were a contenting team, you might prefer the Ober side of a theoretical Ober/Prielipp swap, but if you were a rebuilding team you might prefer the Prielipp side (if I type his name enough times I might remember how to spell it)

Based on Nick's response it seems like he's baked that in a little bit, by acknowledging where the Twins are at right now in the competitive cycle. If, say, the Twins were coming off of a Wild Card birth and hadn't gutted their bullpen, this Twins-specific list might have Ober a few spots higher and Prielipp a few spots lower.

Jeffers being valued less as an asset than Prielipp or Lee seems odd. If offering Jeffers in the trade market, regardless of remaining control, he would get more of a return than either of those guys, IMO. That’s value as an asset.

[JD-TWINS]

1 minute ago, tony&rodney said:

Any post that includes Wander Javier automatically receives a thumbs up.

Jeffers holds 100% of the leverage. There are a few teams that would gladly trade for Jeffers.

Lee? Rough start but he is all the Twins have at shortstop.

Ober can come back from injury. I like the Twins inexperienced starters and thought a Ober-Lawler deal made some sense. Guess we just hope he is 2024 Ober.

Prielipp? If other starting pitchers can begin their careers as relief pitchers, why can't Prielipp? He turns 25 this week, still young. Exposure to MLB bats out of the pen would help Connor refine his pitches and teach him sequencing. I tried to catch most of his starts on milb.com and found him toying with hitters and getting away from pitching at times. He needs a challenge.

Agreed on Prielipp! I pointed out here a few weeks ago that Johan Santana started in the PEN & he worked out pretty well.

[tony&rodney]

20 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

If he’s the best defensive SS in the majors, we shouldn’t care if he hits a buck eighty.  

Couple thoughts ... too early for any determination of Marek Houston imo. Crowning someone best shortstop in minor leagues is done by most every fan base. Who knows at this point. He has a good glove, this we know.

Christian Vazquez had quite a decline at the plate and people felt he no longer fit due to that demise. Catching is easily the most important defensive position in baseball of the 8 positions on the field. A really good shortstop, like Joey Ortiz, has to worry if their OPS falls below .600. I'm just guessing there won't be a place for a .180 BA on any team from a shortstop. There are options that include good, plainly adequate, gloves who can hit a bit.

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Prielipp? If other starting pitchers can begin their careers as relief pitchers, why can't Prielipp? He turns 25 this week, still young. Exposure to MLB bats out of the pen would help Connor refine his pitches and teach him sequencing. I tried to catch most of his starts on milb.com and found him toying with hitters and getting away from pitching at times. He needs a challenge.

Agreed, at times he reminded me of a major league pitcher on rehab fine tuning his pitches and just taking hitters down in the process. He looks like he could be an asset in the Twin's bullpen in 2026. Longer term his outlook might be as a starter, but maybe pitching in relief is better for his arm and body.

[AceWrigley]

It will be interesting come spring training what kind of velocity Ober's fastball has. Hopefully his health issues in 2025 were the reason for the drop in velocity. We will see.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

If he’s the best defensive SS in the majors, we shouldn’t care if he hits a buck eighty.  

That's a pretty tough bar to clear, though. Because if he can't effing hit at all (and keep in mind even guys like Andrelton Simmons (who was the best defensive SS in MLB at one point) hit in the minors) people will not be ok with anything less than the best, and even then I expect to hear complaints.

Again, the Simmons example is instructive: when he was with the Twins he was still playing quality defense at SS, but the .558 OPS made it painful, and after 35 games with the Cubs in 2022 he was out of the league at 32, because he simply couldn't hit. Marek Houston will need to hit at least some or his glove won't matter enough.

[Linus]

2 hours ago, amjgt said:

Seems to me that it's basically a trade value rankings. Within that, depending on where a given team is at, the might prefer the value of 6+ years on Prielipp control over 2 years of Ober control. 

If you were a contenting team, you might prefer the Ober side of a theoretical Ober/Prielipp swap, but if you were a rebuilding team you might prefer the Prielipp side (if I type his name enough times I might remember how to spell it)

Based on Nick's response it seems like he's baked that in a little bit, by acknowledging where the Twins are at right now in the competitive cycle. If, say, the Twins were coming off of a Wild Card birth and hadn't gutted their bullpen, this Twins-specific list might have Ober a few spots higher and Prielipp a few spots lower.

Except Nick has stated it’s not a trade value compilation but it’s not a big deal. Just doesn’t really mean anything to me anyway. 

[mikelink45]

This is always a difficult ranking for me.  I really do not understand the parameters, but I like it more than the speculation about who we should trade for. 

Jeffers is tops for me and higher than this group.  Have you seen how difficult it is to have a good catcher?  I just read today that if Phillies can't get Realmuto signed they should go after Jeffers.

So he is the top.  Marek - who knows, it is a wish listing. 
Ober might be toast - I can not rank him until I see.  My hope is that he does a Thielbar and far exceeds one down year.  

Prielipp reminds me of McCarthy for the Vikings - great arm, can't stay on the field so who knows - I wish this list was stronger in the last five of your 20.

Lee?  Another McCarthy?  I don't know.  I just remember all the glowing articles before he got here.

You entertained me - thanks

[Cris E]

It's odd that positional scarcity is cited in the intro and then Jeffers appears at #19. He's the poster child for positional scarcity, as both within the org and across baseball there are just not enough starting catchers that can hit at all.  I'd have him much higher because he's got a ton of value either as trade bait or because it would be nearly impossible to replace him. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

7 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Marek Houston seems very similar to Noah Miller with the main difference, worth noting, being that Houston comes out of a top college program versus Miller being signed out of a Wisconsin high school.

Either way, Houston has only one year of minor league baseball thus far and while it is true his glove was fine the bat was needy. I only watched Houston about 4-5 times, not enough to be overly impressed by anything except for how overmatched he was versus the pitchers. I don't believe I can make any fair statement on him as acclimation to professional baseball is a huge task.

At this time his body of work is still from Wake Forest. Hopefully a full offseason allows Houston to adapt more smoothly to the minor leagues. We shouldn't (at least I don't) hold his 2025 pro debut against him. Houston wouldn't be the first guy to have a rough summer in their first go at pro ball after a long college season. Similarly, while I like the optimism shown on Twins Daily regarding the glove, we should let Houston play a full year before proclamations that were heaped on Noah Miller.

I'm optimistic and eager to see how Marek plays in 2026.

Good comparison TR. I enjoyed watching Noah Miller in fielding drills at spring training each year. Even though I live about 40 miles from the Wake Forest campus, I have never seen Houston play. I look forward to watching Houston at Ft. Myers in March this year. 

[Old Twins Hat]

Falvey gets a ton of criticism on this site but if you look at what he has done, he has taken positions of the highest cost/most return and stocked the Twins with them.

1.  Starting pitching.  Twins are loaded with the most valuable of all baseball players:  starting pitchers who are pre-arb and show potential to emerge as standout arms.  That's the place a team can really lock in value.  Add them up, Abel, Prielipp, Rojas, Soto, Bradley, etc.,  -- it's a surplus as big as the Twins have ever had.

2.  Catchers.  Twins have really loaded up with catchers, Tait and the kid from Detroit, then drafts in previous years.  One or two of these guys will put it all together, down the road.  But, they are all young and have high quality tools.

3.  Shortstop.  Marek Houston, Culpepper, Winokur, plus this year's most likely 3rd pick.  We are in good shape on the infield at Short, with or without success from Brooks Lee.

Say what you will about Falvey, he understands where the smart money is and what it moves toward in baseball and he is building it for the future of the Twins.  A corner infielder or outfielder, even a CF guy, they can be had for much less than SS, SP and Catcher.

We a small market team and Falvey's strategy to get ahead of the money game at these positions is our only chance --only chance to make a run to the World Series.

[TJSweens]

7 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Any post that includes Wander Javier automatically receives a thumbs up.

Jeffers holds 100% of the leverage. There are a few teams that would gladly trade for Jeffers.

Lee? Rough start but he is all the Twins have at shortstop.

Ober can come back from injury. I like the Twins inexperienced starters and thought a Ober-Lawler deal made some sense. Guess we just hope he is 2024 Ober.

Prielipp? If other starting pitchers can begin their careers as relief pitchers, why can't Prielipp? He turns 25 this week, still young. Exposure to MLB bats out of the pen would help Connor refine his pitches and teach him sequencing. I tried to catch most of his starts on milb.com and found him toying with hitters and getting away from pitching at times. He needs a challenge.

First of all, thanks for the Wander Javier hat tip.

As for Prielipp, I don't think 25 is really young for a pitcher who is playing catch-up due to injuries. He only has 112 innings in 3 minor league seasons. He needs to build his pitch count and innings in a way that can't be achieved in the pen. Other starters around the league have broken in as relievers, but with the Twins these moves are almost permanent. It would be one thing if the Twins expected to contend, but come on, they have acquired Jackson,  Bell and Wagaman. I'd much rather see guys like Raya, Morris and Lewis move to the pen.

[TJSweens]

7 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Agreed on Prielipp! I pointed out here a few weeks ago that Johan Santana started in the PEN & he worked out pretty well.

Johan was a unique instance. As a rule 5, he needed to be kept on the roster for a year. The he was called up to team with deep, veteran rotation. Johan was also younger and had more minor league innings under his belt. As I said before, when this regime moves pitchers to the pen, they don't move back.

[TNtwins85]

19 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

If he’s the best defensive SS in the majors, we shouldn’t care if he hits a buck eighty.  

Well, if he hits a buck eighty he probably won’t be the best SS in the majors. If the twins development system doesn’t mess with him like Martin to try to squeeze out 3 more HR’s out of his swing over a season I think his floor can be at least a utility INF. That’s not bad if you take the gleeman rule that a positive and realistic outcome of a top pick is a Cuddyer outcome. Which is 5-8 years of average dependable production as a 2WAR player. That’s really all that should be asked for at minimum. I put Lee in that category as well. If he can be a 2WAR SS that makes most of the plays that’s success when being realistic about any of these former top picks. 

[Otaknam]

Let’s hope Marek Houston is more than a great fielding, light hitting shortstop. Those guys are readily available across the minor leagues. A number one pick needs to have a solid offensive upside. They already made a mistake in picking Brooks Lee in the first round, with mediocre offensive and defensive tools, slow foot speed, but some power. I’m not sure how Lee improves on those during the offseason. But Houston needs to be better than what Lee brings. If not, it’s just another black mark on this FOffice. Maybe this is what happens when you fire so many scouts and instead, use analytics as the primary source of scouting information. 

[Nick Nelson]

On 1/5/2026 at 11:15 AM, JD-TWINS said:

Jeffers being valued less as an asset than Prielipp or Lee seems odd. If offering Jeffers in the trade market, regardless of remaining control, he would get more of a return than either of those guys, IMO. That’s value as an asset.

Would he? That's debatable but an intriguing question. Sounds like the Twins floated Jeffers around at the deadline and didn't get much interest. I definitely think Prielipp is a more valuable trade piece. 

[JD-TWINS]

21 hours ago, TJSweens said:

Johan was a unique instance. As a rule 5, he needed to be kept on the roster for a year. The he was called up to team with deep, veteran rotation. Johan was also younger and had more minor league innings under his belt. As I said before, when this regime moves pitchers to the pen, they don't move back.

I defer to your superior intellect oh wise one.

I’m just trying to get past all the fray here at TD (with a success story) that Prielipp can’t be “wasted” in the PEN. He’s shown little durability to date and isn’t getting any younger. The probability of him being a starter, for the Twins, ahead of Abel - Festa - Bradley - Rojas is very low. I think it could be beneficial for the Team & Prielipp to only have him throw 75 innings or less and to let him go 100% in those innings out of a relief role. I could care less if he ever starts another game.

[JD-TWINS]

On 1/5/2026 at 7:32 PM, TJSweens said:

Johan was a unique instance. As a rule 5, he needed to be kept on the roster for a year. The he was called up to team with deep, veteran rotation. Johan was also younger and had more minor league innings under his belt. As I said before, when this regime moves pitchers to the pen, they don't move back.

“…….Johan was also younger and had more minor league innings under his belt” ……… not really sure what this has to do with Prielipp being a reliever to start out in MLB?

Btw, Johan was a Rule 5 pick up, correct, BUT he pitched from the PEN significant innings over his first FOUR seasons in MLB. He “pitched in” 117 games in his first four seasons with the TWINS and started only 41 of those games………. then went on to be a pretty solid starter.

[TJSweens]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

“…….Johan was also younger and had more minor league innings under his belt” ……… not really sure what this has to do with Prielipp being a reliever to start out in MLB?

Btw, Johan was a Rule 5 pick up, correct, BUT he pitched from the PEN significant innings over his first FOUR seasons in MLB. He “pitched in” 117 games in his first four seasons with the TWINS and started only 41 of those games………. then went on to be a pretty solid starter.

Because Prielipp needs to be stretched out. At 25 time is getting shorter to do that.