The Top Minnesota Twins Player Assets of 2026: Part 4 (1-5)

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Bill Streicher, Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images; Ed Bailey-Wichita Wind Surge

Here at the start of 2026, we're taking stock of talent in the Twins organization by ranking their top 20 player assets. We went over the the ground rules in our introductory post on Monday, but the short version is this: We're trying to answer the question, "Which current players in the organization are most indispensable to fulfilling the vision of building a champion?"

You can read Monday's, Tuesday's and Wednesday's posts for breakdowns of each player, but here's a quick glance at the list so far:

• 20. Marek Houston, SS
• 19. Ryan Jeffers, C
• 18. Brooks Lee, SS
• 17. Bailey Ober, RHP
• 16. Connor Prielipp, LHP
• 15. David Festa, RHP
• 14. Eduardo Tait, C
• 13. Royce Lewis, 3B
• 12. Matt Wallner, RF
• 11. Zebby Matthews, RHP
• 10. Taj Bradley, RHP
• 9. Mick Abel, RHP
• 8. Byron Buxton, CF
• 7. Emmanuel Rodriguez, CF
• 6. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP

Now, without further ado, here are the five most important players and prospects for the outlook of the Minnesota Twins, from my view.

The Top 20 Twins Player Assets of 2026: 1-5

5. Kaelen Culpepper, SS
Age: 23
Controlled through: 2031+
2025 Ranking: NR

The biggest riser of the Twins system in 2025. It came at a very opportune time with Carlos Correa's departure opening up shortstop as the franchise's most critical long-term question mark. Right now Brooks Lee is manning the position but he hasn't shown much, leaving the door open for Culpepper to potentially step in soon if he can keep building on his breakthrough in the minors.

The 2024 first-rounder's first full season in the pros was split almost equally between High-A and Double-A. Culpepper raked at both stops, posting a cumulative .289/.375/.469 slash line with 20 homers and 25 steals. He played shortstop almost exclusively, generating some belief that he can stick there in the majors, although that's far from assured.

Right now he looks like Minnesota's best long-term bet at shortstop, with third base as a potential fallback if the defensive skills aren't quite sharp enough. That'll be a fine outcome so long as he can keep riding a standout bat. Culpepper is very much in play for a 2026 debut.

 

4. Pablo López, RHP
Age: 29
Controlled through: 2027
2025 Ranking: 5

On one hand, it's really hard to rank López this highly as a player making $42 million over the next two seasons for a team hampered by payroll constraints. Recent injury issues don't help his case. On the other hand, what López brings for Minnesota is almost irreplaceable: a proven frontline starter who has dominated in the playoffs, and is in the heart of his prime coming off a 2.74 ERA. 

To the extent that the Twins have any aspirations of contending for a title in the next two years, López will be foundational. And if they decide it's not in the cards, then trading him would bring back a level of future value to substantially bolster a rebuild.

 

3. Joe Ryan, RHP
Age: 29
Controlled through: 2027
2025 Ranking: 4

The same things I just said about López basically apply to Ryan as well. He also achieved a high watermark for performance in 2025 (3.42 ERA) while earning his first All-Star nod. Unlike López, he reached a new workload peak too, totaling 171 frames over 30 starts. 

The financial factor looms large here: Ryan is in line to receive (via arbitration) only a fraction of López's guaranteed commitment in his final two years before free agency. That's obviously a major consideration for a Twins team with capped spending capability, and it makes him generally more desirable for potential trade partners as well.

 

2. Luke Keaschall, 2B
Age: 23
Controlled through: 2031
2025 Ranking: 15

Keaschall's stellar big-league debut was one of the biggest bright spots for the 2025 Twins, obscured somewhat by a broken arm that cost him more than half the season. When on the field, he made a memorable first impression, batting .302 with four homers, 14 doubles and 14 stolen bases in 49 games. Keaschall showed an uncommonly advanced eye at the plate, drawing 19 walks against 29 strikeouts and reaching base at a .382 clip. 

There are legitimate questions about how much power he'll be able to generate. A potential transition to the outfield might downgrade his value a bit (unless he can really shine defensively, which he didn't at second). But those relative drawbacks pale in comparison to the ability he's already shown. With his speed and his control of the strike zone, you can more or less write Keaschall's name into the top of the lineup for years to come. 

 

1. Walker Jenkins, OF
Age: 20
Controlled through: 2031+
2025 Ranking: 1

It's nearly time. Jenkins has been painted as The Next Big Thing ever since he was drafted fifth overall in 2023, and he's been living up to the hype as a prospect, at least in between injuries. The 20-year-old's meteoric ascent through the minors has only been made more striking by all the time he's missed; there's clearly a ton of faith from the organization in his skills and makeup. 

Minnesota's decision to promote Jenkins to Triple-A near the end of the season – warranted, but fairly aggressive – signals that they envision him in their big-league plans sooner than later. While it should be emphasized that there's no such thing as a sure thing, and even success stories often take time to materialize ... Jenkins is awfully easy to dream on. The few prospects of his caliber who've come through the system – Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis – have all made major impacts in the majors. They've also proven you can't do it alone, which is why even a 99th percentile outcome for Jenkins (first-ballot Hall of Famer, like Mauer) would require others above him on this list to support the cause.

 

There you have it. My ranking of the top 20 player assets in the Twins organization entering the 2026 season. You can find the full list summarized below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you have moved up or down? Who missed the cut that shouldn't have? Who's overhyped and who's underrated? Sound off in the comment section.

1. Walker Jenkins, OF 
2. Luke Keaschall, 2B 
3. Joe Ryan, RHP
4. Pablo Lopez, RHP 
5. Kaelen Culpepper, SS 
6. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP 
7. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF
8. Byron Buxton, OF 
9. Mick Abel, RHP 
10. Taj Bradley, RHP 
11. Zebby Matthews, RHP 
12. Matt Wallner, OF
13. Royce Lewis, 3B 
14. Eduardo Tait, C 
15. David Festa, RHP
16. Connor Prielipp, LHP
17. Bailey Ober, RHP
18. Brooks Lee, SS 
19. Ryan Jeffers, C 
20. Marek Houston, SS

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[Nashvilletwin]

So, our five best assets are three unproven prospects (coming from a system that has zero track record of transitioning prospects successfully into major leaguers) and two #2 starting pitchers whose “asset values” to the franchise are likely deteriorating by the day and, given the impending strike, may be close to nil after the trade deadline?

Not to be overly cynical, but, sheesh, talk about a bare cupboard. Mother Hubbard has nothing on this franchise.

[mike8791]

What happened to Gabriel Gonzalez?  Didn't even make the top 20.  What's the beef?

[sweetmusicviola16]

Why no Bell on the list? He is our 3rd highest paid active player. Man the depths that this franchise is falling to. But tough talking Tom has us competitive.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

A really interesting series of articles. Fun to read. I tend to feel optimistic after reading these rankings. Thanks Nick.

[NotAboutWinning]

With the lower projected payroll, Lopez has become the new Correa. His salary is 20% of the payroll. For a player that affects every 5th game. 

[MinnInPa]

i am hoping / praying that Walker turns out to be a perennial All Star..but, there have been no impressive #'s yet. he's not exactly tearing it up at any level. 

[arby58]

35 minutes ago, mike8791 said:

What happened to Gabriel Gonzalez?  Didn't even make the top 20.  What's the beef?

It's interesting that he doesn't make the top 20 trade assets on the Baseball Trade Simulator either. 

[arby58]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

So, our five best assets are three unproven prospects (coming from a system that has zero track record of transitioning prospects successfully into major leaguers) and two #2 starting pitchers whose “asset values” to the franchise are likely deteriorating by the day and, given the impending strike, may be close to nil after the trade deadline?

Not to be overly cynical, but, sheesh, talk about a bare cupboard. Mother Hubbard has nothing on this franchise.

'Zero track record' is overly cynical. Byron Buxton has 29.8 career WAR, which is higher than several players in the Twins Hall of Fame (Michael Cuddyer, Dan Gladden, Corie Coskie, and Cesar Tovar among others). A couple more productive years and he'll be in much-loved Kent Hrbek territory. Both Bailey Ober and Ryan Jeffers have had productive MLB careers in a relatively short period of time, and other sources suggest that Brooks Lee, Matt Wallner, and, yes, Royce Lewis are MLB-worthy assets - all transitioned successfully into major leaguers.

Among other over-cynicisms, there are multiple teams where Joe Ryan would be the #1 starting pitcher (he was 11th in WAR among MLB pitchers last year), and every team in baseball would be on the phone if the Twins indicated a willingness to move a consensus top 10-15 outfielder who made AAA at 20 years of age.

[mikelink45]

I would have Ryan number 1 - his trade value is high, his quality pitching is high, and he has show more durability than our other pitchers.  

I see Walker's trade value as really high but until he is on the field in MN and producing I cannot see him as number 1. 

For your overall list I see the biggest argument to be Jeffers.  Fangraphs has him #7 in batting and #61 in fielding.  Not great, but who is next in line? Jackson, Gaspar, Paredes?  His value is going up as the new strike system is being implemented. So for trade value - the offense plays higher and a lot of teams could use his bat at catcher.

[Major League Ready]

On 1/8/2026 at 7:42 AM, NotAboutWinning said:

With the lower projected payroll, Lopez has become the new Correa. His salary is 20% of the payroll. For a player that affects every 5th game. 

What are we trying to measure with percentage of payroll?  I would assume it's meant to measure the impact of a given player on the team's ability to afford additional personnel.  Percentage of salary does not even remotely measure that ability.  If payroll goes down to $65M, his percentage of payroll goes to 33%.  Did the team's ability to add-on to payroll go down when spending went from $100M to 65M.  Of course, not which tells us that measure is inappropriate.

The appropriate measure is not percentage of payroll.  It's percentage of spending capacity.   The exact amount of their capacity can only be estimated or assumed by historical spending.  Whatever that amount is, it's significantly more than $100M so Pablo salary is a percentage of whatever we believe that additional amount happens to be.

[Ricky Vaughn]

They've also proven you can't do it alone, which is why even a 99th percentile outcome for Jenkins (first-ballot Hall of Famer, like Mauer) would require others above him on this list to support the cause.  

 

Not to be picky but this statement makes no sense for someone ranked #1. 

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, mike8791 said:

What happened to Gabriel Gonzalez?  Didn't even make the top 20.  What's the beef?

It's challenging to balance proven MLB players with prospects on a list like this, I think?

I'm definitely a fan of GG, but to be fair, last season was a breakout year for him coming off an injury-filled fairly disappointing one. And while he's showing serious skills as a hitter, he's not a player that's adding much defensively or on the bases.

[Linus]

Keaschall and Culpepper should be flipped (Keaschall should be even lower). Culpepper becoming a solid big league SS is really important. If can do it our infield will fall into place for the next several years. If he can’t do it, we will trading our most valuable assets to plug that hole (I am not counting on Houston). Keaschall plays positions where we have guys already. He also is likely to regress from his hitting debut and his defense is not stellar. I like him as a starter but he isn’t likely to be a main cog on a playoff team. 

[Nashvilletwin]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

'Zero track record' is overly cynical. Byron Buxton has 29.8 career WAR, which is higher than several players in the Twins Hall of Fame (Michael Cuddyer, Dan Gladden, Corie Coskie, and Cesar Tovar among others). A couple more productive years and he'll be in much-loved Kent Hrbek territory. Both Bailey Ober and Ryan Jeffers have had productive MLB careers in a relatively short period of time, and other sources suggest that Brooks Lee, Matt Wallner, and, yes, Royce Lewis are MLB-worthy assets - all transitioned successfully into major leaguers.

Among other over-cynicisms, there are multiple teams where Joe Ryan would be the #1 starting pitcher (he was 11th in WAR among MLB pitchers last year), and every team in baseball would be on the phone if the Twins indicated a willingness to move a consensus top 10-15 outfielder who made AAA at 20 years of age.

Brooks Lee, Lewis and Wallner are not yet average or better everyday major league players. I deeply hope they become such players.  To go back to Buxton and before is pretty funny.  Are you being sarcastic?  If not, Arraez and Jeffers are good examples of successfully transitioned position players.  My mistake.  I should’ve defined the set as position players. So, yes, the franchise has some “recent” position player successes,  but none - zippo - in the last half decade.

Ok, Ryan might be the #1 on several teams, none likely contenders though.  I concede.  But his value as an asset will likely deteriorate - most certainly after the trade deadline if we do not extend him (which I wish they would, but it’s doubtful he has any interest).  So, yes, it’s sad that our #2 “asset” is a really good #1 or #2 starter who with near certainty will not be with the team after 2026 and an abbreviated 2027.  Hope I’m wrong.  But, if not, that’s not really a great asset as #2. Btw, how do you think Ryan compares to the #2 asset on the other MLB teams? 

[jjswol]

I would do Jenkins, Ryan, Lopez, Keaschall and then Culpepper.

[arby58]

4 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Brooks Lee, Lewis and Wallner are not yet average or better everyday major league players. I deeply hope they become such players.  To go back to Buxton and before is pretty funny.  Are you being sarcastic?  If not, Arraez and Jeffers are good examples of successfully transitioned position players.  So, yes, the franchise has some “recent” success, but none - zippo - in the last half decade.

Ok, Ryan might be the #1 on several teams, none likely contenders though.  I concede.  But his value as an asset will likely deteriorate - most certainly after the trade deadline if we do not extend him (which I wish they would, but it’s doubtful he has any interest).  So, yes, it’s sad that our #2 “asset” is a really good #1 or #2 starter who with near certainty will not be with the team after 2026 and an abbreviated 2027.  Hope I’m wrong.  But, if not, that’s not really a great asset as #2. Btw, how do you think Ryan compares to the #2 asset on the other MLB teams? 

Lee, Lewis, and Wallner all have positive WAR - which is the definition of 'average or better everyday major league players.'

Ryan's #11 ranking in WAR, according to ESPN, is better than the top pitcher on the following teams that had .500 or better records in 2025 (and the first four were play-off teams): Toronto, Seattle, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland, New York Mets, Kansas City, and Texas. 

[stringer bell]

Would the floor for Jenkins be Max Kepler? Jenkins would appear to have a similar, but superior, skill set with Max. Kepler never made an All-Star team, but was a consistent 2 WAR player. 

I also wonder if Jenkins will be a major league center fielder. At this point he appears to have the tools to play the higher defensive spectrum position. 

I'd really like to see him put up a full healthy season. If he does, he should make his debut this year. 

[Nashvilletwin]

23 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Lee, Lewis, and Wallner all have positive WAR - which is the definition of 'average or better everyday major league players.'

Ryan's #11 ranking in WAR, according to ESPN, is better than the top pitcher on the following teams that had .500 or better records in 2025 (and the first four were play-off teams): Toronto, Seattle, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland, New York Mets, Kansas City, and Texas. 

Thank you for clarifying.  I take back my comments.

The Twins are in fact extremely adept at transitioning position players into successful major leaguers and Ryan is an exceptional #2 asset for this franchise and would be on most other teams.

The Twins top five assets - individually and collectively - truly are both proven and exceptional.  We are the envy of the entire league.

Seriously, Wallner has been a platoon player who had most of his potential DH ABs just taken away by signing a warmed over vet (who also can’t hit lefties).  Very few if any TDers think Lee is anything but a future utility infielder and most are clamouring for Culpepper to replace him as soon as possible.  Lewis has, sadly, been a huge disappointment to date. That is pretty much a universal agreed upon statement.  If this is our idea of successfully transitioning top position player prospects into successful major leaguers, we are in trouble.

Ryan is great.  Love the guy.  My son played his little league on his field.  Probably my favorite Twin.  But its sad if our #2 asset won’t be here in two years with almost near certainty and his value is likely tied up in trade consideration which may never realize.

[Nick Nelson]

2 hours ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Why no Bell on the list? He is our 3rd highest paid active player. Man the depths that this franchise is falling to. But tough talking Tom has us competitive.

Being highly paid is not a plus in this exercise. It's tough to make this list as a free agent signing (especially on a one-year deal) because by definition the Twins paid more than any other team was willing to for the asset. That said, I think he was a solid pickup.

[arby58]

1 minute ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Thank you for clarifying.  I take back my comments.

The Twins are in fact extremely adept at transitioning position players into successful major leaguers and Ryan is an exceptional #2 asset for this franchise and would be on most other teams.

The Twins top five assets - individually and collectively - truly are both proven and exceptional.  We are the envy of the entire league.

No, please - I take it all back: Ryan would be no better than the number two starter on every team in baseball, Royce Lewis (career OPS+ of 109) and Matt Wallner (career OPS+ of 127) are barely major leaguers, and we'd be lucky to get a relief pitcher for Walker Jenkins. For that matter, Twins fans should envy the collective assets of teams like the Colorado Rockies and Las Angeles Angels. 

[Nick Nelson]

3 hours ago, mike8791 said:

What happened to Gabriel Gonzalez?  Didn't even make the top 20.  What's the beef?

He's definitely in the "honorable mention" pool but not quite ready to put him in the top 20. I'm somewhat of a believer in the bat but he's slow with no defensive value so he's really gonna have to hit in order to be an impact player. 

[jmlease1]

26 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Would the floor for Jenkins be Max Kepler? Jenkins would appear to have a similar, but superior, skill set with Max. Kepler never made an All-Star team, but was a consistent 2 WAR player. 

I also wonder if Jenkins will be a major league center fielder. At this point he appears to have the tools to play the higher defensive spectrum position. 

I'd really like to see him put up a full healthy season. If he does, he should make his debut this year. 

seems about right for a floor? I think much like Kepler he will be able to play CF early in his career; what will push him to a corner is Buxton is still much better there defensively and reportedly Rodriguez is also a better fielder. How much CF Jenkins gets will depend on who else is on the Twins roster, but if things got shuffled around and Jenkins won a job in spring training I could totally see him starting in RF but being the primary backup to Buxton in CF.

I'm frankly hoping that the Twins are able to deal Larnach and there's an open competition between Rodriguez, Jenkins, and Gonzalez (and maybe even Fedko) for a starting spot with Outman moved on from and Roden given a chance to be the 4th OF. Larnach raises the floor a bit, but Jenkins or Rodriguez can raise the ceiling and allowing Wallner to spend more time at DH helps the defense too.

[Brandon]

3 hours ago, mike8791 said:

What happened to Gabriel Gonzalez?  Didn't even make the top 20.  What's the beef?

This is what Nick meant when he said Keaschal would lose value if moved to the OF.  Gonzalez has similar batting stats with fewer stolen bases but plays OF.  This he probably ranks 21 on the list.  

[TwinsDr2021]

41 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Lee, Lewis, and Wallner all have positive WAR - which is the definition of 'average or better everyday major league players.'

Ryan's #11 ranking in WAR, according to ESPN, is better than the top pitcher on the following teams that had .500 or better records in 2025 (and the first four were play-off teams): Toronto, Seattle, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland, New York Mets, Kansas City, and Texas. 

Lee actually has a negative one WAR. (top 50 prospects for two years)

Lewis (age 26) has a career WAR of 4 (over 4 years and has played 258 games, really 3 for 246), after being a top 50 prospect for 4 years. Is this bad? the games played isn't good but overall when he plays he is pretty decent,  I just don't think you can call him a average or better everyday major league player yet

Wallner (age 28)  has a career WAR of 4.6 (which again is pretty good, but only once in his career has he even played half of the games in a season and the one he did (104) was his worst (.6 WAR). As with Lewis it is tough to call him an average or better everyday player when he has never accomplished being a every day player. 

All three are first round picks and each one by themselves looks pretty good, I mean getting this kind of career WAR from any pick is an accomplishment. You add in Jeffers  career WAR (8.3) and you would imagine the last 4 years probably were pretty successful, but when guys like this only play half or less of the games you have a problem. 

 

[rdehring]

Absolutely loved this exercise, Nick.  Cannot thank you enough for doing it.

When I look at your finished result, there are three players in my mind who will have a huge impact on the Twins success, or lack thereof, in 2026.  The first is Connor Prielipp.  If the Twins keep him as a starter, I don't see him having much of an impact next year.  And moving him to the bullpen doesn't mean he will stay there long-term.  Like Santana, he could be a reliever next year and a starter down the road.  But his biggest impact in 2026 will be if they put him in the pen in spring training and he becomes a late inning shut down reliever by May at the latest.

The second player is really one of the #9-#11 starters, Abel, Bradley, and Matthews.  The Twins need one of them to take that final step and become a solid #3 starter, a starter who will be approaching ACE status come 2027 and beyond.

The final player is Luke Keaschall.  Will his bat in 2026 be what it was most of last year?  In addition, he provides something the Twins haven't had in recent years, speed and a fire that excites both their bench and the fans.  Finally, I will ask many of you criticizing his defense to consider what he has been through these past couple years.  If memory serves, he spent most of 2024 as a DH because of his pending TJ surgery.  Then he gets hit with a pitch and misses a couple months early last summer with a broken arm.  The result is that he has played very little second base for the past two years.  When considering his athletic ability there is no reason, he can't become a better than average defensive second baseman.  Should this young man hit like last year, play good defense and put pressure on the other team with his speed he just may be the Twins top player.  Certainly the most exciting.

[D.C Twins]

Great series Nick... 3 bonus questions for you (and the class):

Which player would you pick as 

1. The biggest riser (in ranking) within this group of 20 next year

2. The biggest regression (in ranking) within this group of 20 next year

3. The player not in this Top 20 most likely to rank the highest on this list next year.

[TwinsDr2021]

3 hours ago, MinnInPa said:

i am hoping / praying that Walker turns out to be a perennial All Star..but, there have been no impressive #'s yet. he's not exactly tearing it up at any level. 

As a 20 year old in AA he put a .912 OPS, and .719 in AAA. 

Would you prefer he was playing in A+ doing better than he did as a 19 year old? (.862)

Sometimes guys with his type of skills don't need to dominating before moving on,  (Jackson Merrill for Chourio for example both have lower career minor league OPS than Jenkins) Would I like to see his number more like Langord, yes but he also played college ball. 

 

[sweetmusicviola16]

10 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Great series Nick... 3 bonus questions for you (and the class):

Which player would you pick as 

1. The biggest riser (in ranking) within this group of 20 next year

2. The biggest regression (in ranking) within this group of 20 next year

3. The player not in this Top 20 most likely to rank the highest on this list next year.

I'm going to bite at this.

3. The guy we draft at #3 in the upcoming draft.

2. I'll go with Tait. So much riding on him if he comes through and he's young.

1. Gulp. I'm going with Joe Ryan. I sensed in August and September that he really didn't want to be here. We should be trading him to maximize his value. Just my opinions.

[arby58]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

All three are first round picks and each one by themselves looks pretty good, I mean getting this kind of career WAR from any pick is an accomplishment. You add in Jeffers  career WAR (8.3) and you would imagine the last 4 years probably were pretty successful, but when guys like this only play half or less of the games you have a problem. 

I agree, that is a problem - however, the OP's claim was that the Twins didn't develop major league players. Injuries have derailed many a player who had developed into a MLB talent. The other developed player I mentioned was Ober, and he has a career WAR of 9.2. For that matter, SWR has a WAR of 4.0.