New Twins Prospects Vahn Lackey, Carson Tinney Mute Concerns Over Eduardo Tait’s Development

[Cody Schoenmann]

Image courtesy of © Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

With their first two selections in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins (led by assistant GM Sean Johnson) selected catchers Vahn Lackey (3rd overall) and Carson Tinney (43rd), fortifying the minor-league depth of a position group that had been the organization’s greatest area of future insecurity. The primary reason for team decision-makers' uncertainty about the position’s medium- and long-term health was that All-Star-caliber backstop Ryan Jeffers is almost guaranteed to depart the organization as a free agent this offseason. Veterans Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson are under team control for 2027 and could serve as a serviceable short-term tandem at the position, assuming Jeffers leaves. Still, Caratini and Jackson aren’t long-term candidates to anchor the position as Minnesota enters its next World Series-contending window.

Until the selection of Lackey and (to a much lesser extent) Tinney, the prospect much of Twins Territory was projecting to be Jeffers’s long-term successor at the position was Eduardo Tait, acquired alongside Mick Abel in the 2025 MLB trade deadline swap that sent Jhoan Duran to Philadelphia. Still appearing on many top-100 prospect lists, Tait boasts plus power and a strong arm behind the dish. However, he swings at almost everything, sporting a 40.8% out-of-zone swing rate. His extreme lack of plate discipline has resulted in a .216/.280/.420 (73 wRC+) line over 339 plate appearances. Tait is 19, and he does have exciting in-game power, with 15 home runs this season. Still, a sub-300 on-base percentage (OBP) at High-A is catastrophic, and he will need to make drastic, sustained changes to his plate discipline to advance to the high minors.

 

More than three years younger than the average High-A player, Tait will have plenty of time to make those developments, and Twins fans should remain optimistic about the 19-year-old’s long-term prospects. Still, it feels more likely that he'll reach the majors in 2029 than that it could happen by 2027. That being the case, the organization was in dire need of more developed, easier-to-project catching talent in the minors. Enter Lackey and (again, to a lesser extent) Tinney.

 

Selected third overall, Lackey instantly slots in as Minnesota’s catcher of the future, with a chance to make his major-league debut early next season. He was arguably the most refined prospect in the 2026 draft, and he could soon slot in above Walker Jenkins on Twins top prospect rankings. There arguably wasn’t a better fit between player and team in the draft than Lackey and Minnesota, and Twins Territory should reap the benefits of the pairing for seasons to come. Lackey immediately usurps Tait, though the way the Twins prefer to deploy their catchers, there's plenty of room for both to contribute.

 

Khadim Diaw and Enrique Jimenez were the organization's other top catching prospects alongside Tait before Lackey and Tinney were selected. Diaw’s bat will likely be what guides him to the majors, as the 22-year-old struggles to suppress base stealers, throwing out only six of the 109 runners who attempted to steal a base on him between High-A and Double-A. He's spent significant time in center field in Wichita, and projects to be an outfielder if he does reach the majors. Jimenez is a better defensive catcher than Diaw. However, given that he is only 20 and hitting .232/.400/.402 at High-A, it's nearly impossible to project his long-term viability as a major leaguer.

 

Right now, Tait is a better prospect than Tinney. However, Tinney sneaks in above Diaw and Jimenez on the organization’s depth chart at the position. Unlike Lackey, Tinney is a raw prospect, with a lot of swing-and-miss in his offensive profile and uncertainty about his ability to remain behind the plate as he progresses through the minors. Still, after sporting elite exit velocity and raw power at the University of Texas, the 21-year-old has a clearer path to the majors than Tait’s, Diaw’s, and Jimenez’s, even if he’s spending more time at designated hitter, first base, and the corner outfield than behind the plate.

 

Lackey is arguably the best catching prospect drafted in the 2020s, and Tinney could serve as the other half of the tandem. Minnesota has dramatically changed its long-term outlook at the position, making Tait’s, Diaw’s, and Jimenez’s shaky development feel less enormous.

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[DasBat]

I agree with pretty much all of this.  I'm not saying Tait is a lost cause, I just think he has a lot of work to do.  He's so young that he still has a chance.