Twins Daily's Top-20 Prospects Gets a Post-Draft Shakeup

[D.C Twins]

6 hours ago, Dman said:

I am surprised that Law has Emma at 31 since he generally is so picky about hitting flaws and ER has some anomalies with the passive approach and swing and miss in zone.  The production has always been there but the Majors really expose any flaws a hitter has.  I like Rodriguez a lot  but wouldn't have him at 31, but that is just my opinion. The injuries also cloud the ups and downs of a full season as it wears players down.  I love that he has 4 Twins in essentially the top 50.  Maybe we can finally have a another star player or two?

The swing and miss in zone is the biggest of red flags for me.

In the MLB, you will be challenged in zone and will need to be able to hit in zone.

I fear Emma is going to be chewed up and spit out in the MLB

[bean5302]

Keith Law favors ceiling in his rankings. Emma has a ton of ceiling and he's shown it with crazy exit velocities and athleticism. The likelihood Rodriguez washes out feels very high to me as well. In any case, I'm not sure what value there is keeping him in AAA. Either he's got it or he doesn't.

Someday, when he returns from thumb injury # 865, perhaps he'll get some MLB plate appearances.

[Steve Lein]

23 hours ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Well they proved you wrong Steve.  They are over by 260k so far and counting.   

Really surprised at the following - Lay with full bonus even though technically a senior sign,  Bayles only 45k less than the allotted,  the following with 50k more so far   Burns, Teel and Lane.   Tom showing they are willing to invest in the team.  Its a smart strategy.   They also signed all 21 draftees,  they may have gone over a bit more.  

By my tracking they landed under their pool by about 120K. (Remember, rounds 11-20 don't count against the pool unless they're signed for over 150K, and only the overage is applied to the pool)

Edit: I'm not going to look into where the difference in numbers comes from, but the tracker here is the only place I see as them going over their pool. It would be a welcome change if Tom is willing to go into the 5% area, though!

Edited Friday at 08:48 PM by Steve Lein

[twinstalker]

I don't understand why you're not doubling down on DeBarge like you are with Rodriguez.

[killercarewoliva]

On 7/23/2026 at 9:36 AM, JD-TWINS said:

Rojas is 23 & Varland is 28……..Louie was in the Minors with essentially just a fastball at age 23 (age 23-26, nothing special!…….just a sentimental favorite of Minnesotans) ……..maybe wait until Rojas gets through age 24 season before passing a black & white judgement?

Duran is fantastic, FO makes moves on Veterans often because Ownership doesn’t want to be involved with a probable Big Contract. Duran is 28 & Mick Abel is 24 ….. Tait is 19…….”prospects” don’t make an immediate impact on a club. and no, they don’t all work out.

On July 23, I don’t hear too many at TD complaining about the Jax for Bradley trade - right? Griffin Jax is 31 & Taj Bradley is 25. 

I like the Bradley trade and I have high hopes for Rojas. I think he's special and yes, Varland was just kind of average but I think he has the best iron run average in the league right now for a closer. that's a lot to lose. however, the bullpen is getting better, isn't it? yesterday is two nothing loss was a disaster

[killercarewoliva]

On 7/23/2026 at 10:01 AM, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Duran was going to be a closer for what the 26 and 27 years - the what.  Varland was not a closer for us or Toronto last year.  He was showing improvement but no one in baseball expected this year.  Relievers can be fickle,  even still it would surprise me little if he had a Joe Nathan like career.  Finding his spot at 29/30 and taking off as a closer in his late 20's.   

Varland was disappointing to lose - but I continue to say what this article is about -  We don't have Lackey if we didn't trade Varland.   Trading Varland was worth 20 million of expected value between Lackey and the next group of hitters below him.   It could very will end up being larger than that.  Yes he hasn't stepped foot on a major league field,  but even more than someone like Jenkins,  he has pedigree and he has proven it in the 2nd best baseball conference with numbers that rival Rutschman and Posey.   

As to the others we received- Bradley looks like a major win and possibly a #1.   Abel has talent and will need to see if he can maintain durability and control next year.   After that its Tait who is still a bit of a wildcard,  Rojas who has an elite arm needs control,  Roden who could be a solid outfielder,  Mendez who has an MLB bat no defensive position,  - and the rest who have shown flashes  Gallagher,  Horn, Jimenez, and Villoria.   

As a fan and watching - even with losing all that talent in the bullpen - I can legitimately say the bullpen is improving and if they can get 1 -2 more arms they may have similar production to the Twins elite bullpen of 2025 prior to the firesale (fyi they were good but not great).   

I did not think about how lackey was acquired. you know you have to look back at things and roden I'm thinking he made a number of adjustments and he still looks like he can become something great out there. but so far his batting average is still very low, but we're hopeful.

[Russ]

What are the plans for the other draftees in the minors the rest of the year