Four Twins Who Need to Step Up in 2027

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

It was another year of coming up short for the Minnesota Twins. It’s frustrating for the players, for the fans, and certainly for ownership. Nobody wants to lose, and if things are going to change in 2027, the Twins are going to need more from their roster.

The front office can help address some of those issues this winter by adding talent to the roster. However, if this team is going to get over the hump next season, they’re primarily going to need some players already in the organization to take a step forward.

Whether it’s young players looking to establish themselves in the majors or veterans who need to get back on track, there are plenty of candidates who could make a significant difference with a strong 2027 campaign. With that in mind, here are four Twins who need to step up next season.

Connor Prielipp

Prielipp’s rookie year was filled with ups and downs. Overall, he finished with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP across 125 ⅔ innings. He also recorded 128 strikeouts against 44 walks, showing some promising traits despite the inconsistent results.

There’s reason to believe he was better than his ERA would indicate. His 3.73 FIP and 3.95 expected ERA suggest he was a bit unlucky, and there were plenty of things to like about his performance throughout the season. Both his strikeout and walk rates were better than league average, while his breaking balls consistently generated swings outside the strike zone. Those are important building blocks for a young starting pitcher, particularly one who could play a significant role in Minnesota’s rotation moving forward.

Of course, there’s still work to be done. Prielipp needs to find ways to limit hard contact and avoid putting himself in difficult situations against opposing hitters. His overall numbers suggest there’s room for improvement, and making those adjustments could go a long way toward turning him into a reliable rotation option. If he can clean up some of those issues in 2027, there’s a legitimate case to be made that he could break out next season after a highly encouraging rookie season.

The Twins have plenty of questions surrounding their rotation heading into the offseason, even with Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley and a (hopefully) healthy Pablo López. The outlook gets even cloudier after next year. Minnesota needs young starters to emerge, and a big year from Prielipp would help address one of the organization's biggest needs.

Royce Lewis

This one comes with an asterisk. There’s some uncertainty surrounding whether Lewis will even be on Minnesota’s roster when the 2027 season begins. Still, assuming he remains with the organization, there’s really no way around it: the Twins need more from him.

Lewis slashed just .227/.287/.380 this season, finishing with an uninspiring .667 OPS. That marked the second consecutive year he posted an OPS below .700, which isn't nearly good enough for a player expected to be a key part of the lineup. His underlying metrics suggest he should have been slightly better offensively, but that only goes so far. At some point, the production needs to show up on the field, and he hasn't delivered enough of it over the past two seasons.

Defensively, there's also work to be done. His long-term home isn't on the left side of the infield, and regardless of where he eventually settles, his glove hasn't been good enough to make up for his offensive shortcomings. Lewis needs to make some meaningful strides this offseason, both in terms of his approach at the plate and his overall consistency.

We've seen what he's capable of when everything is clicking, even at times this season. Lewis has the talent to be a productive hitter, and there have been stretches when he's looked like the player Minnesota envisioned when he first arrived in the majors. The problem is that the cold spells have far outweighed the hot stretches. The Twins can't afford to keep waiting for Lewis to put everything together, especially if they're serious about competing in 2027.

Whether he gets that opportunity in Minnesota remains to be seen, but if he's still wearing a Twins uniform next season, he needs to take a significant step forward.

Walker Jenkins

Jenkins' first taste of the majors this season isn't enough to draw any definitive conclusions about what kind of player he'll become, and I'm certainly not suggesting he struggled beyond repair. However, this is a player who could have a much bigger role in 2027, and the Twins are going to need him to take advantage of that opportunity.

Jenkins finished with a .226/.293/.393 slash line and a .686 OPS. Those numbers aren't particularly impressive, but there were some encouraging signs as he adjusted to major-league pitching. In particular, Jenkins appeared to get more comfortable at the plate toward the end of the season. He showed above-average discipline, giving himself a foundation to build on as he gains more experience against big league pitchers.

The next step is making more consistent hard contact. Jenkins has the tools to become an impact hitter, but he'll need to translate his approach into more productive at-bats. Being selective is important, but it won't mean much if he's not consistently driving the ball when he gets pitches to hit.

That's a natural adjustment for a young player, and there's no reason to overreact to a relatively small sample of major league plate appearances. Still, the Twins need their top prospect to continue developing if they're going to build a competitive lineup around their young core. If Jenkins can pair his plate discipline with more consistent contact and power, the sky's the limit. He's arguably the organization's most important long-term piece, and a strong rookie campaign could accelerate his development into a legitimate cornerstone.

Kendry Rojas

Rojas' first taste of the majors was similar to Prielipp's in many ways. There was plenty to like, but there were also some clear areas that need improvement before he can become a dependable piece of Minnesota's pitching staff.

The swing-and-miss stuff was evident, and he did a nice job limiting hard contact. His ERA and expected ERA both finished around 3.40, suggesting his results were largely supported by the quality of his underlying performance. The foundation is there, but it's far from complete.

Rojas struggled mightily with walks, posting a 16.9% walk rate. That's a significant problem for any pitcher, especially for someone who’s been asked to work multiple innings at a time, even if it’s not in the rotation.  He needs to find a way to improve his command and limit the free passes. The swing-and-miss ability is valuable, but consistently falling behind hitters and putting runners on base will make it difficult to turn that talent into sustained success.

Health is another major concern. Rojas appeared in just 27 games this season, splitting his time between 14 relief appearances and 13 starts. Regardless of which role the Twins ultimately envision for him, none of his upside will matter if he can't stay healthy enough to take the mound. As the saying goes, the best ability is availability.

There's immense upside with Rojas, and his early results suggest he could become an important part of Minnesota's pitching staff. However, he needs to get out of his own way, improve his control, and stay on the field long enough to realize that potential.

The Twins have plenty of work to do this offseason, and adding outside talent will be important if they want to return to contention. But the organization's path forward will also depend on the players already in the building. If Prielipp can solidify his place in the rotation, Lewis can rediscover his offensive production, Jenkins can take another step forward, and Rojas can turn his raw talent into consistent availability, Minnesota could be in a much better position next season.

None of those outcomes are guaranteed, but the potential is there. And if the Twins want 2027 to look different from the past couple of seasons, they'll need more of their own players to start delivering.

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[farmerguychris]

I want to add one - Victor Caratini.  If we can't get Jeffers back for next year - we're going to have a hole consuming $10M behind home plate for 100 games next year.  Based on his 2026 production, he's going to have to step up his game a LOT in 2027 to be close to his salary in value.

[Linus]

The premise of the article confuses me. What does Prielipp, Jenkins and Rojas have to do with Lewis. The first three are rookies who are just getting their feet wet. There are a whole bunch of mediocre vets that need to step it up a lot more than three young guys who did fine in their first taste of the bigs. 

[tony&rodney]

Will Royce Lewis wear a Twins uniform in 2027?

[mikelink45]

Who do we have that? Can energize the team. Watching the playoffs I see Jose Ramirez willing his team to win and it's contagious. On the other side I see Milwaukee with Contreras and Bauer refusing to lose and pushing the rest of the team. I suppose people will think that's Buxton but as good as he can be. He can't drive the bus. 

[Riverbrian]

5 hours ago, farmerguychris said:

I want to add one - Victor Caratini.  If we can't get Jeffers back for next year - we're going to have a hole consuming $10M behind home plate for 100 games next year.  Based on his 2026 production, he's going to have to step up his game a LOT in 2027 to be close to his salary in value.

If he wants a decent contract after this year from one of the other 29 teams.

He better step up. 

[Riverbrian]

2 hours ago, Linus said:

The premise of the article confuses me. What does Prielipp, Jenkins and Rojas have to do with Lewis. The first three are rookies who are just getting their feet wet. There are a whole bunch of mediocre vets that need to step it up a lot more than three young guys who did fine in their first taste of the bigs. 

I love a nice Mount Rushmore discussion. 

Lewis would be George Washington. 

[Riverbrian]

51 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Will Royce Lewis wear a Twins uniform in 2027?

Keep him and make him earn his job back. 

[SE23]

59 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Will Royce Lewis wear a Twins uniform in 2027?

Not if we can dupe another team into taking him off our hands.

[HarmonK03]

5 hours ago, farmerguychris said:

I want to add one - Victor Caratini.  If we can't get Jeffers back for next year - we're going to have a hole consuming $10M behind home plate for 100 games next year.  Based on his 2026 production, he's going to have to step up his game a LOT in 2027 to be close to his salary in value.

If they go into the season with Caratini as the number 1 catcher, the position will be a black hole.  There is nothing in his history that says he is a #1 catcher and will be 34 next year.  He is an overpaid backup and is another one of many Falvey head scratching signings.

[Riverbrian]

14 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Who do we have that? Can energize the team. Watching the playoffs I see Jose Ramirez willing his team to win and it's contagious. On the other side I see Milwaukee with Contreras and Bauer refusing to lose and pushing the rest of the team. I suppose people will think that's Buxton but as good as he can be. He can't drive the bus. 

We will have to wait til next year. There are no guarantees with anyone. 

Keaschall has that potential. Emma had a real good energy on that field. Young players can come up big.

Ole' Petey Halpin with .594 OPS in the regular season energized the city of Cleveland with a big blast. 

Leaders just step up and take the job.  

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

If Royce Lewis is still in a Twins uniform at the start of spring training, this offseason will be a failure. There is no excuse to keep him around anymore. 

[tony&rodney]

25 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Keep him and make him earn his job back. 

So Lewis becomes the 13th guy but gets more time than previous end-of-bench fellas, maybe playing 2-3 times per week? If he outplays his replacement by a good bit, he gets more and more time? Regular playing time in June if he suddenly blossoms?

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

So Lewis becomes the 13th guy but gets more time than previous end-of-bench fellas, maybe playing 2-3 times per week? If he outplays his replacement by a good bit, he gets more and more time? Regular playing time in June if he suddenly blossoms?

Something like that. I don't want to attach numbers like 13th guy but let's call Royce the 5th infielder. He has to earn a job back. He can compete at 1B, 2B and 3B but we got to sign a good 1B.

His role is still important because... I'll bet anyone money that we will either have injury from those 3 positions or/and somebody at those positions will struggle. 

That's 3 positions and 4 players. He could play 3 out of 4 games if he earns it. He could play 9 out of 10 games if he hits like the Lewis that was promised to us. If he becomes a guy that truly can't be replaced and you can play him like he can't be replaced. I'm tired of players hitting like Lewis and the manager acting like they can't be taken out of the lineup.  

If he doesn't... if he continues to struggle. He could play 1 out of 4. 

Whoever is winning the job gets the job. 

If the front office decides to take those 4 starting pitchers and go for it. They can't put Royce's name down at 1B and hope he does something with no safety net. Let's make him the safety net. A good 1B via trade or a free agency signing needs to be the top off-season priority. 

You can't trade him now at his value. He showed us what he could do when he started. You gotta make him get it back. You don't get anything back in a trade.

After he hits 40 home runs with the Rockies. Twinsdaily would tear Zoll apart. 

You gotta try. Just not force it this time. 

[stringer bell]

I think fifth infielder is about what Lewis has "earned" with his performance in the last two years. He's still young enough, cheap enough and seems to have the talent to be more than he has been in '25-'26. 

Adding an infielder for either first or second would be what I would be looking for. Kody Clemens' performance the past two years has been decent and he probably merits playing time either at first or second at least to start the season. 

The Twins didn't have many infield injuries in 2026. It would be expected that they would have more in the coming season even with a younger roster, so being the fifth infielder may well get more playing time.

Willi Castro was a backup infielder and outfielder in 2023 and ended up with near-regular at-bats. Several other guys without defined playing time never really did enough to move off that role. Giving a 27 year old Lewis a last chance to show his talent at about $5M is wise in my book.

[LastOnePicked]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Who do we have that? Can energize the team.

No one yet. This organization needs to build a winning culture. But that can't happen until the younger players see this team do something other than step on rakes from August-September.