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    3 Position Players Minnesota Twins Could Select in Rule 5 Draft

    The Minnesota Twins don't currently have an open spot on their 40-man roster, but they're in a position where selecting someone in the Rule 5 Draft could make sense. Which bats could they target?
    Cody Schoenmann

    By Cody Schoenmann

    Image courtesy of © Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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    Late Tuesday afternoon, organizations had to set their 40-man rosters, forcing club decision-makers to decide which prospects to protect from Rule 5 Draft eligibility. The Minnesota Twins protected six players, bringing their 40-man reserve list to its capacity.

    All six players could impact the major-league club in some capacity next season. Yet, Minnesota could add more young, high-upside reinforcements to its roster during the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10, with hopes of them becoming immediate contributors with the parent club. Minnesota is more likely to select a young pitcher, since the easiest path to the Opening Day roster for a newcomer would be in the bullpen. However, that doesn't mean they won't target a position player. Which could they select, if the right chance arises?

    Andrew Pintar
    One of the many talking points new Twins manager Derek Shelton emphasized in his introductory press conference was that the Twins will prioritize speed and defense. Miami Marlins prospect Andrew Pintar embodies those traits. He's an above-average defensive center fielder with near-elite speed. The 24-year-old was serviceable at the plate in Triple A last season, hitting .269/.338/.384 (good for a 99 wRC+) over 384 plate appearances. He also has some pop in his bat, with a 105.4-MPH 90th-percentile exit velocity. Pintar lacks in-game power, however, as he hit only four home runs last season. His hard-hit balls had an average launch angle of 7°, much lower than the league average, so not all of his exit velocity translated into concrete value. Still, the right-handed hitting prospect is an intriguing gadget outfielder who could provide plus value in the field and on the bases. 

    Blaze Jordan
    Surprisingly, the St. Louis Cardinals elected to leave first base prospect Blaze Jordan unprotected. Jordan has received more accolades and attention than he deserves during his minor-league career, thanks to his cool-sounding name. Still, the former top Boston Red Sox prospect could develop into an above-average major leaguer, making him an intriguing candidate for the first base-deficient Twins.

    Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for left-handed pitcher Steven Matz at last season's trade deadline, the 22-year-old failed to impress his new organization, hitting .198/.242/.366 with a 53 wRC+ over 186 plate appearances with Triple-A Memphis. On the other hand, the right-handed bat generated a strong first half with Boston's Triple-A affiliate, hitting .298/.341/.480 with a 115 wRC+ over 182 plate appearances. Jordan is a solid hitter for contact with superb zone control, who also hits the ball hard. That being the case, Minnesota could be tempted to poach the right-handed hitter, with intentions of turning him into the long-term solution at the position.

    T.J. Rumfield
    Spending the better part of the past two seasons with the New York Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, Rumfield has ascended into one of the best pure hitters in the high minors, slashing .289/.372/.454 with a 120 wRC+ over a combined 1,061 plate appearances. He sported an above-average 11.9% strikeout rate last season. The 25-year-old hits for contact and power, with an above-average maximum exit velocity and near-elite zone swing rates.

    The left-handed hitting first baseman pulls the ball in the air a lot, a skillset understandably preached by the Yankees' hitting development staff. Still, given how often he makes hard contact, his extreme pull profile would translate well to Target Field. Minnesota is in dire need of young hitting talent. Rumfield is arguably the most talented hitter Minnesota could add to its 40-man roster, while playing a position of need. The Twins haven't selected a position player in the Rule 5 Draft since Alejandro Machado in 2006. Yet, Rumfield possesses an intriguing enough skill set that the front office should consider breaking the 19-year trend.

     

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    Elliot

    Elliot 258

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Not a fan of choosing any of them.  The Twins biggest challenge with everyday players is balancing the hoped for promotions of potentintially good two way players (Jenkins, ERod, Gonzalez, Culpepper, ...), against givng up on Larnach, Wallner, and others who have proven their modest ability to hit at the MLB level. My guess is that we would be thrilled with either of the Rule 5 1B options if they put up numbers  similar to either 2025 Larnach or Wallner. 

    My suggestion - give both Larnach and Wallner a first base glove and have they take hundreds of groundballs and throws at 1B daily over the winter.  Since neither is a particularily good defensive OFer, this could help extend their career either with the Twins or elsewhare.  Moving one of them to first would open up an OF spot for one of the young guys, which should be an immediate defensive upgrade.

    I am a big believer in the idea that any player wirh even a moderate level of baseball skill and ability can become an adequate first baseman. It is really a question of effort and committmenht. Gold glove performance is more of a natural skill issue, but of all of the defensive positions, first base is the one where you can be fine with "just adequate".

    NOTE - Trevor Larnach is for me, the biggest gap between what I think he should be as a hitter by just watching him, and what he actually is in terms of results.  A little bit like Jason Kubel. Smooth controlled swing, good balance, no apparent holes. Should produce decent BA along with OK power.  Wallner looks like what you get.  Big long swing, lots of power, lots of holes, lots of strikeouts. Low batting average. Either one could end up making us look bad by suceeding elsewhere.

    Trov

    Trov 4,797

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Normally I am a big no on position player rule 5 picks, but the 2 first basemen would be interesting.  First, we need a first baseman and no one has jumped out as a clear front runner.  Clemons is the guy penciled in, but he really is not a good hitter in his career and outside of a couple of hot stretches he really was not with the Twins last year either.

    Between the 2 I would push for Blaze, mainly due to him being younger. His K to BB ratio has gotten better, and he could still have development.  Neither can run much nor are they known to field well.  Blaze was known to be a huge power kid, only to have less in pro ball, but I bet as he gets older the power may return.  

    He could be an interesting try at 1st this year, being no one is running away with it. What do we have to lose? 

    Cody Schoenmann

    Cody Schoenmann 1,458

  • Twins Daily Contributor

    • Posted (edited)

    14 hours ago, Chembry said:

    Roden played 1B in college and summer ball between college seasons.  He played more games at first in college than any other single position.

    he's a plus defender at positions higher on the defensive spectrum. he would provide less value starting at first base than he would in left field or right field. 

    Edited by Cody Schoenmann
    Chembry

    Chembry 563

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    3 minutes ago, Cody Schoenmann said:

    he's a plus defender at positions higher on the defensive spectrum. he would provide less value starting at first base than he would in left field or right field. 

    I agree with you and I continually state that fact to many of the people here on TD. Especially to ones who are ready to cut Roden after 12G in a Twins uniform and 55G overall in MLB.

    My preference would be to trade for a 1B prospect or sign a FA.  If we go the FA route, Lowe would be my preference over any other current FA (other than Alonso, but that isn't happening) 

    However, we have a surplus of OF bats and Kody Clemens as the current starter at 1B.  The argument could be made that if Emmanuel Rodriguez (or someone else) pushes his way onto the roster out of spring, another OF bat could be moved around to accommodate if necessary.  The most likely of those in the current OF picture would be Roden, because he has experience at 1B. That frees up Clemens to step into the utility role where he is much better suited.  Wallner or Larnach will never be a 1B, much to the dismay of many here on TD.    

    The Twins must improve both their offense and defense.  The goal is to put the best 9 bats in the lineup without sacrificing defense.  With the surplus of OF bats, and the potential upside to many of those bats, that may require some positional flexibility, like moving Roden to 1B to put the best lineup on the field on a daily basis.    

    LyleCole

    LyleCole 127

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    On 11/24/2025 at 8:01 AM, DJL44 said:

    The guy who didn’t improve this season repeating AAA?

    The guy had a .825 and .826 OPS at AAA.   Hit more than 25 doubles and more than 15 home runs in both opportunities.  I like his 70-118 BB to K ratio which shows a reasonable level of professional at bats.   

    He actually had better AAA statistics than any at the lower minors but has always posted solid OBP.  Not sure if the increased slugging is a ball park impact (Scranton Willkes-Barre).

    When I look at the Twins roster I do not see real first base prospects with power potential.  

    So I am taking this dude in the Rule V draft, paying the $100,000 and plugging him in for 80-100 games as the first baseman.   If he can't play, just return him and it cost $50k.  If he shows some promise, then perhaps we have found an option at the position we can move forward with.

    Remember, wins and losses really do not count.  Developing players to go into the future does.   

    DJL44

    DJL44 16,605

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    11 minutes ago, LyleCole said:

    The guy had a .825 and .826 OPS at AAA.   Hit more than 25 doubles and more than 15 home runs in both opportunities.  I like his 70-118 BB to K ratio which shows a reasonable level of professional at bats.   

    He actually had better AAA statistics than any at the lower minors but has always posted solid OBP.  Not sure if the increased slugging is a ball park impact (Scranton Willkes-Barre).

    When I look at the Twins roster I do not see real first base prospects with power potential.  

    So I am taking this dude in the Rule V draft, paying the $100,000 and plugging him in for 80-100 games as the first baseman.   If he can't play, just return him and it cost $50k.  If he shows some promise, then perhaps we have found an option at the position we can move forward with.

    Remember, wins and losses really do not count.  Developing players to go into the future does.   

    There are at least a dozen major and minor league free agent first basemen with more impressive stats than an 825 OPS in AAA.

    ashbury

    ashbury 60,775

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    On 11/23/2025 at 11:41 AM, twinstalker said:

    There must be something wrong with Blaze Jordan.

    His slash, age, and K rate project well.   He struggled at AAA after the trade, but he'd hit well AAA for Boston.  He was 22 with a .928 ops and 11% K rate at AA and Bos AAA was .820 and 10.5%.  His K rate after the trade AAA was 12% with a low BABIP.  Nothing says star or anything, but he should be a legit player, unless...

    ...there are other issues we don't know about.  It could be as simple as defense, it could be extracurricular stuff, I suppose.  

    Pintar strikes out way too much for his age and level.  Rumfield simply hasn't hit well enough for age/level in those Yankee bandboxes.

    Blaze is interesting but a Rule V has to start and end in the majors.  He's not ready, so we'll see if the Twins have totally given in to the mockery of what they've become.

    I like this line of thinking with regard to Blaze Jordan, and for me his age makes the difference compared to the other candidates mentioned.  I'd look askance at his hitting after his trade, except that the steep drop in output comes based on a steep drop in BABIP to below .200 (rather than earlier success being built on .400), as you pointed out.  I could see him being MLB-ready right now, and with headroom to grow into a real asset at 1B by his second year of experience.  I truly don't know why the Cards would trade for somebody they knew they'd have to protect, and let two months of output dissuade them.

    Two qualms, which are along the lines you raised as to "something wrong" . 1) His defense seems below par but the scouting report at mlb.com shows him with soft hands but poor range, and maybe the Twins' 1B miracle workers can do something to improve his ability to go get the balls hit toward him.  2) He was a child prodigy, garnering attention at age 11 and winning longball competitions at an early age.  Is that a problem?  Probably not, but I would rely on my scouting staff to sniff out any signs of bad makeup in the kid's approach with coaches and/or teammates.

    He'd be a risky pick, but any good Rule-5 player will be, because guys with high ceilings and also high floors are already protected on someone's 40-man.  Given my low expectations for the Twins' chances in 2026, I'd go with a "fun" pick in the Rule-5.

    I'd also go for fun by taking a Rule-5 pitcher, and I'm not sure whether I'd pick one of those first and gamble that the hitter I want will be waiting for me in Round 2, or take Jordan and then go with whichever pitcher I liked best among the second-round remnants.

    Riverbrian

    Riverbrian 42,821

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    11 hours ago, ashbury said:

    I like this line of thinking with regard to Blaze Jordan, and for me his age makes the difference compared to the other candidates mentioned.  I'd look askance at his hitting after his trade, except that the steep drop in output comes based on a steep drop in BABIP to below .200 (rather than earlier success being built on .400), as you pointed out.  I could see him being MLB-ready right now, and with headroom to grow into a real asset at 1B by his second year of experience.  I truly don't know why the Cards would trade for somebody they knew they'd have to protect, and let two months of output dissuade them.

    Two qualms, which are along the lines you raised as to "something wrong" . 1) His defense seems below par but the scouting report at mlb.com shows him with soft hands but poor range, and maybe the Twins' 1B miracle workers can do something to improve his ability to go get the balls hit toward him.  2) He was a child prodigy, garnering attention at age 11 and winning longball competitions at an early age.  Is that a problem?  Probably not, but I would rely on my scouting staff to sniff out any signs of bad makeup in the kid's approach with coaches and/or teammates.

    He'd be a risky pick, but any good Rule-5 player will be, because guys with high ceilings and also high floors are already protected on someone's 40-man.  Given my low expectations for the Twins' chances in 2026, I'd go with a "fun" pick in the Rule-5.

    I'd also go for fun by taking a Rule-5 pitcher, and I'm not sure whether I'd pick one of those first and gamble that the hitter I want will be waiting for me in Round 2, or take Jordan and then go with whichever pitcher I liked best among the second-round remnants.

    I don't know anything about Jordan or Rumfield so I won't advocate one or the other.

    I'll just repeat what MLR said "If ever there was a year".

    The current condition of our 1B depth chart is almost impossible to achieve and it should be studied at Ivy league universities. 

    The addition of Jordan would most likely cost us Julien or Clemens because there wouldn't be 26 man room for all 3. 

    Jordon or Julien?  

     

     

    ashbury

    ashbury 60,775

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    3 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

    I don't know anything about Jordan or Rumfield so I won't advocate one or the other.

    I'll just repeat what MLR said "If ever there was a year".

    The current condition of our 1B depth chart is almost impossible to achieve and it should be studied at Ivy league universities. 

    The addition of Jordan would most likely cost us Julien or Clemens because there wouldn't be 26 man room for all 3. 

    Jordon or Julien?  

     

     

    Clemens turns 30 early next season and doesn't figure into any of my calculations - we've seen PeaK Kody and he's nothing more than a placeholder.. 

    Julien at age 26 is more of a concern.  I hadn't noticed this about him before: his OPS has never been below .800 at any level of professional ball.  Well, except the majors, both of the past two seasons.  One of Bill James's fundamental contributions was to demonstrate that minor league stats have good predictive value.  He didn't have the 2020s Minnesota Twins to study, though.

    So I take back my recommendation to replace either of these players with 23-year old Blaze Jordan.  He's probably a nice enough young fellow, and doesn't deserve to be dragged into this toxic environment. 

     

    Sjoski

    Sjoski 695

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    You said:

    "The Twins haven't selected a position player in the Rule 5 Draft since Alejandro Machado in 2006.:

    Where did all theses other guys come from then?

    2008 – Jason Jones – 0 games

     

    2010 – Scott Diamond – 59 games

     

    2011 – Terry Doyle – 0 games

     

    2012 – Ryan Pressly – 281 games

     

    2014 – J.R. Graham – 40 games

     

    2016 – Miguel Diaz – 0 games

     

    2017 – Tyler Kinley – 4 games

     

     

    ashbury

    ashbury 60,775

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    2 hours ago, Sjoski said:

    You said:

    "The Twins haven't selected a position player in the Rule 5 Draft since Alejandro Machado in 2006.:

    Where did all theses other guys come from then?

    2008 – Jason Jones – 0 games

    2010 – Scott Diamond – 59 games

    2011 – Terry Doyle – 0 games

    2012 – Ryan Pressly – 281 games

    2014 – J.R. Graham – 40 games

    2016 – Miguel Diaz – 0 games

    2017 – Tyler Kinley – 4 games

    I think everyone you mentioned was a pitcher.  Check the line you quoted, again: it specifies position players.

    jorgenswest

    jorgenswest 10,637

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    On 11/23/2025 at 2:17 PM, Mike Sixel said:

    Huh. I was led to believe he had experience there! My bad

    That is on me.

    He is a pretty good defensive outfielder. That may be the reason he hasn’t played there much in the minors. It is hard to find good defensive outfielders. He did play there 39 games for Creighton and 11 games in summer.

    Here is an excerpt scouting report heading into the 2022 draft

    Quote

    Defensively, Roden possesses position versatility. In high school, Roden was a catcher his first three years before playing shortstop his senior year. Roden split time at first base and the corner outfield spots the last two years at Creighton.

    Roden is a respectable defender at first base and in the outfield. He has the range and arm strength to play the outfield in pro ball. 

     



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