Can The Twins Trust Their Three Rookies In 2027?

mikelink45 · 2026-10-31T14:41:34Z

Rodriguez has not gained my trust but the other two have. ST will sort them out.

terrydactyls · 2026-10-31T14:41:39Z

If the Twins do not trust these three players, they will be in horrible shape for 2027. Welcome back Tristan Gray and Ryan Kreidler. Brooks Lee goes back to SS and Royce Lewis covers 3B. Is James Outman still available?

Linus · 2026-10-31T14:50:05Z

They have to - they have no other reasonable choice. In a way it gives me comfort in that they are finally headed in a productive direction and I don’t see the FO being able to screw this particular piece up.

Andy MacPhail · 2026-10-31T14:53:26Z

You put in the right order. Culpepper should step in & contribute. Jenkins was developed right; he might have his up & downs & wonder about his ability to stay on the field as well as Emma. I like Emma best as Buxton back up, but how his hitting translates in MLB is questionable. In the MiLB, he may think he doesn't need to change but, in the MLB, he'll need to see that he'll need to adapt. He can be a force once he does.

DataNerd · 2026-10-31T14:54:09Z

I don't think trust is the right word, but we are not currently a great team and hoping these guys turn out is easily our best shot at being a WS team in the next few years.

Patzky · 2026-10-31T15:01:52Z

5 minutes ago, DataNerd said:

I don't think trust is the right word, but we are not currently a great team and hoping these guys turn out is easily our best shot at being a WS team in the next few years.

I'd say trust but verify. Our experience has been that they will not succeed based on the experience with Wallner, Miranda, Julien, Kirilloff. But there is not actual connection between any of these players. I'm hopeful but these are the questions that we need to ask as Twins fans. What plan B will we have in place?

NYCTK · 2026-10-31T15:10:54Z

27 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Rodriguez has not gained my trust but the other two have. ST will sort them out.

I will never "trust" any player with a 30%+ strikeout rate, because the wild swings in production will be infuriating. But unlike Wallner, at least he can play defense. So worst case scenario, he's a competent 4th OF. I don't see him as a building block but happy to see him get playing time.

I like the other two rookies though!

SE23 · 2026-10-31T15:12:19Z

Having no options left, Emma's status is the most awkward of the 3. But we have enough roster flexibility to sit him down if he scuffles at times. As someone said above, he'll need to make adjustments on the fly. He has less margin of error than the other 2, who can be sent to St Paul for reset as necessary.

Nashvilletwin · 2026-10-31T15:20:59Z

The question is not if the Twins can trust these three rookies; rather, the real question is will they stick with them and invest in them through the entire year.

They are rookies - they will stink from time to time and possibly over some relatively long stretches. But will the coaching staff and front office go delusional again and mess up their continual development or will they stay with the plan to build for the future?

The single biggest issue/failure with the Twins organization over the past decade has been transitioning young proven minor league talent into every day average or above major leaguers. These three players - and you can throw Houston and eventually Lackey (and Lee and Keaschall to a certain extent as they are not out of the woods yet) in there as well - are the future of this team as a contender over the next five years. They can’t afford to take a short term point of view in what will likely be a truncated season anyway.

thelanges5 · 2026-10-31T15:40:49Z

The weak*** AL Central had Tom chasing “meaningful” games and buying at the deadline. I understand that injuries also played a part, but would’ve liked to have given these guys some more time in the MLB.

LA Vikes Fan · 2026-10-31T15:49:08Z

I think the most likely result is that Culpepper and Jenkins are everyday players at the start of the year, with Emma competing with Alan Roden for playing time. A lot depends on when Buxton will be ready to play. It may not be until next May, so that would give them a month to really sort through this during the regular season. The other possibility is that Roden could and probably should learn to play 1B. Let’s all remember that offensively Roden had the best year of all four in roughly the same number of at bats. All very small sample sizes of course, but I think the Twins will give him a shot to win a job and at least give him a roster spot, especially since he has so far been able to hit left-handed pitching. I would love to see him compete for the 1B job, especially if they plan to leave Clemens at 2B.

Rod Carews Birthday · 2026-10-31T15:54:54Z

It seems entirely reasonable to give all three of these guys an extended look. The sample size so far means very little, and all of them (even Emma) have shown flashes of being very good. Investing the time and energy into these three is an excellent use of resources. If everything goes well for them, we might be threatening for a playoff spot. If it goes poorly, we are no worse off than we were this year.

PLEASE do not sign or trade for an outfielder!

MapleGroveTwinsFan · 2026-10-31T15:54:56Z

41 minutes ago, Patzky said:

I'd say trust but verify. Our experience has been that they will not succeed based on the experience with Wallner, Miranda, Julien, Kirilloff. But there is not actual connection between any of these players. I'm hopeful but these are the questions that we need to ask as Twins fans. What plan B will we have in place?

The biggest difference in this group compared to the last group is age (including Keashall), All these guys are actually young, (AK was only 23 and improving until the injury) the rest were all 24 or older when they debuted, and regardless how much hope people have on this site about older guys figuring it out, the probability is still very, very low that guys trying to figure it out in the majors (with little or no options) during theiir prime years turn out to be anything more than a platoon or depth, compared to guys with the skills to be trying to figure it out in their earlier 20's. All three of these guys will likely struggle this year at times, but the hope should be that 1 turns into an all star type player, one is better than average major league player and third sticks around as depth until his controlled years end. And the next couple of prospects continue to fill in.

Mike Sixel · 2026-10-31T16:00:51Z

Why wouldn't they? The best run teams would. Is this a real question?

tony&rodney · 2026-10-31T16:03:04Z

50 minutes ago, Patzky said:

I'd say trust but verify. Our experience has been that they will not succeed based on the experience with Wallner, Miranda, Julien, Kirilloff. But there is not actual connection between any of these players. I'm hopeful but these are the questions that we need to ask as Twins fans. What plan B will we have in place?

None of Wallner, Miranda, Julien, or Kirilloff owned a glove or were very capable running. We can add Larnach to that list. We can have more confidence in this group athletically.

It is possible that not all of the rookies will be regulars when the dust settles. However, as noted above the Twins have no choice but to play these guys. I would add Marek Houston asap. It seems like the best idea to let them play. I would suggest that the Twins need to add a free agent like Brandon Lowe. The rookies cannot be the only plan.

Galen · 2026-10-31T16:10:03Z

Ya gotta trust somebody

dxpavelka · 2026-10-31T16:16:44Z

Sadly, not only CAN they trust them, but by not calling them all up months earlier in 2026 than they did, they have put themselves in a position where they MUST trust them in 2027. After the bloodletting at the 2025 trade deadline 2026 SHOULD have been about seeing what as many young guys as possible were capable of doing at the big league level. The headline proposes a trick question. The issue is that they will be rookies in 2027. These three guys should have used up their rookie status early in the 2026 season. It is very frustrating that this team so seldom finds itself in the position of having players perform at a high level in the big leagues at an early age. How fun would it be to go out to the ballpark and see a Kevin McGonigle or Konnor Griffin or JJ Wetherholt or Jacob Misiorowski or Parker Messick or Roman Anthony or Nick Kurtz or Drake Baldwin wearing the HOME jersey rather than the other jersey? I don't know what it is about coaches (not just the Twins) in this town, that they are never able to trust a rookie. Every single coach / manager in this town if asked to trust a young player gets that look on his face like he has ten seconds to take a dump and he's twenty seconds from the closest s@!#@!

Richie the Rally Goat · 2026-10-31T16:26:43Z

7 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

Sadly, not only CAN they trust them, but by not calling them all up months earlier in 2026 than they did, they have put themselves in a position where they MUST trust them in 2027. After the bloodletting at the 2025 trade deadline 2026 SHOULD have been about seeing what as many young guys as possible were capable of doing at the big league level. The headline proposes a trick question. The issue is that they will be rookies in 2027. These three guys should have used up their rookie status early in the 2026 season. It is very frustrating that this team so seldom finds itself in the position of having players perform at a high level in the big leagues at an early age. How fun would it be to go out to the ballpark and see a Kevin McGonigle or Konnor Griffin or JJ Wetherholt or Jacob Misiorowski or Parker Messick or Roman Anthony or Nick Kurtz or Drake Baldwin wearing the HOME jersey rather than the other jersey? I don't know what it is about coaches (not just the Twins) in this town, that they are never able to trust a rookie. Every single coach / manager in this town if asked to trust a young player gets that look on his face like he has ten seconds to take a dump and he's twenty seconds from the closest s@!#@!

Can they? Yup

Should they? Its debatable because the FO painted themselves into a corner with their dithering. What a waste of two seasons in 2025 and 2026!

SE23 · 2026-10-31T16:34:08Z

23 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

None of Wallner, Miranda, Julien, or Kirilloff owned a glove or were very capable running. We can add Larnach to that list. We can have more confidence in this group athletically.

It is possible that not all of the rookies will be regulars when the dust settles. However, as noted above the Twins have no choice but to play these guys. I would add Marek Houston asap. It seems like the best idea to let them play. I would suggest that the Twins need to add a free agent like Brandon Lowe. The rookies cannot be the only plan.

Putting a veteran presence and big bat like Lowe in the middle of this young lineup is important. He can carry his weight defensively as well.

LastOnePicked · 2026-10-31T16:36:46Z

17 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

How fun would it be to go out to the ballpark and see a Kevin McGonigle or Konnor Griffin or JJ Wetherholt or Jacob Misiorowski or Parker Messick or Roman Anthony or Nick Kurtz or Drake Baldwin wearing the HOME jersey rather than the other jersey?

The fact that this team hasn't produced a Rookie of the Year in over 30 years is a sign of their deep developmental problems. Smaller-market teams should be producing these candidates at far higher rates.

MeleMouth · 2026-10-31T16:37:30Z

There is no such thing as "trusting" a baseball player, or at least it's very rare.

Kirby Puckett is probably the last Minnesota Twin that, at the beginning of a season, could be "trusted" to stay healthy and put up good numbers, but even he, at this time of the year after his last season, could not be "trusted, because he suffered an unexpected illness that ended his career at the end of the next spring training, when he had been playing great.

Right now, these three players should be considered the starters at their positions in spring training. They should hold their jobs as long as they are playing adequately or demonstrating progress.

However, all three of them have injury histories and have had runs of inadequate performance. Certainly, if healthy, they are probably the most talented players in the organization at their positions, but that does not mean that future performance can be "trusted."

To the people who think the team's pattern of giving opportunity to mediocre veterans instead of young players is a problem, I agree with you, but that problem is not one of trust. Instead, it's an effort by management to avoid blame if things go wrong. In traditional organizations, if something goes wrong while playing veterans, the ready-made story is to blame the veterans - "they've done it before, but they let us down this year" - but if something goes wrong while playing rookies, the instinct is to blame the person who decided to play the untested players.

LastOnePicked · 2026-10-31T16:57:40Z

The single biggest issue is this: get a staff who can help them avoid serious injuries. Work with Rodriguez on sliding. Work wth Jenkins on throwing. Stop throwing young players out of position just because you need a roster stopgap.

They all have real talent. They've entered an organization with about the worst track record in MLB for prospect development. Hopefully, Shelton and his staff can make some adjustments to the approach.

GNess · 2026-10-31T17:05:24Z

Up to a point what other reasonable choice do they have? If the top draftees aren't worth an extended look it brings the entire scouting/evaluation operation into question. Plus, optimistically all three seem to have some legit promise.

jimmyc · 2026-10-31T18:00:57Z

Yes

HerbieFan · 2026-10-31T18:06:45Z

I'd much rather watch all 3 go through the growing pains of adjusting to the big leagues than watching the dregs we've seen fill roster spots in the past. Ryan Kreidler is a pro, just not a very good one. Guys like Tristan Gray are exactly who they are. With all due respect I don't want to see any of those types occupying roster spots. It's time for the kids.

Parfigliano · 2026-10-31T18:09:36Z

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

If the Twins do not trust these three players, they will be in horrible shape for 2027. Welcome back Tristan Gray and Ryan Kreidler. Brooks Lee goes back to SS and Royce Lewis covers 3B. Is James Outman still available?

Manny Margot or bust.

weitz41 · 2026-10-31T18:13:57Z

3 hours ago, Linus said:

They have to - they have no other reasonable choice. In a way it gives me comfort in that they are finally headed in a productive direction and I don’t see the FO being able to screw this particular piece up.

You underestimate the power of the dark side...

Mike Sixel · 2026-10-31T18:27:25Z

1 hour ago, SE23 said:

Putting a veteran presence and big bat like Lowe in the middle of this young lineup is important. He can carry his weight defensively as well.

Buxton, Lee, Lewis, the catchers, Clemens are plenty of veteran leadership. Now, talent, yes. But this idea the Twins are young just isn't true.

Rod Carews Birthday · 2026-10-31T18:55:08Z

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

None of Wallner, Miranda, Julien, or Kirilloff owned a glove or were very capable running. We can add Larnach to that list. We can have more confidence in this group athletically.

Maybe I am alone on this, but who would have thought that of those five players, Larnach would have the best career as a Twin? I certainly wouldn't have!

gman · 2026-10-31T19:05:48Z

I think the real question is can the staff work with the young guys to integrate them into the big league club. The previous major league staffs seemed to have real problems in bringing on rookies. They haven't drafted nor developed particularly well. If the Twins are going to ever have future success they need to solve their draft and developmental process problems.

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