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    Three Players We Wish We'd Seen More Of In 2026

    The 2026 Twins’ season was unsuccessful, but we at least got to see some potential future pieces. Unfortunately, there were a few players we wish we’d seen more of.
    Cody Pirkl

    By Cody Pirkl

    Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

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    Despite hanging around in a historically bad AL Central for a good chunk of the season, much of 2026 felt as though the biggest goal was taking steps toward determining the next core of the Minnesota Twins' roster. While we saw steps toward this goal, it felt like we missed out on seeing the full potential of several players who could be a part of the next competitive Twins’ team. There are three players in particular we wish we’d seen more of in 2026.

    Mick Abel

    After surprisingly winning an opening-day roster spot, Mick Abel flashed his dominant stuff for a brief period before being shut down by an elbow injury for the remainder of the season. His last start on April 14 was seven shutout innings with 10 Ks against Boston. The Twins hoped Abel could be a future rotation piece, with his performance the biggest question mark. Now, health will be a factor moving forward as well.
    The good news is that Abel is on track to be fully healthy for the start of 2027, and he should have every opportunity to open the season in the rotation. If he can reach his ceiling of a playoff-caliber starting pitcher, the Twins' rotation would be the strength of the team next season. It would also make the Jhoan Durán trade look much better, considering former top prospect Eduardo Tait, with whom Abel was acquired, has had a very disappointing tenure so far in the Twins’ organization.

    Alan Roden

    It’s hard to say what Alan Roden’s role will be with the Twins moving forward, or even whether he’ll remain with the team through the offseason at all. After he was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline, the team seemed to believe in his on-base ability and defense in the corner outfield, but injuries may have disrupted their plans for him, and his left-handedness at the plate makes him an odd fit for the roster. Though he posted fewer than 100 plate appearances at the MLB level this season, his production was encouraging, and his skillset should be useful to the Twins if they can fit him on the roster.
    Alan Roden is barely more of a known commodity than much younger players like Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins. He has fewer than 250 MLB plate appearances as a soon-to-be 27-year-old, and he’ll be competing with several top prospects for playing time who play the same position and also hit left-handed. He has a history of playing first base, a position the team doesn’t have any immediate answers at. Still, his offensive profile doesn’t fit that of your typical corner infielder, and it’s unclear whether his bat can meet the higher standards of a position at the bottom of the defensive spectrum. It would be nice to have more data on Roden at the MLB level at this point in his career.

    Emmanuel Rodriguez 

    We likely would have seen Rodriguez much earlier this season, but injuries once again prevented him from playing anything close to a full season. He has yet to appear in even 100 games in a single season and was healthy for just 71 between the minor and major leagues in 2026. His swing-and-miss profile is still a red flag at the MLB level, but his plate discipline and ability to impact the baseball showed up in his brief 13-game debut.
    Rodriguez is out of options in 2027, meaning he is essentially a lock to make the opening day roster. There’s no denying his talent, but consistency will be the big question in 2027, both in his ability to stay on the field and in making enough contact at the plate. It would be great to have a better idea of what to expect from Rodriguez next season, as giving him more time in St. Paul will not be an option. Instead, the Twins will have to count on Rodriguez to keep himself afloat, with little data to support their hopes.
     
    It would be nice if the Twins missing the playoffs yet again in 2026 came with more clarity on some of their potential future contributors. While we did see some positive developments and questions about the future answered, there were certainly a handful of players we’d have liked more answers on. Are there any other players you’d have liked to see more from in 2026? Let us know below!
    Cody Pirkl is a Twins Writer for Twins Daily and lover of all things baseball.
    Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter: CodyPirkl
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    MapleGroveTwinsFan

    MapleGroveTwinsFan 226

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    26 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

    Roden's low point of the season was after 37 AB's on July 30 producing a .451 OPS.

    I will continue to insist that he looked good struggling. Not chasing... making contact. From there... that looking good while struggling turned into looking good and not struggling. He produced a .858 OPS in August over 28 AB's and while he was starting to roll... he was sent down.

    Called back up in late September where he got 4 more games in and had a solid 4 games. Turning that .451 OPS into a .769 over 79 AB's. 

    It's too small of a sample to be declarative but he has earned the right to be considered for a 26 man roster spot but it would take some movement of outfielders and it would take a rethinking of our platooning to clear that space. He has an option left so he doesn't have to be forced in.  

    As for bad teams in Mid August. He faced a variety of teams good and bad. Our entire team faced the same teams and he out hit the majority of them. 

    All in all... Roden looked good.   

    He did it against BALT (3/7), ATL (1/6), SD (2/3), LAA (3/5), SF(2/5), Tex (1/2), with little to no power or speed. (I remember Wallner doing something similar and being told he is one of the best hitters in the game) 

    Doesn't impress me, but he did enough to be considered depth next year. IMO I wouldn't play him over Erod, Jenkins, or Keashall. 

    Riverbrian

    Riverbrian 43,849

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    1 hour ago, MapleGroveTwinsFan said:

    He did it against BALT (3/7), ATL (1/6), SD (2/3), LAA (3/5), SF(2/5), Tex (1/2), with little to no power or speed. (I remember Wallner doing something similar and being told he is one of the best hitters in the game) 

    Doesn't impress me, but he did enough to be considered depth next year. IMO I wouldn't play him over Erod, Jenkins, or Keashall. 

    I would choose Emma, Jenkins and Keaschall as well. I'd also chose Buxton. 

    I'm just not understanding the did it against bad teams point. 

    Kirby, Wacha, Misorowski, B.Young, Baz, Perez, Mahle, Buehler and Ginn is who he faced in August and that is a nice variety of of starting pitching talent that doesn't suggest bad teams and even if it was a bad team that they pitched for... You still have a professional arm to face. 

    And even if that was a poor sample of starters with 5 plus ERA's across the board... we had hitters who were well below what he was producing against those same starters... including a couple of players that you and I both would choose over him.  

    Neither August nor September matter much to me because it's still a small sample just like his first 37 AB's of low production don't matter much to me either but... in that small sample... IMO... He earned the right to increase the sample.

    From July 31 on... He had a batting average of .380... it's easy to small sample that batting average away but hard to bad team that number away.    

    Numbers and platoon utilization will probably force him down to AAA to start 2027. 

     



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