Could Hendry Mendez Make Minnesota Twins' 2026 Opening Day Roster?

14 hours ago, NYCTK said:

I'm gonna go back to my original comment. They're good, intriguing bats. And I'm very happy to watch them grow. But they are NOT elite bats. This level of hype is why a bunch of people were shocked that Miranda sucked. 

I'm just trying to set reasonable expectations for both the players and the fans sake. 

Hendry Mendez has the potential to be a Top 50 Prospect.

The stats and the above author would disagree with you.  

He has some elite skills.  He makes contact at an elite rate and has elite plate discipline, and his exit velocity is in the 90th percentile.  That is not to say he could flame out - absolutely. In general those, individuals with those skills are the least likely to flame out.    Our closest Twins comparison would be Arraez (minus the exit velocity). The article above uses Jackson Merrill.   All 3 of Gonzalez, Mendez and Arraez have extremely similar profiles.  Elite bat to ball skills, elite plate discipline,  questionable athleticism and defensive skills.  Both Gonzalez and Mendez offer more power potential than Arraez.  

Now who would be the caveats - It would be Miranda and Martin.  In both cases, the Twins and or players tried to completely change their profile once they got to the MLB level or to the Twins organization.  Yes its great to elicit more power but not at the expense of losing their elite skills, Miranda became ultra aggressive and MLB pitchers used it against him.  Miranda completely fell apart - I largely think on the mental side.  Martin appears to have embraced and went back to what made him a great prospect.  Now I don't think either of them are the type of prospect then Mendez is.  Neither one of them had back to back years of nearly .400 OBP in the minors - nor at Mendez's age of 21.  Miranda literally had 1 elite year 2021.  Thats it.  Martin similarly had a good 2021 and previously college career.  You could also throw Lee into the mix and he is falling a bit into the same trap as Miranda,  of the ultra aggressiveness and good bat to ball skills are being used against him.   Now Mendez at this point is much less aggressive than either Lee or Miranda so likely won't fall into that trap.  If they give him balls off the plate he will let them go by rather than creating weak contact.  

My biggest complaint on the Twins from the last 5-6 years is we have lacked professional at bats.  We would often swing at the 1st or second pitch in multiple at bats.  I understand the reasoning, why its smart. We have needed more hitters in the profile of an Arraez.   There is also an aspect of taking pitches.  Mendez is excellent at working counts,  and at this point eliciting walks. Much better than Arraez ever was.   I am hoping Mendez takes the next step this offseason and next year of continuing to lift the ball more without changing the rest of his profile.   Arraez was a prospect in the teens for the Twins when he was called up.   

Moneyball is outdated.  However - the point still stands.  Higher OBP correlates to more runs scored.  Now there is a higher correlation with OPS, but we need to find the types of hitters that can truly improve this ball team.  I truly think Mendez has that type of potential.   In either case I just have a higher appreciation of him than you.  

15 hours ago, Dman said:

I don't know where you go to find a complete list, but I am such a prospect nerd I keep my own mainly based on Fangraphs info.  :Likely not complete but should give you an idea.  I think the top 6 are for sure's and you could argue Cardenas, Rosario and MaCleod belong as well, but that's a lot of names as is.

Connor Prielipp

Kendry Rojas

Andrew Morris

CJ Culpepper

John Klein

Gabriel Gonzalez

Hendry Mendez

Christian MacLeod

Kyler Fedko

Kala'I Rosario

Jose Olivaros

Noah Cardenas

Corey Lewis

Ricardo Olivar

Jaylen Nowlin

Anthony Prato

Alejandro Hidalgo

Cody Lawyeryson

Misael Urbina

Patrick Winkel

Of the top group only Klein would need be the only one not added. 
 

Next tier, Fedko Rosario and Lewis. I’m also tempted to have Lawyerson in the bullpen. I think we can protect most players initially but I do think we should consolidate some of the 40 man in trades. 

Despite the negatives on Mendez that some have posted here ( lack of speed, ground ball rate), success at AA is an important step, as that’s where a lot of prospects wash out. It’s not a guarantee of future success, but it shows potential. I do appreciate prospects who hit for high averages, have low strikeout rates, and high OPS. Mendez is 6’3” so he has the size to add more power and maybe add first base to his skill set. 

It's a good idea to move Mendez to 1B.  We have plenty of LH hitting OF's ahead of him and a dearth of prospects at the position.  Will he become Wes Parker at 1B??  Probably not, but a lack of footspeed doesn't ever bode well for an OF.

I would love to see the Twins sign or trade for a major league caliber 1B.  It's a gaping hole in their lineup and is screaming to be addressed.  Mendez needs at least an entire season at St. Paul to get familiar with 1B and to demonstrate his bat can handle AAA pitching and is trending in the right direction.  

The only way I see Mendez in a Twins uniform in 2026 is if both Wallner and Larnach are traded and injuries decimate other options.  It's quite possible these things happen, and Mendez STILL stays in St. Paul.  As I said, I'd like to see the 21 year old put an entire season together in St. Paul learning a new position and refining his hitting.  

29 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

It's a good idea to move Mendez to 1B.  We have plenty of LH hitting OF's ahead of him and a dearth of prospects at the position.  Will he become Wes Parker at 1B??  Probably not, but a lack of footspeed doesn't ever bode well for an OF.

I would love to see the Twins sign or trade for a major league caliber 1B.  It's a gaping hole in their lineup and is screaming to be addressed.  Mendez needs at least an entire season at St. Paul to get familiar with 1B and to demonstrate his bat can handle AAA pitching and is trending in the right direction.  

The only way I see Mendez in a Twins uniform in 2026 is if both Wallner and Larnach are traded and injuries decimate other options.  It's quite possible these things happen, and Mendez STILL stays in St. Paul.  As I said, I'd like to see the 21 year old put an entire season together in St. Paul learning a new position and refining his hitting.  

At this point the power profile is the only thing that is lacking.  15-25 homers a year would significantly increase his profile.  If he continues to increase his line drive and fly ball percentage - his home run rate should increase.  1st base or primary DH and as an outfield back up would be his likely position or insurance if several outfield prospects are injured or fail.  Combining that with an elite OBP would be a very good offensive profile.  

4 minutes ago, Chembry said:

 

This is only if we go the FA route for a veteran 1B.  Falvey did say in his press conference about bringing in veterans to help the team win, but that has a host of different meanings.

The question is are we trading for veterans,  or purchasing in free agency.  Then are we getting actual decent veterans in FA or the trade market or do we get to expect more bargain basement deals and Outmans.   I truly hope we will be going for players that can move the needle.  

43 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

IMO, paying $46M for Arraez over 3 years is a smart deal. 170-190 hits/yr in the 5th spot in the line-up every day sounds great. He’s a competent 1B and can shift back & forth to DH seamlessly w/o issue of team wants to groom another guy at 1B.

SD was trying to dump Arraez's salary at the start of this season and found no takers. He responded by having a 2nd consecutive poor season, and now you want to give him a long-term deal for more money? 

Sure, he'd help the offense a little with a single almost every game, but he has almost no pop in his bat, little speed, doesn't walk, and he's barely a competent 1B. Paying him $15M per season on a 3-year deal looks like a massive overpay for a player with terrible knees. But hey, he was a popular former Twin that this front office traded away, so of course we should bring him back. 🙄

At least Clemens would be cheap and can do more than just DH/1B. (still not a great solution)

Arraez is looking at deals more like what Solano used to get (adjusted for inflation): 1 year $5M. It'll be interesting to see if pride keeps him from taking one, but I don't see many teams itching to give him a multi-year deal.

Why am I not enthused when people suggest adding additional slow, defensively challenged DH's to a team full of them? It is tough to pitch if one must strike out everyone because the defense is unstable.

The Twins were healthier than most teams in 2025. The current Jeffers, Clemens, Keaschall, Lewis, Lee, Martin, Buxton, Wallner, Larnach lineup seems unlikely to win more than 75 games if all goes well, but could also be painful to watch.

The decision to trade multiple people in July would portend more moves are coming in November and forward. The Twins could benefit from upgrades. The budget is not known but it will not / should not surprise anyone if the number is near $90M including the $11M to Carlos Correa. 

Last offseason there was almost no interest in Brock's/ Twins Daily's roster build. People who did respond were grumpy about suggestions. Was that a harbinger of no hope for the future? I'm positive my thoughts and suggestions were totally meaningless but a distraction nonetheless from a world bent on replaying the 1930s. We all know our roster builds are far off, but the failure to hope seems dire. Was John Bonnes publishing a list with no moves a mistake or a prediction? I was a little surprised that all of the writers, tech folk, and owners of this site failed to participate with rosters, but I expect the idea is now dead. As merely fans it seemed like hope and searching for answers with our wild guesses maintained a flicker of hope. 

So, sure, I hope Hendry Mendez progresses in some manner. He isn't a fit on my roster  ......  yet. But, you never know.

19 hours ago, rdehring said:

You gave us a stat for AA players under 25.  Isn't he 21?  Expect that could make a difference in any comparison.  Perhaps, HUGE!

Mendez is 5 months older than Marek Houston. I don't think either one is quite ready for MLB. It is encouraging that a player the same age as recent draftees is hitting the ball in Double-A.

Duplicate

Looks like they have no worries about Rule 5 next winter unless someone they leave exposed this year takes a step forward (DeAndrade?).

28 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Or they could sign a vet 1B to a $1M minor league deal a week before spring training and make him the full-time starter again.

I am curious about the market value for Miguel Andujar.

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Why am I not enthused when people suggest adding additional slow, defensively challenged DH's to a team full of them? It is tough to pitch if one must strike out everyone because the defense is unstable.

Is he slow though - he has a 50 grade on running.   He had a .900 OPS at Wichita with a .460 OBP - for the year a .400 OBP.   The defense has been Ok but we do seem to be trying to plug people into our 1st base hole.  To me it seems we could use several good bats in the lineup.  Are you stating we have enough quality bats on the MLB team - because that seems to be the biggest concern I have heard.