Has Luke Keaschall Surpassed Emmanuel Rodriguez as Minnesota Twins' Second-Best Prospect?

Keaschall very well may jump E-Rod.  I think on offense he already has.  The fact Keaschall defense home is most likely 2nd or 1st limits his prospect status, in my opinion.  Additionally, being more ready to hit at majors does not make you a better prospect just makes you more ready. 

If E-Rod can adjust to hitting the lefties and not striking out as much at AAA then he will keep that spot, and will get a call later this year.  If though he continues to struggle against lefties and strike out at the rate he is, he will start to fall down the list and fall out of favor.  He will get a chance at some point either way, but his leash will much shorter. 

Many highlighted the risk of this happening as E-Rod moved up the levels facing better pitching.  Hopefully, now he knows adjustments he needs to make and will make them. Hopefully Keachall keeps raking and forces his way up to majors. 

Emmanuel Rodriguez has two big factors in his favor

1) He can play defense at a premium position (CF). Keaschall is only playing 2B and DH at the moment.

2) He can play a full game in the field. Keaschall is still being "ramped up" because the physical demands of playing a full 9-inning game are too much for his body.

Keaschall, defensively, is a mix of Julien's glove and Buxton's durability. I really hope that changes as he gets further into the season, but it makes him quite unlikely to help the MLB team right now.

It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is what they do for the Twins. If we were more realistic about prospects we wouldn’t have so many disappointed fans when the “can’t miss” prospect misses. 

Having watched most of the Saints games this year the only fair conclusion one can make as of today is that it is too early in the season to tear apart data and make pronouncements. Both Rodriguez and Keaschall have had good plate appearances and bad. You can add Carson McCusker in here too. They all swing and miss. If a person looks just at the numbers it can be easy to suggest weaknesses or strengths. All three guys look comfortable in the box but are also clearly in need of making adjustments due to their relative lack of experience at AAA. By June or July there may be some patterns emerging, but my opinion is that it is way too early  for judgments on these players. Check back in two months.

4 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

2B = CF in terms of positional value.

Rodriguez's rank is because his ceiling at the plate is seen as a lot higher than Keaschall's. Keaschall isn't viewed as a big MLB bat, just a potentially good one. I think the big advantage Keaschall will have at the end of the season is legitimate projectability as a viable MLB player. 

I expect Rodriguez will drop off top 100 lists this year when his K rate holds at 40% in AAA and he struggles to produce much above league average in St. Paul.

Do you think Keaschall will stick at 2B? It is rare for a college second baseman to stick at that position. Virtually all major league 2Bs start as shortstops in the minors. Most that come in as drafted as 2Bs move to a corner like 1B or LF if they have enough bat.

1 minute ago, bean5302 said:

2B = CF in terms of positional value.

No, 2B is closer to LF than CF in terms of physical tools. It means you can field grounders, but you can't throw. There is a scarcity factor in WAR because you can't have a lefthanded throwing 2B but you can have that in CF.

Regardless, they keep pulling Keaschall off the field before the game is over. If he's promoted to the Twins, who is going to play the last 3 innings of the game for him?

I think this is a slam dunk case. Not only is he a more well-rounded hitter with an impressive strikeout to walk ratio, but he seems much better in HEALTH. And for the Twins org, availability is absolutely the most important ability. I think they should look to trade Rodriguez as soon as he shows promise again. He's such a ripe candidate to flame out.

As long as Emma makes some adjustments and Keaschall ramps back to full games from Tommy John they should be pressing Gasper and Keirsey by the all-star break (hopefully sooner)

18 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

As long as Emma makes some adjustments and Keaschall ramps back to full games from Tommy John they should be pressing Gasper and Keirsey by the all-star break (hopefully sooner)

I think Gasper and Keirsey have those roles because they don't want Rodriguez and Keaschall to sit on the bench and rarely play. They don't care if Gasper or Keirsey rots on the bench for a week without any action. If we see an injury to a starter we will see someone promoted from AAA to take the starter's at-bats; Keirsey and Gasper won't get any additional playing time.

I just hope they both stay healthy and play a full season for once. We may see Keaschal if Julien stops hitting and Lee and Castro aren't cutting it. We might see Rodriguez when Buxton or Bader goes down. He is hitting.237 so I do think he needs more time in St Paul. Keaschal is probably closer to being MLB ready, especially offensively.

The scariest thing with Rodriguez right now is the lack of power at the AAA level. In his first 76 plate appearances, ZERO balls hit over the fence (with one inside-the-park fluke HR).

He ain’t going to be striking out at 15-20% in the majors…it’ll be much closer to 30% (and that’s probably optimistic). Meanwhile, major league pitchers aren’t going to be walking him at high rates if he’s not hitting home runs.

He’s coming with defensive value in the OF it looks like, still, his status as a good prospect is 100% tied to power. And, early on at AAA, he’s really struggling to find any.

11 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

They said on the broadcast yesterday that the plan is that the playing time handcuffs are coming off this week.

And the Julien/Buxton comps are pretty over the top. He had Tommy John. Buxton's durability? Really? Come on. And he's a much better defender than Julien. It takes 1 game of watching him in the field to see that. You don't have to be a professional scout to watch the 2 of them field and see that they're very different defenders.

It's an exaggeration, but it's a reality check to the people who think Keaschall needs to be promoted yesterday. He's currently a part-time 2B and part-time DH - just like Julien. He's essentially still on injury rehab, though he's doing it at the AAA level. When are the positional handcuffs coming off? When are they going to get him some reps in the outfield where he has to throw at max effort?

The defensive concerns here regarding Keaschall are way overblown. He played a lot of SS and OF in the college/amateur ranks. He was an elite wrestler in California. Elite wrestlers are quick, explosive, athletes, with very good feet. And they know how to work, and they know how to navigate pain.

He hasn’t been playing late in games for load management reasons as they ramp him up. He’s been ‘stuck’ at 2B because that’s clearly where they think the current need is.

Don’t know if he’s going to be a great second baseman at the major league level. He ain’t Julien.

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5 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Who says the reason he isn't playing OF is because of the TJS? He's thrown the ball max effort in games multiple times and has likely been throwing max effort in rehab for months. The Twins use their guys in positional ways many people disagree with. Like I disagree with them using Mike Ford at 1B to start nearly every game which pushes Yunior Severino to the OF where he has no business being which plays a role in somebody like Keaschall not being out there.

I don't see a lot of people on this particular thread saying he should be promoted yesterday. And if they disagree with him not being promoted yet I'm pretty sure they could also disagree with him being used for only 7 innings per game.

I really hope they aren't putting Keaschall at DH because they think he's worse in the OF than Yunior Severino.

40 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Who says the reason he isn't playing OF is because of the TJS?

Jeremy Zoll on Inside Twins yesterday. He will progress to back to back at second and eventually progress to the outfield where he says the arm action is different.

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

Jeremy Zoll on Inside Twins yesterday. He will progress to back to back at second and eventually progress to the outfield where he says the arm action is different.

So, he's still on injury rehab and we shouldn't expect to see him in the big leagues until that's done. My guess is that will take several weeks.

28 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Well... then yeah... It would be really questionable to call up a guy only to put him immediately on the IL. 

So you think this will happen?

JK

The Twins make some odd moves. Blewett was a pretty serviceable #8 guy for the bullpen and he proved it. The Twins were not in dire need of an arm but Blewett is gone now. I guess one can say this is unimportant and business as usual .... a parade of #8 arms will follow. Blewett was a good name to have on the team.

Back to the young bucks - check back at the end of April at the soonest.