Luke Keaschall is Already Among Baseball’s Best Second-Base Prospects

Fun to be optimistic about a position of need in the organization.

I would expect at least a half season in AAA before he would get serious consideration as a call up.  The team will probably be a little cautious early on with the knee.  Give him few months to show he is healthy and ready for the grind.  Of course he he could force the issue by his play.

In 2023 there were a only a few occasions when I managed to watch Keaschall's plate appearances, not enough to really jump in on his abilities. Last season, again using milb.com, I watched a bunch of plate appearances by Keaschall. From the start of the season there was a marked difference in his approach and ability to control his at bats that separated him from his peers. The swing is strong and quick and he drives the ball. I'm guessing one of the factors that scouts like about Keaschall is how much he has improved with swing decisions. The guy adapts quickly. By last July I was sure that Keaschall was a top prospect, right there with Jenkins and Rodriguez. It was no surprise to me when a number of teams made attempts at the trade deadline to pilfer Keaschall from the Twins. Obviously, experience is a need and Luke's position as a defender is still uncertain. Luke had a mediocre reputation as a defensive infielder in college. He looked pretty athletic at first base last season but was playing there due to his arm injury. The call for a RH OF/2B/1B is right there, Luke Keaschall. Memorial Day starter?

12 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The team will probably be a little cautious early on with the knee.

TJ I believe and already fully healed. The Twins will initially have him ramp up slowly in February and the beginning of March. All restrictions should be removed by April.

They should get him comfortable at first and second base as those are the weakest of the Twins positions. Hoping he is healthy this year and forces the twins hand by raking at AAA:)

Love this kid.  Also, believe that Lee, Lewis and Keaschall will be huge for the Twins for many years.

Biggest question is who's on first, second, etc?  My question is can any of them play shortstop?  Well?

14 minutes ago, rdehring said:

My question is can any of them play shortstop?  Well?

No. Lee would cover the position more or less in a similar fashion to Willi Castro. The Twins are pinned to Carlos Correa; they need him to play 130+ games.

I watched a lot of his AB's last season, reminds me a lot of my all time favorite twin Lew Ford. Smart ABs smooth swing, hoping he can be half as good as Sweet Swingin' Lewy 

1 hour ago, Karbo said:

It looks to me like the Twins have a potentially potent IF for the future. I would like to see an IF shuffle though. I would think about moving Lewis to 1st, Correa to 3rd, Lee to ss, and Keaschall at 2nd. Of course this probably wouldn't fly with either Lewis or Correa.

If keaschall is thought to be that good - how about we trade Lee

Keashall has turned out to be a very good draft acquisition  , he's a hitter first , but isn't a defensive liability at second , 1st base or in the outfield , sounds like a gem but time will tell , I would love to see him in a twins uniform in 2025 if he has earned it ...

We need hitters and if FO trades this prospect , I don't know  , I may come unglued  ...

23 minutes ago, mickster said:

If keaschall is thought to be that good - how about we trade Lee

Wasn't Lee "thought to be that good"? We seem to have tons of "the next...." prospects. How many have panned out?

An 832 OPS in AA says he's not quite ready. That would be equivalent to an OPS in the low 600s in MLB. It's probably going to take another year before he's ready for a callup.

8 minutes ago, Original_JB said:

Wasn't Lee "thought to be that good"? We seem to have tons of "the next...." prospects. How many have panned out?

Brooks Lee was and is valued for his high baseball IQ and solid floor as an expected regular who may/should provide above average defense at third base. He never impacted the ball with his swing like Keaschall. They are different players and not really good as comparisons.

37 minutes ago, mickster said:

If keaschall is thought to be that good - how about we trade Lee

Trading Lee is somewhat risky in the sense that Brooks seems to be a player a team can count on to be pretty decent, albeit not expected to be a star. The return would need to be strong. I suggested a trade last October of Lee for Jeferson Quero (Brewers catcher prospect) plus a low level player. I don't believe either team would be comfortable making that deal. My only real thought centered around the belief that the Twins needed to be proactive about solving the catching shortage. Brooks Lee is a good baseball player though and hopefully he busts out this year for the Twins. 

What is it with these guys coming up through thei system looking like sure fire stars and. showing real promise and then falling apart?  This happened with Buxton, Sano and Kepler, Larnach and Kirlioff,  Now it is happening with Lewis, Julien Lee, Miranda etc.  I realize injuries have had an impact on some of them. But it seems their development and motovation ends when they get called up.  

22 minutes ago, Rufus said:

What is it with these guys coming up through thei system looking like sure fire stars and. showing real promise and then falling apart?  This happened with Buxton, Sano and Kepler, Larnach and Kirlioff,  Now it is happening with Lewis, Julien Lee, Miranda etc.  

The talent was there.  They wouldn't have been talked about otherwise.  However... guys get hurt (a lot).  That takes a huge toll on the human body.  The litany of injuries (acute and possibly more importantly... nagging/lingering) these guys and all ball players in general have endured through the years would blow most peoples minds.

I thank the Lord for the fact that my son's limbs are still attached (he pitches in college) after all these years.  At the end of a season, he states that his arm, knee, hamstring, quad, scap, etc. feels like hamburger and they're ready to fall off.

Even the "healthy" players are hurting.

23 minutes ago, gman said:

Only 25% of all major league players played more than 120 games last year. Injuries and poor play are chronic all across baseball.

651 players got a PA last year, only 129 qualified for the batting title. 20%. It was worse than you thought 

player across baseball spent over 44000 days on the dl. 

34 minutes ago, old nurse said:

651 players got a PA last year, only 129 qualified for the batting title. 20%. It was worse than you thought 

player across baseball spent over 44000 days on the dl. 

But how many of those players are just not playing because they're not good enough? 129 is between 4 and 5 per team. We should probably expect, given full health, that 7 or 8 of the players on a 26 man roster at the start of the season to play enough. So, we're talking more like 50%. 

4 hours ago, rusty boots said:

I watched a lot of his AB's last season, reminds me a lot of my all time favorite twin Lew Ford. Smart ABs smooth swing, hoping he can be half as good as Sweet Swingin' Lewy 

I'm hoping he's at least twice as good as Lew Ford, or consistently as good as Ford was in 2004 (aka, his one really good season). Much as I love the fact that Ford loves baseball so much he kept playing Indy league baseball until he was 46, I'm really hoping Keaschall has a significantly better MLB career than Ford.

Lew Ford is another one of those Twins players where his best season was both desperately needed at the time (the Shannon Stewart magic was wearing off, Kubel's knee exploded, Cuddyer was still trying to make it on the dirt, and Restovich was a bust) and would have been so much better if it had come in 2006 when Mauer & Morneau were rolling, Johan was the best pitcher in baseball and a bunch of guys in the lineup were looking good. Getting those peak seasons from your supporting cast at the same time really makes a difference. (Hi, Kevin Tapani! Thanks for being your best self in 1991!)

I like keaschall a lot. Hope he recovers well from the elbow injury. Serious injury, but a lot of hitters have responded well to that surgery before, so hopefully by midseason he's destroying pitching in AAA and pushing guys in MLB to be great or lose their jobs.

“Defensive versatility” is a term that makes me nervous.  Given his less than stellar fielding in college I’m interpreting that to mean he’s not a good fielder and they have to find a place to stash him.  Left field?

8 hours ago, old nurse said:

651 players got a PA last year, only 129 qualified for the batting title. 20%. It was worse than you thought 

player across baseball spent over 44000 days on the dl. 

Does that include Japan and Korea  ???

18 hours ago, Rufus said:

What is it with these guys coming up through thei system looking like sure fire stars and. showing real promise and then falling apart?  This happened with Buxton, Sano and Kepler, Larnach and Kirlioff,  Now it is happening with Lewis, Julien Lee, Miranda etc.  I realize injuries have had an impact on some of them. But it seems their development and motovation ends when they get called up.  

 

Buxton is a star when he is healthy.  Sano never looked like a star.  There was always a contact question with him and a work ethic problem.  Kepler had very good numbers but not superstar numbers.  He might have been slightly disappointing.  Larnach never looked like a star once he got past AA.  It probably fair to say Kirilloff was a disappointment but the gap in these expectations in general is a product of us as fans being overly optimistic and fired up about our team.  Nothing wrong with that.   Being a negative nelly does not seem like the best way to enjoy the game or any other pastime.  

I see some parallels to Spencer Steer. They can run the bases, have a little power, possibly stretched in the middle of the field, put up 138/143 wRC+ in AA and college infielders.

Will he stay in the middle of the field or eventually be a 1B/LF?
Is there enough power potential to be a plus bat on a corner?

I have enough wonders to think this might be the sell high point. A middle of the field prospect has more value than a corner player. At one point Jose Miranda was tearing up AA/AAA playing 2B/3B with a wRC+ of 158. Now we wonder if he has a plus bat as a 1B. Spencer Steer played 1B/LF with an OPS+ of 96 last year.

I would sell high if he brought an impact starter to the Twins.

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

I see some parallels to Spencer Steer. They can run the bases, have a little power, possibly stretched in the middle of the field, put up 138/143 wRC+ in AA and college infielders.

Will he stay in the middle of the field or eventually be a 1B/LF?
Is there enough power potential to be a plus bat on a corner?

I have enough wonders to think this might be the sell high point. A middle of the field prospect has more value than a corner player. At one point Jose Miranda was tearing up AA/AAA playing 2B/3B with a wRC+ of 158. Now we wonder if he has a plus bat as a 1B. Spencer Steer played 1B/LF with an OPS+ of 96 last year.

I would sell high if he brought an impact starter to the Twins.

The Twins traded Steer because the feeling was that the team had more than sufficient numbers of similar or better players who slotted into his positions. That same situation does not exist for Keaschall.

Miranda and Steer are roughly the same age, with Steer being a half year older. Steer has 4.5 WAR to his name versus 2.3 WAR for Miranda. I still like Miranda, but his opportunities are running out. He has to take the next shot. 

Keaschall is not the key to a trade. There are other players to send if Falvey desires to complete a deal. Hold Keaschall to see his ceiling.