Predicting the Minnesota Twins' Top 5 Prospects On New Year’s Day 2026

My guess is an assumption that Keaschall makes the majors this year and loses prospect eligibility.   Same for Emmanuel Rodriguez.

What this article implies is that Rodriquez will be in the Twins outfield before the end of the season.  That starts the question, do you move Laurach or Wallner to 1B, or do they become trade bait this spring.  Also the 2B from wichita last year either needs to be on this list, or does the author have heard something about a trade?  Interesting questions to be answered. 

For Keaschall to use up his rookie status would mean that 4 out of 6 things have happened. Julian o, Miranda, r Lee have failed, Castro is traded, Correa or Lewis are hurt. Not necessarily a rosy outlook  Morris right now lines up as the eight pitcher behind Lopez,Ober,Ryan, SWR, Festa, and Matthews. Converting Jax back to a starter drops him further. Again, not a rosy outlook 

9 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I keep reading great things about Luke Keaschall.  Why didn't he make this list?

Reread the paragraph before the list starts

1 hour ago, beckmt said:

What this article implies is that Rodriquez will be in the Twins outfield before the end of the season.  That starts the question, do you move Laurach or Wallner to 1B, or do they become trade bait this spring.  Also the 2B from wichita last year either needs to be on this list, or does the author have heard something about a trade?  Interesting questions to be answered. 

A better bet is that (at least) one of Wallner or Larnach falls flat this year and the only thing they might be traded for IS bait.  Not a bad asset around these parts but doesn't do much on the ball field.

I can see a way that Raya is no longer a prospect by 1/‘25. He may be in the twins bullpen by July.  This years rookie class may go much deeper than expected simply because of all the questions involved with the last 2 rookie classes.  Either way, this is a great list!

Winokur made so many improvements last year. His speed, athleticism, and potential make him the ultimate prospect with an unbelievably high ceiling even while his floor could be A+ ball; crazy disparate outcomes possible. I'm excited to see his progression this year.

4 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Rosey outlook. I'll be checking all these prospects and others in Ft. Myers in 2 months. I can't wait.   I received a "Salty Papa's Shrimp House" (located at Ft. Myers) gift card and tee shirt for my birthday. two days ago. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

A belated Happy Birthday & a Happy New Year, friend.

I'd rank Raya higher & think he has a good chance to become a MLB opener this season.

I wouldn't be that surprised if Jenkins had had his first taste of MLB by then. If he continues on his trajectory, I think at the very least he's a September call up candidate in the 2025 season. He'll most likely still qualify as a prospect unless he does something truly special and skips AAA completely like Soto did. Very unlikely though - but I think he's capable of it. Don't see the Twins being that aggressive with him though.

Raya , prielipp and canterino I think with their risk of injuries will at best be bullpen arms in the future  , maybe Raya will be a starter at some point in his career but work loads have been light for all 3 pitchers ...

I don't have that crystal ball for the right answers for the future   ...

10 hours ago, DocBauer said:

It's a good list. I can't really argue with anyone on it. But I agree Prielipp is probably in the top 5 as well. Not sure who gets bumped.

I also think there's an outside shot Dason Hill impresses enough in 2025 to make this list. 

Hopefully you are correct on Dason Hill!  A definite posibility since a 5+ ERA will get you into this year's top 5!    :-O   he he

This is an excellent list.  Remember, the headline says "Twins Top Prospects on New Year's Day 2026."  (Happy New year Everybody!!)

I think Clear Lake guy made a good point that our #1 pick this June, #16 overall, could very well make this list.  The question becomes, who gets bumped from the 5 Cody listed??

It's possible Jenkins gets a call up in September, but that still doesn't drop him from the list as he would still be a rookie even if he broke camp with the Twins at the end of March, 2026.

Raya could possibly be called up after the All Star break as bullpen arm.  I don't think it's likely, but it's possible depending on a lot of things.  Raya may never have the stamina to be a SP, but his stuff says he could be a closer.  (there's always my annual "hope" for Canterino as well).

Winokur is the quintessential prospect.  With his size, speed, power and athleticism (plus he's a RH bat in the midst of the LH Jenkins, E-Rod, Wallner, Larnach stack) he's probably due for all of 2025 and at least half of 2026 in the minors.  He could start striking out way too much or bulk up too much like Royce Lewis and lose a chunk of his athleticism.  But the kid really intrigues me.

Soto and Culpepper are destined for at least 2 more years in the minors and will need to make it to St. Paul and play/pitch well so 2027 or 2028 is more their trajectory to me.

Whoever that #16 pick in June ends up being, he'll have to be pretty good to bump someone off this list.  It will also depend on what kind of player the Twins pick at #16.  Is he an advanced college player with a couple of really solid tools who fell short in a couple areas and that's why he was available at #16 instead picked top 5?  Is he a high school pitcher or SS who is REALLY TOOLSY, but scared some teams off because he was committed to a power college baseball team, and the Twins paid enough above slot to get him to forgo the college path? 

When you're picking #16th, those are the types of players who could fall to the middle of the draft.  Seeing this list, and with the real prospect of E-Rod joining the Twins by the All Star break or sooner, I wonder what the Twins will do about the Wallner/Larnach situation. 

I'm going to speculate that the Twins swing a trade with Baltimore for Ryan Mountcastle.  The prospect cost to acquire Mountcastle won't be prohibitive and his cost for the next 2 seasons is manageable.  I think we could also offer Baltimore Paddack in a Mountcastle deal.  That means neither Wallner or Larnach are picking up a 1B glove anytime soon.  The Twins won't pull E-Rod up to sit him 50% of the time, especially since he, Wallner and Larnach all hit LH. 

To me, one of Wallner/Larnach gets traded around the time E-Rod arrives in Minneapolis.  There are other spare parts like Julien and Miranda as well, especially if Brooks Lee performs to expectations and/or if Luke Keaschall is destroying pitching in AAA.  If E-Rod/Keaschall/Lee do well Julien and Miranda MUST be moved. 

I'm not sure how confident the Twins are in E-Rod, Keaschall and Lee, but Miranda and Julien sure aren't blocking them if each of those 3 perform.  Miranda would probably be safe if Mountcastle were not acquired, but I think if the Twins get Mountcastle he makes Miranda immediately tradeable.  The Twins have too much depth in their minor leagues for them to be sitting so quietly on the sidelines this off season.  Something's got to give.  Sooner better than later.      

1 minute ago, JD-TWINS said:

Prielipp & Canterino are hurt nearly 90% of the time. I am hoping that one or both can get 50-60 innings in this season as relievers. To me that seems to be their only potential path. With health, possible to see one of them at Target in September.

Raya is/has been young and thus limited due to continual physical maturing. I like him in relief by late August or September at MLB level.

Though canterino hasn't pitched much minor league innings I think if he has a good showing in spring training  and after a month of AAA he will be promoted if still healthy , time is running out and they just have to see what he can bring to the major leagues in the bullpen  , I've heard over and over he has some of the best stuff when healthy , ( has a 40 man roster spot ) ...

Yes  , Raya has been limited due to maturity , but if he cracks the majors  I agree it will be in the bullpen ..

JD, it's not that I (or even "we") want to just cast Wallner or Larnach aside.  Larnach made some solid progress last year.  Wallner showed tremendous improvement in the 2nd half of the season, just as he did in 2023.  There is REAL talent with Larnach and Wallner.  

But there is also reality.  Emmanuel Rodriguez is VERY talented.  He's a good defensive CF with prodigious power and an extremely patient approach.  It's pretty much a forgone conclusion he's with the Twins by the All Star break if not before.  All three of E-Rod/Larnach/Wallner hit left handed. 

Something's got to give.

On top of that, the Twins #1 prospect, Walker Jenkins, who could very well be Major League Baseball's #1 prospect to begin 2025 is also a left hand hitting OF.  It's possible he gets a September callup and if he doesn't break camp with the Twins in 2026 it won't be long before he's up.

Again...Something's got to give.

On top of that...(Yes, there's more)...Luke Keaschall has the ability to play the OF and Brandon Winokur does as well.  They are both RH hitters.  Both are very good prospects.  

All of these guys could crash and burn and turn out to be bums.  But that's highly unlikely.  ALL of them could turn out to be All Stars...that's also highly unlikely.  The more likely outcome is that 2 of the 4 turn out to be pretty darn good.  

So that means...yup...Something has to give.  This is just the nature of baseball.  Younger, talented and cheaper players push out older, more expensive players.  Especially on teams operating on payroll constraints.  It doesn't mean the players who are on the major league roster are bad.  It just means they are assets who can be used to make the team better in an area or areas where there are deficiencies.  

A good example would be the trade between the Marlins and the Twins of Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez.  The Twins needed better pitching and had Jorge Polanco at 2B and an up and comer in Edward Julien.  The Marlins had a boatload of young pitching talent ready to ascend to the majors and 2 pitchers they deemed better than Lopez in their current rotation (CY Young winner Sandy Alcantara and Trevor Rogers) as well as a young stud named Eury Perez who like E-Rod/Jenkins in the near future, was ready to make the MLB ballclub.  They needed offense.  Arraez won a batting title with Miami and Pablo got CY Young votes for the Twins.  

The trade worked for both teams.  The Twins, when E-Rod, Jenkins, Keaschall and Winokur are ready to make the MLB ballclub don't have room to play everyone.  E-Rod's ETA is THIS YEAR.  Jenkins could be 2026 after a possible cup of coffee in 2025.  Keaschall is expected in 2025, maybe sooner than later.  Winokur's ETA is probably early to mid 2027.  

Without knowing how the 2025 season starts and goes for the Twins, I expect Larnach to be the odd man out.  I think Wallner is ready to take another step and even if his OPS falls a bit to say, .800 that would still be REALLY GOOD.  I expect Larnach to also continue to show improvement.  But if E-Rod is tearing it up in St. Paul (and Keaschall for that matter too) something has to give.  

 Like the list, Cody.  Thanks.

Of the three, the one who excites me the most is Winokur.  When combining his physical assets with his baseball strengths you get a player who could be special.  Very special.  

Will agree with those above who believe Prielipp should be on this list.  I continue to believe he can put his injury history behind him, beginning this year.  When he does, he will soon be the #1 pitching prospect in the organization.  

Although he may no longer be a prospect a year from now, I continue being excited about Canterino.  We all have seen how fantastic he can be, albeit in only short spurts every year or so.  I am surprised the Twins continue keeping him on the 40-man.  Because they have tells me they believe he will both be healthy in 2025 and they view him as someone who can be successful for the big league club.  I expect, however, because of his limited innings the past few years he will be in the Twins pen come summer.