Dman

There's an interesting collection of ten names for that 5th spot. Bradley, Mathews, Abel, Prielipp and Morris all seem pretty close to ready. They need to refine their pitches, but it's a nice starting 5 after the MLB starting 4. (I'm not including Festa because I think with shoulder issues the pen makes more sense.) Even after that you have arms that by mid year could be options in Rojas, Raya, Culpepper, Klein Gallagher and maybe MaCleod if he finds better control and command. After that you have a next wave likely for 2027 of Soto, Hill, Bohorquez, Quick and Oliveros with other interesting arms drafted higher than normal in Ellwanger, Reitz, and Barr, who have tantalizing upside. Add in Horn the lefty they traded for and that's another nice group of arms just a couple of years away. There's also still a chance that Langenberg (who came on strong later in the year), Peschl, Kisting, Doktorcyyk turn into something down the line as they pitched well at times last year. Just need to find more consistency., I would bet at least one or two of those arms turns into something down the line. Even in the DSL they have two top young arms in Castellanos and Villoria who could be in the states soon helping to add more high end arms to the farm. They really strengthened the systems starting pitching at the deadline. Granted they lost all the high leverage arms in the pen to do it. Still given all the names here some of those guys and my hope Festa is one of them ,can help remake the pen. With the trades and this years draft focused on high end arms it feels like the Twins might have the strongest starting pitching throughout all their affiliates that I have ever seen. Granted will it all translate? We know not all of them will, but with the shear number of high end options some of them have to make it.

I liked Baldelli. He never threw his players under the bus and the clubhouse always seemed pretty rosy since he has been here. Still right or wrong a change needed to be made. This team hasn't performed all that well under his leadership. They shook up the roster might as well shake up the leader of the clubhouse. Some new blood seems necessary right now. I wish Rocko well. I think he will land a MLB job again. Hopefully the Twins find someone good to replace him.

My two cents. I don't see the Twins bringing back Julien or Miranda. They don't have the athletic profile and their bats haven't overcome their defensive deficiencies. Both are running out of options and the Twins have more versatile players that could replace them. They just might bring Vasquez back, unless he gets a big offer somewhere else. The pitchers seem to love him and with a young staff coming up I could see the Twins retaining him if the salary is right. I think they might keep Fitzgerald on the 40 man. He didn't play a ton at the MLB level but his stats indicate he held his own. He was a plus in WAR and WRC+. He's a cheap backup for Lee while they pay off Correa's Salary. Unless something else falls in their lap or they decide to spend I think Fitz is the backup for short. I have Hatch (who I kind of like), Misiewicz and Tonkin all gone in 2026. The Twins have to add a ton of Rule V arms and will need the space. I don't think any of those arms did anything to prove the Twins can't find similar production on the fringes elsewhere if needed. I have them Keeping Ohl as he didn't allow a run the last 7 innings pitched. Not sure if he lasts long term but I think they give him next year to prove he belongs. I don't know. Lawyerson pitched well. I wouldn't have had them adding him, but with how well he did they might have to. Kiersey will be off the 40 man and I think McCusker too if they need the space. I can't see them letting go of Outman as cheap Buxton insurance despite the K rate, but maybe that will change their minds? Their committed to Roden. He's going to get a ton of chances if he stays healthy.

The Twins like versatility in their players and Clemens is a solid defensive player at multiple positions. Jullien just doesn't have the same defensive upside and the difference in their offense is minimal IMO. Especially when you factor in the impact it had on games with Clutch Kody early in the year. The Twins are believers in exit velocity and hard hit rate and Clemens has done well there at times. While he doesn't walk much he doesn't K an obscene amount either. Still as @chpettit19 said it would be nice to find someone with a bit more potential there. He ended up playing to his sub .700 OPS but his hot month moved him up a bit .715. You'd like to see more than that from a 29 year old player. I'm not completely opposed to keeping him on to start the season next year. He's the perfect gamer(battle your tail off) type player Grady used to love. Still to say they don't need an upgrade there would be disingenuous. I don't see Jullien on the 40 man next year. Not enough defensive versatility. Running out of options and other players coming up that look like better options. We'll see what happens in the offseason.

I don't know. You might want to give a bit more context than that when it comes to Detroit and Cleveland. Detroit sold everything they could in 2024 and still made the playoffs and in 2023 Cleveland traded Civale for Manzardo when they weren't really out of the race. I think teams have to pick there spots and personally I think the Twins chose correctly this year. The other thing that needed to happen to make history is the Tigers pretty much collapsed after the deadline as their starting pitchers kept getting hurt and the replacements they picked up didn't pan out. One from the Twins who would have been kept if they didn't sell was so bad they moved him to the pen. Other things to consider. Ryan didn't have a great second half. Pablo never really made it back. Ober regressed and is struggling to reinvent his pitch mix. SWR was out for a while. Even if they kept everybody including Paddack the rotation didn't really have the horses to compete IMO. Other players we got rid of like Castro has been horrible for the Cubs. Coulombe hasn't been as good though not terrible. Varland hasn't been as good with his new team though he seems to be coming around of late. Stewart was injured for a while for the Dodgers. So those players wouldn't have helped the Twins much. They are likely better than some of their replacements but enough to do what the Guard's did? Unlikely IMO. Granted having Bader, Duran and likely Jax would have helped seal some games, but with the starting pitching so damaged it feels like the Twins would have played more like the Tigers in the second half than the Guards IMO. In the end I just don't see that the Twins had the young talent to step up and make a difference for a playoff run. Festa was injured and we've seen good Metthews and bad Matthews and then no one behind him with Morris hurt, Raya and Prielipp not ready you are looking at Ohl or Adams as a 5th starter some days or a retread AAA starter. They needed to sell. Maybe not as much as they sold but selling to create more depth for next year and beyond made the most sense to me.

Really cool to have a High school pitcher come in first year and dominate. I agree the walks are concerning, but Hill exceeded every expectation you could have for a high school pitchers first pro year. With Hill, Soto and Bohorquez coming up together along with a nice group of recently drafted college arms that could be a nice wave of upside arms in the near future. Prielipp managed to get pitcher of the year from the Twins org. I am happy he made it through a whole season healthy and seems to be pitch mix or pitch location away from being even better than he was this year. Fingers crossed he moves into the elite pitcher zone next year. I really like what Klein did this year and was happy to see him voted ahead of Preilipp as he was just a tick better all year. They are close enough to say they are even and you could have given the lefty the edge, but it nice to see Klein get some love. Some good arms in this group and the for the ones in AAA next year should help them figure out what they'll need to work on to get to the Majors. Even if some of these arms end up pen arms they could be really, really good pen arms. It's a nice list and should grow when the college arms added from this years draft hit the Minors next year.

I always felt like they kind of slow boated Paredes through the system. For an arm they liked to use in the toughest situations, as he generally came through, it is surprising it took him this long to get to AAA. I am sure there are legit reasons as I don't know what his health was like and what he was working on at the various levels. Still all I know is he has been a true fireman throughout his time with the Twins with K rate and fastball velocity being his main weaknesses. I really do think he has a chance to be a good pen arm and with 103 innings this year maybe there is starter potential in there as well. Happy to see him on this list. I've been up and down on Ohl. He has always been an extreme strike thrower. HIs changeup is a weapon whether he has enough to go with that I don't know, but given his results he has a good shot at a pen role.

I go back and forth on the doom and gloom. Lot's of teams had trouble with getting bats going this year so I don't feel like the Twins are completely alone there. Still there are signs that Lewis, Martin and Lee are improving and could have better years next year. Not to mention they have Roden, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Culpepper and maybe Jenkins. With some interesting non top 30 bats at AAA in Fedko, McCusker, and Eeles. So there is room for change beyond the players mentioned in the article. Pitching for now we still have the big three with SWR ascending and a bumpy Zebby behind with new additions Bradley and Abel to vie for that 5th spot. If they keep everyone over the offseason that is. Behind them are Morris who has looked pretty dominant since coming back (except for K rate). Prielipp and Rojas who are lefties. Raya, Klein and MaCleod as arms that could be better next year. So the cupboard isn't bare by any means. I get the hopelessness though. After the deadline Ryan hasn't been as sharp, Ober keeps having one really bad inning with a velocity drop. Pablo never really made it back. The young arms have been shelled at times. They have had leads only to have the pen blow them up. This hasn't been a good team since the deadline and it wasn't good team most of the year given they were sellers at the deadline. As for sticking with players too long we have seen the other side that of that as well. Rooker wasn't a great fit when we had him and he turned things around and he'd be a welcome bat on the team now. I still like Larnach and I think his bat will get better, but as stated it took too long to get just mediocre results. Too much young blood behind him now so likely gone. Still you have to give young players time to adapt. You can't give up on them too early. Bottom line this is a team in transition. They are going to have to let the younger players develop. I like that they have finally started listening to this board and have started looking for players that are more athletic that should lead to better defense and offense by having the ability to take an extra base and steal bases. They are headed in the right direction, but it might take time like all of next year time to get "better". We'll see, but I do still have several sets of rose colored glasses so I should be covered for any disappointment along the way.

DSL players are always so hard to project moving forward as the stats mean very little and they are generally so young. I thought it was a good pickup to get Villoria in the Bader trade. Pair him with Santiago and the Twins could have two good young arms coming up. When they get stateside they will help supplement the drafted arms at A ball which will hopefully create a wave of arms. The notes on Santiago are very encouraging. I hope he is the next big thing for the Twins, but we will likely have to wait a while to find out just how good he can be.

Control might be a problem but I like Ramos's age and line better. Nice to see Garica turning things around as you need arms from the FCL to feed A ball.

Congrats to the Kernal's!! Always seems hard for the first half winner to come out on top in these second half matchups as a lot of the guys that got them there moved up a level or levels. It's tough to win a championship. Would be nice to see them get another one.

Lawyerson has always had decent numbers, but when he gets hit he gets hit hard. Will be very interesting to see how his stuff plays at the highest level. I wish him the best.

Love that Hill was clutch in a big game.

Houston and Quick have a chance to be fast movers. Depending on the lockout I could see them being ready by 2027. Young has amazing size for an 18 year old. Right now his swing too often looks late to me. It might take some time. Still he currently has the agility to play short so he could grow into an amazing athlete in time. Can he get the bat the ball enough? that will be the question. I still like Soto and Bohorquez for this list. Both pretty young arms that should make an impact as they move up. It might be early, but I would have JImenez in that group as well. He has been obliterating A ball and that's not easy to do. I am intrigued by Agbayani. Maybe not enough tools in the end to be a star player, but the bat might carry him. If I squint I could see Beltre added to this list. as well as Castellanos and Villoria. They are so far away though it hard to say what they will do. The Twins have a good amount of high upside players, but the thing about most high upside players is they often times have high downside as well.

For all the worry about Amick;s power he has been really good at the plate all year. He was super clutch with men on base early in the year as well. If he hadn't gotten injured it looked like he might have gotten promoted with Culpepper. Despite just 4 HR's his OPS is .880 which is outstanding for that level. Personally I was more worried about Amick's in zone contact than home run power. The reason he fell out of the first round was that teams weren't sure he could make enough contact. It looks like the Twins gamble might pay off, but he has a high BABIP and hasn't seen the breakers he will get at AA. Still you have to be happy with season he has had IMO. Really excited to see Carpenter with an excellent outing against a good team. A playoff bound team. His lack of control has really hurt him this year. Hopefully he has finally put it all together so he can gain enough confidence to throw strikes more often. He is young, but am hoping for a breakout year from him next year. Agbayani seems like a gamer. Nice to see the young man hit the ground running. I have high hopes for him, but will know more after his first full pro year. Nice to see him getting on base though.

Maybe it's the injuries but I feel like Amick has been under-rated this year. I think going into the year we were worried about him just making contact at the pro level and he has a .300 average with a good walk rate and not too out of line K rate. Yeah he was supposed to hit more HR's, but I have to believe they wanted to see less in zone swing and miss and I am guessing he modified his approach some to get there. His contact rate still isn't even in zone as he has a very high BABIP sustaining his numbers. Still I am bullish on him and have no concerns about him getting to power when he wants to. I would like him to work on more in zone contact, but maybe he just focuses on power now. Hard to say. At any rate its been a small sample size, but he has had a great first pro year.

Hard to believe Klein isn't in the top 30. His numbers at AA were really good and he is at AAA at 23 which a pretty young age for a pitcher especially an undrafted one. Morris was more consistent at AA with a better walk rate but Klein has a better K rate with more control issues. Still he doesn't appear to be far behind Morris and he isn't even ranked. It's getting to be a tough top 30 to crack, but I still think he belongs there.

I can see now why Tampa was so frustrated with Bradley. One game he looks like a mid rotation starter and the next time out he looks very hittable. I don't think his fastball works all that well except up in the zone. Lot's of hard hit balls to the gaps. His Curve looked great last night, but most everything else seemed to be a work in progress. Bummer game for Adams. He has one nice inning and then implodes in the next one. I still think he has the stuff to make it in the pen, but after last night he has me doubting myself. The bullpen has lost a lot of games since the deadline but nice to see the bats doing better recently,. Hopefully that continues. We all knew it was going to be tough to win games with not much in the pen and that has proven to be true. Still the reason they sold at the deadline was to get better next year or maybe after the likely lockout. We'll see. If they are this bad next year though it really is gonna be hard to stay interested.

I know Paredes doesn't have elite stuff, but he generally gets elite results. This was an off month for him IMO as he had several tough outings. Despite all that he still made the top 5. I agree with the OP on Bragg. He has been pretty dominate all year and to move up a level and not miss a beat speaks to the dominance his stuff can have. Hopefully just a tweak away from being a difference maker. We'll see. Hoopes is interesting as well and I love guys that can throw heat like he can. I'm gonna be watching him closely as he moves up.

I honestly thought Chourio spent more time at AAA, but when I looked it was only 6 games I believe and then they signed him to that long term deal. Maybe that is what it would take to get Boras onboard for a Jenkins deal? If the Twins are going to take a risk this seems like a player to do that with. The stats back him up all the way. As a young player it seems hard to turn down guaranteed money to get an early start and injury protection those eight years and still be under 30 for the next big contract. He's young enough to make that work. Still with 2026 up in the air and likely a lost season and then the likely season long lockout it might not make much difference. It's a tough call both ways if you ask me.

I guess I don't see the rush to get him there and he is going to earn his way there soon enough. Right now he isn't lighting up AAA pitching and we all know the jump to MLB pitching is enormous. Once he dominates at AAA for a while we can talk about time frames. I get it though all his counting stats look balanced so he doesn't have many weaknesses as a hitter other than maybe power, but that always comes with age and experience. Any weaknesses he does have will be exploited at the MLB level for sure. Breaking stuff is generally a challenge for all hitters and those pitches only get better as you move up. He'll have his struggles just have to see how he handles them. He has been incredibly young at every level and due to injury's had limited playing time and still has been a top of his league player so far. As mentioned he is on a good track to be an elite player. Still I'd see how 2026 goes at AAA and if he kills it they will have no choice but to bring him up. If he struggles then it will just take more time.

Walker Jenkins 20 and at AAA. He is still number oneKaelen Culpepper Up the middle shortstop gets extra points for me due to defense. Tait would be here based strictly on potential, but I am biased a bit on CulpepperEduardo Tait So far he looks like and up the middle player. HIs arm gives him a chance to be elite defensively especially as MLB moves to the auto K zone. Exit velo's are crazy good. Could argue for the number one ranking if you want. Still high school catcher scar me so three is high enough for me.Luke Keaschall The bat is ready. If he had more value defensively I would have him higher. He is has everything I like in a hitter and his speed is a nice asset as well.Emmanuel Rodriguez He is up the middle but injured so much it's hard to see him realizing hi s potential. I had kept him at number 2 for longer than most, but dropping him until he can stay healthy.Mick Abel It's amazing stuff but he needs something more for lefties. I still love the arm. I think experience is all he needs.Kendry Rojas Have to say it's an interesting lefty arm and he is young for AAA. Still looks relievery to me, but will see. If starter then he looks like mid rotation.Dasan Hill Hill has lost a little shine with the control problems but his potential is still high as I haven't seen a high school arm in the Twins system ever do this well from the start.Connor Prielipp The arm held up. Hoping he can find a way to get more K's and give up less hard contact.Charlee Soto Injured but potential still high.Gabriel Gonzalez If Gonzalez ran better I would have him higher. It's an amazing bat and a plus arm. He could be a starter but we'll see if he ends up a platoon bat.Marek Houston Hard to believe I have him at 12. His swing covers a lot of the zone. He just has to recognize and hit breaking and offspeed stuff. He's off to a good start.Riley Quick Haven't seen him pitch yet, but he is power pitcher and I think he improves the control being further out from TJ.Brandon Winokur He had OK year again. I do think he needs to repeat high A. The power is there. He has been making more contact. Still the K rate isn't great and there is a lot of swing and miss. Still work to do. Next year might be a big year for him.Quentin Young Haven't watched him, but teams were concerned enough about his lack of contact for to last to the Twins 2nd round pick. It plus power and arm. A super high ceiling and very low floor. For now next to Winokur as they are similar but Winokur has better tools.Marco Raya I'd have him higher but he is so up and down and I don't know what to think.Andrew Morris He's looked better after coming back. Still would like to see that K rate higher but he has the stuff to make it.Hendry Mendez Its too many ground balls but everything else checks out. I like power potential. If he had better defensive potential he's be higher.Khadim Diaw Best catching prospect we've had in years. I'd have him higher but injured too much and need to see him at AA first.CJ Culpepper Might be a relief arm, but he should be a good one.

I tend to agree with Royce at least on changing your swing mid season, not the money part. I seem to remember both Aaron Hicks and Buxton getting so much swing advice it made them worse. In the end they needed to think less and react more. To change a swing it takes ton's of reps and you need to maintain timing etc. That seems best worked on in the offseason to get it all down rather than bat horribly as you try to figure it out in season. While I get what he is saying money wise. He might have larger issues than arb raises. There is competition for his spot not far away. If he doesn't perform he might not be a part of this team and might have trouble catching on somewhere else. It all gets fixed though if he just hits better and while he had some good months in June and July his August numbers have been miserable. Maybe don't change the swing mid season but it sure looks like something has to change or he loses value altogether. I think we can find someone who can do better than a .664 OPS. It still feels like he pressing to me. When he first came up the confidence was there and he let the game come to him. He was more selective at the plate. He just hasn't been the same this year. I still think he could have a beastly bat, but he needs to be a tougher out than he has been and he needs to barrel more balls. If I'm Royce I'd do whatever I can to get better.

I agree they should only trade one and I would trade Pablo because if they are keeping payroll low it would be nice to have some room to add players if needed. Top of the rotation starters don't grow on tree's. There is a reason there are only 20 to 30 top tier arms in the league year to year. It's hard to be that consistent and injury free for an entire year. If you want to compete in the playoffs you need at least one and these days likely two dominant starters to have a chance. I get that maybe the bats might not quite be ready in 2026, but if they do catch fire later in the year it sure would be nice to have the starting pitching to compete so keeping at least one of Pablo or Ryan makes sense to me. If not there's always the deadline or next offseason to complete a trade for the other arm. There are so many young players coming up there doesn't even seem to be much room to get them MLB experience so trading for more seems a bit silly unless they could pry away someone with close to ready star potential from another team. This team still has strong starting pitching and they can improve the pen in the offseason and have a lot of interesting young arms they could try there. Hitting is the gamble they would have to take for a successful season next year. Still I would hedge my bets which is why I agree with you that they should only trade one of the two in the offseason.

I hope Hill is alright. Probably a good time to shut him down no matter what now. He has had an amazing first pro year for a high school arm. He greatly exceeded any expectations I had for him this year. I just hope no ligament damage for his arm. Gonzalez looks to be conquering AAA. batting average at .300 and and .800 OPS. Looking pretty much like he did in his other stops this year. I am excited for next year to see it all translates to MLB. Culpepper appears to be back on track.