Jamie Cameron

Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 77 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie start with a slew of injuries to notable Twins prospects, including Luke Keaschall, Walker Jenkins, and Charlee Soto. The guys then give an overview of the bonus pool system in MLB, detailing how the different rounds of the draft work. They go on to dig into the bonus pools of the Brewers, Twins, Red Sox, Cubs, and Padres. Finally, they spend some time reacting to the most recent BA staff draft, digging into whether the picks made might make sense for the Padres, Jays, Cubs, Brewers, and Twins. 0:00 Intro 5:55 Housekeeping 6:37 Twins Prospect Injuries 14:59 Draft Bonus Pools 17:55 Brewers Bonus Pool 20:40 Twins Bonus Pool 23:31 Red Sox Bonus Pool 27:10 Cubs Bonus Pool 30:02 Padres Bonus Pool 35:58 Bouncing around the first round You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. We’re now on Bluesky @destinationtheshow.bsky.social. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

Questad has been GREAT. Good call. Still want to see more consistency with the strike throwing but he is absolutely worthy of a shoutout.

Adams I have a hard time with. He's pitched really well. Good strike thrower. However, he really doesn't miss enough bats. Not sure how he's going to carve out a role for himself.

We’re a full month into the MiLB season. Let’s take stock of some notable performances from Twins prospects in the month of April. Image courtesy of © William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images This will be a (roughly) monthly update on the Twins farm system. The goal here is simple: shine a light on some great performances throughout the Twins system, outside of their most famous or top-100 prospects. Some of those folks will be featured here, of course, but there are so many good performances to mine in a deep system. Here are some guys who caught my attention in April (listed alphabetically). Billy Amick, CI, Cedar Rapids One critical question facing Amick coming into 2025 was whether he would be able to maintain an elevated walk rate from Fort Myers. He has. Through his first 90 plate appearances, Amick is walking 15.6% of the time. That’s going to offset some of the swing-and-miss (65.7% contact rate) nicely. The home run power hasn’t shown up for Amick just yet, but he’s mashing extra-base hits. A .919 OPS and 168 wRC+ are strong indicators that he’s going to perform well at High A. I’d guess Double A, where pitchers can fill up the strike zone more effectively, will give us our first indication of how much of a challenge Amick’s bat-to-ball skills will prove to be, long-term. Kyle DeBarge, INF, Cedar Rapids DeBarge had a major ground ball problem in a small sample at Fort Myers in 2024. He’s been as advertised in 2025. His ground-ball rate is down about 15%, and he’s pulling the ball around 13% more in the early going. All of that adds up to a .358 OBP and 123 wRC+ through his first 19 games. He’s also 11/11 in stolen base attempts. Kyler Fedko, INF, Wichita Fedko is easily the most fun, pleasant surprise in the Twins system in April. After posting an 85 wRC+ in Double A in 2024 (76 games), he seems to have made some meaningful changes to his approach. He’s swinging 8% less, and his line-drive rate is through the roof. Fedko had a solid approach, anyway, but he’s walking 18.2% of the time in the early going for Wichita. His BABIP is .361, so let’s see how May goes, but that 184 wRC+ deserves an April shoutout. Carson McCusker, OF, St. Paul At 6-foot-8, 250 pounds, he has a 167 wRC+ at Triple A. I have to admit, I doubted McCusker could replicate his Double-A performance in 2025, but he’s tearing the cover off the ball. The power is real (110.6 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity, second-best at the level), and he’s being way more selective at the plate in 2025. His bat-to-ball numbers hold up. If he gets a shot with the big-league club will determine if he can play a role with the team long-term. I’d be interested in seeing what he looks like at first base, personally. Ricardo Olivar, C/OF, Wichita Olivar has hit everywhere he’s been—until he stalled out in his first go-around at Double A in 2024. He’s not a catcher (or much of a fielder) at all, so he needs to rake to find a role. He’s looking much improved in the early going. It’s a .308/.375/.401 start, with an improved line-drive rate and solid bat-to-ball metrics. He’s off to a much better start. Dasan Hill, LHP, Fort Myers It’s only been three appearances for Dasan Hill, but no one is touching him at Fort Myers thus far. The 6-foot-5 lefty in his age-19 season has shown dominant stuff in his first 10-plus innings of pro ball. It’s a small sample, but no one is touching his stuff. He’s put up a 2.29 FIP, with a 50% K% and 9.5% BB%. That’s utterly dominant. Opposing hitters are making contact with his stuff just 58.1% of the time, too. He has four above-average pitches, with the fastball having touched 98 mph already. When guys are starting their pro careers, I only look at a few factors: Can they throw strikes? Can they miss bats? Can they stay healthy? There’s work to do on the strikes (62.5%), but Hill has checked all the boxes and then some in the early going. He’s been impressive. Jose Olivares, RHP, Cedar Rapids Olivares is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher at Cedar Rapids who has largely flown under the radar, but has always had good raw stuff. It’s a fastball that’s been up to 98 mph in 2025. In his first 10 2/3 innings, he’s yet to allow a run (2.02 FIP) and is striking out 37.8% of hitters. He’s running close to a 58% ground-ball rate. Like Hill, there’s work to do on the strike-throwing, but it’s been solid so far in 2025. Olivares is an up-arrow name for me. Cody Peschl, RHP, Fort Myers One of the most fun aspects of each minor-league season is seeing which arms emerge from the previous draft class to make their way onto our collective radar. Peschl was the Twins' 15th-round pick out of Campbell University in 2024. In 14 innings at Fort Myers, the 22-year-old is yet to allow an earned run (2.24 FIP). He’s definitely had an unsustainable strand rate, but he’s pitching extremely well. It’s a 33.3 K% and 7 BB% and near-elite strike throwing (68%). Peschl is getting a ton of misses in the strike zone. He’s a name to keep an eye on. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Wichita Prielipp’s back-of-the-baseball-card 4.22 ERA at Double A might look discouraging, but he’s been much better than that number suggests. He’s managed a 2.84 FIP while maintaining his usual dominant stuff. He’s managed a 37.8 K%, which has barely eroded from High A. The strike-throwing has continued to be strong (67.5%), and his walk rate is down from 7.7% to 4.4%. Opposing hitters are making more contact against Prielipp in 2025, but it’s all poor contact. He’s running a 56.5% ground-ball rate through his first three appearances. From a performance and stuff perspective, Prielipp is ready for Triple A. Feel free to join the discussion on a prospect who intrigues you in the comments. If you have notes or updates for other prospects, feel free to leave those in the comments too. View full article

For sure! Couple things on that note: 1. Twins will always been in that top two quadrants of team with the most money to spend, so opportunities should be ample. 2. We're still in a bit of a crossover time between the old international admin and the new. Some of the bigger agreements will still have been made pre Barinas/Goldstein. Appreciate you reading!

Doesn't sound crazy at all. I think 16 is a solid spot. You can see how your board plays out, likely pick a player who is in your top 14 (because there is always surprises) and you still have a premium Comp pick at 36. I'd expect them to tap into the prep class in some way, which is always fun.

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 76 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie dig into the MLB debuts of Logan Henderson and Luke Keaschall, discussing how each made such a positive first impression in limited MLB action. The guys then dig into a Twins-Centric mailbag, answering questions on Keaschall, Carson McCusker, Gabriel Gonzalez, Billy Amick and the Twins potential selection at number 16 in the 2025 MLB Draft. 0:00 Intro 5:22 Housekeeping 6:00 Opening Topics 11:49 Mailbag 12:00 Which Twins prospect will ‘Save the Season?’ 28:20 How long with Keaschall stay up? 31:29 Will Festa stay in the rotation? 34:42 What are your thoughts on Gabriel Gonzalez? 41:07 Why do the Twins never develop any 1B prospects? 48:36 If Carson McCusker and Payton Eeles had each other's arms instead of their own, which could adapt better and continue to play ball at a high level? 52:20 When will the Twins take the reins off Marco Raya? 56:39 When will we see some of their prospects off the IL? 1:01:00 Billy Amick - when is he going to AA? 1:04:26 After which round do high profile high schoolers with strong commitments end up not signing? 1:09:20 Any unicorn profiles in the top 3 rounds (e.g. switch pitchers, left handed catcher). Any fun 80 grade names? 1:11:10 First Round prediction You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. We’re now on Bluesky @destinationtheshow.bsky.social. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

This week, the league office released bonus pool allocations and pick values for the 2025 MLB Draft. Additionally, MLB released international signing bonus pools for the 2026 signing period. Image courtesy of © Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Despite finishing with the 14th-worst record in 2024, the Twins will pick 16th in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft, courtesy of falling two spots in the MLB Draft Lottery. They will revert to picking 14th in all subsequent rounds. They have the 12th-largest bonus pool overall, at $12,653,000 (marginally more than 2024). This is primarily a function of their Competitive Balance Round A pick, 36th overall, which revenue-sharing recipient teams garner in either Comp Round A or Comp Round B on an annual rotation. The Twins' top-100 picks and slot values are as follows: Slot value for pick 16: $4,929,600 Slot value for pick 36: $2,692,200 Slot value for pick 54: $1,761,600 Slot value for pick 88: $893,000 This combination of financial and pick flexibility puts the Twins in a strong position to work with a draft class shaping up to be uncertain in terms of top-tier talent, but with plenty of depth through around 75 picks—and interesting prep bats, in particular. Reminders on Draft Financials Organizations are allowed to spend up to 5% more than their total pool without incurring a penalty, a choice most teams take advantage of. The Twins and the Rockies are the only MLB teams who have never spent any overage on their bonus pool. Any amount up to 5% over the pool is met with a 75% tax on the overage. If a team spends between 5-10% more than their pool, the penalty is 75% tax on the overage and loss of a future first-rounder. Any team who exceeds their bonus pool by more than 10% up to 15% pays 100% tax on the overage and will lose a first- and a second-round future pick. Any team who exceeds their bonus pool by more than 15% loses two future first-round picks, in addition to paying 100% tax on the overage. Rounds 11-20 work differently from the first half of the draft. These picks do not come with an assigned slot value. Teams can spend up to $150,000 per pick without that spending coming out of their bonus pool. If they spend over that amount, any overage will be deducted from their bonus pool. For example, an 11th-round pick signing for $250,000 will result in $100,000 being subtracted from that team's bonus pool. MLB Announces 2026 International Bonus Pools MLB announced bonus pools for the 2026 international signing period, too. The 2026 signing window opens on Jan. 15th, 2026 and runs through Dec. 15th, 2026. The Twins are in a group of eight teams (which also includes the Tigers) who have the joint second-largest bonus pools. The Twins can spend $7,357,100 in the 2026 international signing window. View full article

A blustery, cloudy morning gave way to a warm, sunny spring afternoon in St. Paul, as the Saints crushed Indianapolis on Tuesday, running out 16-4 winners in their series opener. Here are notes, observations, and analysis from my live looks in St. Paul. Image courtesy of © Chris Tilley-Imagn Images Zebby Matthews Tuesday was easily Zebby Matthews’s worst start of the young 2025 season. After getting pushed back from starting in Iowa via rainout, the righthander didn’t have his best stuff or his best command. Matthews was pulled in the top of the fourth inning, ending the day with a line of 3 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Matthews managed 67% strikes on 80 pitches and only gave up two hard-hit balls, though, so ‘worst’ is a relative term here. Matthews's velocity wasn’t at its best on Tuesday. His fastball topped out at 97.4 mph, after he touched 99.5 mph in his previous start. He didn’t seem to have great command of his fastball, either, and struggled with location in general. Many of his pitches were just off the strike zone, and he labored a little to get into good counts—usually a key area of strength. Matthews dialed back the usage of his fastball a little, in favor of a roughly even split between four-seamers, cutters, and sliders. All of his pitches were still up, velo-wise, from his 2024 numbers. He managed 10 whiffs, including a 40% whiff rate on his slider. While it wasn’t his sharpest outing, the velocity, stuff, and strike-throwing are all consistently in place through four Triple-A starts. He’s close to ready. Carson McCusker McCusker continues to defy the odds with his performance at Triple A. The 2023 free-agent signing out of independent ball strikes an imposing figure in the batter's box. Seriously, the bat looks like a matchstick in his hands. He looks every bit of his listed size, 6-foot-8, 250 pounds. He crushed a grand slam off Carson Fulmer in a low-effort swing, an easy 103 mph off the bat. He also lined out in the bottom of the 8th at 106 mph. While it’s too early to say he deserves some run in the majors, McCusker is making a case for himself. Through 16 games in 2025, he’s hitting .298/.385/.684 with 6 home runs. He’s walking plenty (10.6%) and striking out a ton (31.8%). It’s close to top-of-the-scale power, with a maximum exit velocity of 114.2 mph and an unbelievable hard-hit rate of over 60%. All that adds up to a 175 wRC+. It’s a little bit reminiscent of Matt Wallner’s profile, from the right side—though, crucially, without the pedigree, track record, and supplementary tools. McCusker’s swing rate is down 10% overall in 2025. He’s clearly going into plate appearances with a better plan. His contact (especially in-zone contact) numbers are a little worrisome, and he’s in his age-27 season, but if he continues to mash, he’s going to be hard to ignore. I wonder if he’ll get any run at first base at St. Paul eventually. Emmanuel Rodriguez Emmanuel Rodriguez has had a slow start to 2025. Entering Tuesday’s tilt, he was hitting .228/.362/.281, with just three extra-base hits (all doubles). What’s been surprising is the lack of extra-base production (.053 ISO, compared to .253 in Triple A in 2024). There’s not much in his quality of contact to suggest there’s anything to worry about just yet. Entering Tuesday, his 42.4% Hard-Hit% is in line with 2024, with a similar Max EV of 113.6 mph. Looking at his plate discipline, Rodriguez has been more aggressive in 2025 (his swing percentage is up about 9%). Despite this, he’s still incredibly patient. He’s actually making more contact overall, and more in-zone contact than in 2024. The challenge, currently, is out-of-zone contact. In a very small sample, Rodriguez is chasing more in 2024. It’s resulting in some weaker contact outside the zone. I think there’s some calibration and adjustment to be done here, as the Twins want him to be more aggressive within the zone. After a couple of ugly initial at-bats, Rodriguez hit the ball hard, twice. A 107-mph single was followed up with a 112-mph single. The approach, patience, and quality of contact are all still there. The extra-base power should be coming soon. Michael Tonkin In his first rehab outing at St. Paul, Michael Tonkin was hit hard. He gave up two long home runs and three earned runs in an inning of work, needing 27 pitches to do so. Tonkin’s velocity was down, particularly on his sinker (-3.8 mph compared to 2024), and he left a lot of soft stuff over the heart of the plate. Still, he has time left in his rehab and the Twins bullpen does not have a pressing need for another arm in the immediate future. Diego Cartaya I was curious to see Cartaya, whom the Twins acquired in a trade with the Dodgers. It would be helpful to the Twins if either he or Jair Carmago emerged as a capable backup for 2026 and beyond. Cartaya looked clueless at the plate, though, striking out in four of his five trips. He’s running a strikeout rate in the sixties and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s dumped from the 40-man roster if and when the Twins need a spot. Lastly, a request for folks who enjoy minor-league content at Twins Daily. This is a new and different format for prospect content, combining analysis with live looks. If you enjoyed it, please let us know. There’s certainly room to do more, if there’s an audience and an appetite for it. Feel free to leave feedback, too. View full article

K. I'm all set here. Thanks for reading/commenting. Enjoy your day.

What's your source for stuff+ and the translation of the model you're using to grades for each pitch?

There's been a huge uptick in Stuff+ from last year. Hit MLB debut Stuff+ was 99 (TJ Stats), this season has been 109-111. Fastball has gone from around 100 to 115-117. All of his pitches have improved. Only his cutter is around average per Stuff+, depending on what model you're using.

We’ll see Zebby Matthews with the big-league team soon. Let’s take stock of his early season performance in AAA and dig in on some of those tangible improvements. Image courtesy of Dave Nelson-Imagn Images For many Twins fans, it was perhaps a surprise when David Festa got the call to the Twins rotation over Zebby Matthews. After all, Zebby was lined up to take Pablo’s day in the rotation. Matthews has also made tangible performance gains in 2025. The move made sense, though. Festa is MLB-ready in his own right. He has more experience at Triple-A. His promotion allowed the Twins to build up some extra rest for a rotation that has rounded into form. We’ll see Zebby Matthews with the big league team soon. Let’s take stock of his early-season performance in the minors and dig in on some of those tangible improvements. Matthews has made three starts in AAA thus far in 2025, most recently against the Iowa Cubs, probably the best Triple-A lineup in baseball. In those three starts he’s thrown 15 innings and managed a 1.28 FIP, posting a 32.7 K-BB% in the process. That’s dominant. One inescapable truth, and one that underpinned folks clamoring for Zebby to be promoted to the big leagues to replace Pablo Lopez, is a significant uptick in velocity across the board. In 2024, a year in which Matthews saw three different MiLB levels (and a brief, challenging stint in the majors), his fastball averaged 95.6 mph. Through 15 innings in 2025, he's averaging 97.2 mph, he's touched 99.5 mph, and he’s using it more (45%, up from 37% in 2024). It’s not just the fastball. The velocity is up across the board. vFA vFC vSL vCU vCH 2024 (MiLB) 95.6 mph 90.8 mph 85.9 mph 80.2 mph 85.4 mph 2025 (MiLB) 97.2 mph 92.9 mph 89 mph 84.8 mph 87.3 mph To put this in context: 97.2 mph would have been the fastest average fastball for a starter in the majors in 2024, ahead of Dylan Cease (96.9 mph) and Tarik Skubal (96.8 mph). His slider would be the second hardest, on average. While we’ve been astounded by Matthew’s velocity gains in 2025, it still feels like we’re underselling it. So, what’s the impact of velocity gains? It’s giving him significantly more margin for error with his one remaining area of opportunity, command, (more on that later). The amount of contact opposing hitters are making in the strike zone is way down, from 88.7% in AAA in 2024, to 78.8% in Triple-A this year. His CSW% (called + swinging strike percent) is up from 28.6% in AAA in 2024, to 34.6% in AAA in 2025. These are not small improvements. If you’re a stuff nerd, that's taken a step forward. Please consult your preferred stuff plus model of choice. This is trending towards becoming one of the better arsenals out there, aided by new found elite velocity. So, what are the opportunities for Matthews? One aspect of his performance we should continue to pick apart is control versus command. The two are often conflated. He’s elite at one, while the other is a work in progress. Considered in its simplest form ‘control’ is the ability to throw strikes, ‘command’ your ability to manipulate those strikes throughout the strike zone. The latter is much more complicated. After all, you have to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of a particular hitter, the sequencing of your pitches, and so on. Matthews threw ~70% strikes in his 2024 season. His 1.9 BB% in his MiLB innings would easily be the best in the majors (George Kirby led the league at 3%). Matthews is throwing slightly less strikes in 2025 (68%). I’d contend that’s a net positive. Knowing how, when, and where to leave the strike zone is an important skill in learning to deploy your arsenal, particularly when it features a fastball you can run up to 100 mph. To put it bluntly; how can you make a batter chase if you are never out of the strike zone? Let’s address the command directly. Location+ is a count and pitch type adjusted stat that serves as a measure of the pitcher’s ability to put the ball in the right place. While that’s not perfect, it tells an interesting story. In his brief MLB debut in 2024, Matthews had a Location+ of 97. If he was qualified, that would have ranked 52nd out of 58 starting pitchers in the league. Matthews’ Location+ was worst on his fastball and cutter, two pitches that account for ~60% of the pitches he throws. To be direct, he was outstanding at throwing strikes, not yet outstanding at putting those strikes in the right places. The remaining area of opportunity for Matthews is training command: spotting his pitches where they are called, reducing his miss rate, and ensuring misses don’t leak over the heart of the plate. This is where his velocity creates increased margin for error, but command metrics are the aspect of Matthews’ performance I’ll be paying closest attention to when he gets the call. One final aspect of development we should mention is a pitch tweak. Matthews adjusted his changeup this offseason. Primarily for use against left handed hitters, he’s worked on executing it over the plate to ensure they can’t sit on a cut fastball or breaking pitch inside. You can see an example below of how these were executed against Owen Caissie after getting to 0-2 against him in his most recent start (both changeups in this at-bat were swinging strikes). Matthews is more equipped to handle MLB hitters in a second stint with the Twins, whenever that may come. It’s now elite velocity, elite strike throwing, and a diverse arsenal that should beget success at the highest level. If he can continue to improve his command, he has a chance to be a playoff caliber starting pitcher. View full article

He’s here, folks. Luke Keaschall got the call. He’ll join the Twins Friday in Atlanta, after a rash of injuries to position players left the Twins roster thin on both quality and depth. What should we expect from Keaschall? How might he be deployed? Let’s dig in. Image courtesy of © Chris Tilley-Imagn Images This is one of those moments where it’s good to get excited. A homegrown prospect drafted a mere two years ago is making his debut in the majors. That, in itself, is a huge developmental win—for the organization, for the player development team, and for Keaschall himself. This spring, I wrote about the completeness of Keaschall as a hitter. To summarize: he makes great swing decisions, and he has excellent bat-to-ball skills. He maximizes his average power by displaying increasing skill at pulling the ball in the air. That’s a great combination for a high-floored, everyday regular. I think, though, it would be prudent for us to keep our expectations of Keaschall in check during his first taste of big-league action. Let’s dig into why. The first question that crops up is, "Where is he going to play?" Keaschall is newly recovered from scheduled Tommy John surgery last August, which cut short an exceptional season in which he managed a .903 OPS (158 wRC+) at High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita. In 14 games at Triple-A St. Paul in 2025, Keaschall has been deployed at DH in seven and at second base in seven. In the games he started in the field, he was usually replaced in the middle or late innings. When we consider that the Twins are easing him back in on defense after surgery, I think it’s fair to assume playing the outfield is out of the question. (That’s still a medium- to long-term possibility, though.) I’d imagine he’ll play some combination of second base against left-handed pitching (you get Chris Sale on Saturday, good luck), and DH. Not to be a downer, but it’s also a distinct possibility that he spends a good amount of time on the bench. Another reality is that Keaschall probably had an equal chance of starting 2025 at Wichita or St. Paul. The Twins chose the latter (correctly, from this seat), but he’s had a 14-game stint at St. Paul after a 58-game stretch in Wichita to end 2024. It is unreasonable to expect him to come roaring out of the gates in the majors. Keaschall has been solid in his limited Triple-A debut. In 14 games, he’s hit .261/.379/.348, with a home run, a double, and four stolen bases. That adds up to a 107 wRC+. Look, it’s been cold, wet, and the Saints have suffered from a highly disrupted schedule early on, but it’s been a transition punctuated by adjustments. The biggest difference between Keaschall’s 2024 and early 2025 numbers is erosion in his quality of contact. He’s not hitting the ball very hard. His ISO is a full .100 lower than in 2024. That’s what I’d expect for a player jumping a level. Just don’t expect Keaschall to set the world on fire immediately. That’s not reasonable, or fair. If Keaschall is going to be successful in his first stint in the majors, it’ll be underpinned by excellent swing decisions. In the early going, he’s walking 15.5% of the time (even better than his 13.4% mark in 2024). He’s striking out 19% of the time—exactly the rate he managed at Wichita in 2024. His overall contact rate (81.4%) would be in the upper third of major-league hitters, while his in-zone contact rate of 89.7% would put him in a similar range. Strong swing decisions and bat-to-ball skills provide Keaschall a sturdy platform for success. One unintended outcome of the skillset, now that the difficulty mode is being cranked up, might be pitchers frequently getting to leveraged counts against him due to his patience. That could lead to weak contact, as he battles to stay in at-bats. I think a fully-formed Keaschall is a 2- or 3-win player. Most projection systems see him as a 1.5-win player in the short term. He has the athleticism, skillset, and track record to support long-term success. Don’t expect him to save the Twins offense in the short term, though. We’re not quite there yet. View full article

According to Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, the Twins are calling up their third-ranked prospect, Luke Keaschall, amid a flurry of injuries to position players. Image courtesy of © Chris Tilley-Imagn Images Luke Keaschall, a consensus top-100 global prospect, is coming to the big leagues. The availability of Carlos Correa (wrist) and Willi Castro (oblique) is unknown, after each had to leave games during the Twins' recent series with the Mets. Jose Miranda (hand) and Austin Martin (hamstring) are both on the injured list for St. Paul, further eroding the team's position-player depth. Keaschall was the Twins' second-round pick out of Arizona State in 2023, the same draft that netted the Twins Walker Jenkins and Charlee Soto. He adjusted quickly to professional baseball. In his first full season in 2024, he hit .303/.420/.483, with 15 home runs (37 extra-base hits) and 23 stolen bases across 102 games at High A and Double A. Keaschall thrived on a combination of excellent swing decisions and strong bat-to-ball skills. He walked 13.4% of the time in 2024 against a strikeout rate of just 17.2%. A contact rate of 82.4% underpinned consistently strong production at the plate, with more pull-side power than you might expect. Keaschall's season was cut short in August by scheduled Tommy John surgery. His injury impacted both his swing and his throwing, with one of the most pressing questions against a safe profile being where he might fit defensively. Indeed, in the early going at St. Paul, Keaschall has mostly played DH, while easing back into limited defensive duties at second base. He's an outstanding athlete though. Assuming his throwing arm is fully recovered, he would make sense as an option in the outfield. Keaschall was off to a solid start at St. Paul, hitting .261/.379/.348 with a home run and a double in 14 games, good for a 107 wRC+. While this debut might be sooner than anticipated, or is ideal, a top prospect making their major league debut will undoubtedly excite a fan base in search of good news. Keaschall will join the team in Atlanta on Friday. More to come. View full article