MLB Execs Love Minnesota Twins Top Prospects, Past and Present
If the Minnesota Twins aren’t going to spend any money, and they aren’t, then they better have some good controllable talent. The farm system has risen the ranks in recent seasons and they currently have some of baseball’s best prospects.
That isn’t new for the Twins either. This franchise just saw a previous top prospect in Joe Mauer be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Byron Buxton won’t reach that level, but he’ll likely finish in the organization’s Hall of Fame at some point. The ability to generate that level of talent is a must for a team with balance sheet restrictions.
Twins top prospect generates high praise
Walker Jenkins joined the Twins organization in 2023 when he was selected with the fifth overall pick. He is a consensus top-100 prospect, and will rank among the top ten when lists drop for 2025. MLB Pipeline recently polled front office executives and they all wish he were in their organizations as well.
When asked who baseball’s top overall prospect is, those executives gave Jenkins 6.1% of the vote. That ranks third behind only Boston’s Roman Anthony (44.9%) and Washington’s Dylan Crews (20.4%). Notably though, both those players are at least a year older thank Jenkins.
High-A HR No. 1 for Walker Jenkins!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 24, 2024
MLB's No. 4 prospect (@Twins) rockets this one out in a hurry for the @CRKernels.
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/aKtGFgX9NB pic.twitter.com/UwtrkBaqht
Last season Jenkins finished at Double-A Wichita. It was just a six game sample size, but his 82-game season resulted in a .282/.394/.439 slash line. The outfielder launched six home runs with 22 doubles, four triples, and 17 steals.
It was a significant come up for the Twins to draft him, and the power combination along with his speed is something that will continue to serve him well. Jenkins also drew 11.1% of the vote for best hitting prospect (4th).
Related: Minnesota Twins Hire Former Player to Front Office Role
This season Jenkins will start at Double-A Wichita and should have every opportunity to reach Triple-A St. Paul. It’s unlikely that he makes his big league debut, but a talent this good isn’t worth putting a limit on either.
Prospect praise poured on multiple other Minnesota Twins
It wasn’t just Jenkins that shined when front office executives considered the strength of the Minnesota Twins system. Emmanuel Rodriguez is considered the second best prospect, but it’s Luke Keaschall who is being too overlooked.
34 different players received votes as the most underrated prospect, but Keaschall’s 6.4% paced them all. The second baseman and outfielder owned a .303/.420/.483 slash line while playing through a torn UCL. He swatted 15 home runs and stole 23 bases.
Luke Keaschall, the No. 54 prospect in MLB by @BaseballAmerica, launched his third HR in four days 💣
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) July 28, 2024
2-for-6
HR (105 mph)
2 RBI
His 2024 ranks amongst Double-A Texas League players (min. 200 PA):
OBP – 1st (.407)🥇
OPS – 2nd (.886)🥈
wOBA – 1st (.385)🥇#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/uda0hlusG3
Keaschall should be good to go out of the gate for 2025. He’ll probably begin the year at Double-A Wichita, but with 58 games of strong production there, an argument could be made for Triple-A St. Paul.
Related: Exclusive: Twins Top Prospect Opens Up About Torn UCL That Eventually Ended His Season
Although Keaschall has played just 13 games at first base in his professional career, the Twins could push him in that direction and have him starting for Rocco Baldelli soon.
Historical Minnesota Twins prospects noted as well
As you look back over the course of major league history, there will always be talents that stand out beyond measure. Minnesota hasn’t had as many as some other franchises, but they have faired well at times.
Byron Buxton’s name came up in voting for the best minor league prospect ever. He dealt with plenty of adversity on his way to the big leagues, but was the top overall prospect in baseball on multiple occasions. His .944 OPS with 19 doubles and 18 triples in 125 games during the 2013 season was stuff of legend.
With Byron Buxton coming to Cedar Rapids this weekend, I went back in the archives and found some video of his time with the @CRKernels. @Twins pic.twitter.com/2qqsGkhNzw
— Josh Christensen (@JCSportsGuy) August 24, 2019
Joe Mauer was also noted as a candidate for being the best amateur prospect ever. With 4.8% of the vote, he came in sixth trailing only standouts like Paul Skenes, Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, and Stephen Strasburg.
23 years ago joe mauer was hitting dingers as a high school player in front of the countdown to cooperstown banner for kirby puckett pic.twitter.com/VrhG3chZ3V
— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) July 19, 2024
Of course Mauer is the only player among that group to be enshrined in Cooperstown, and it remains to be seen whether any of the others mentioned will join him.
Related: Do the Minnesota Twins Really Have a Top 10 MLB Starting Rotation…?
The Twins are hoping Kaelen Culpepper can be their latest prospect success story after taking him in the first round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.
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