From a dynasty prospects perspective, the top three in this organization compare admirably against most other systems in baseball. Beyond that, there is a nice mix of names that have paths to breakout or bounce-back seasons.
The Top Tier
1) Brooks Lee – SS, 22 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (AA/AAA): .275/.347/.461/16 HR/7 SB/16 K%/9.9 BB%
There is a good chance that a lot of outlets will have Lee as No. 2 in this system, but I’m giving Lee the top spot here after an impressive campaign against upper-level pitching.
The Twins took Lee with the 8th pick in the 2022 draft and he’s done nothing but hit since. He’s got roughly a full MLB season’s worth of minor league games under his belt (156) and has hit .281/.355/.459 with 20 home runs and seven steals. He’s not ever likely going to be a threat on the basepaths, which puts a cap on his fantasy baseball ceiling, but he’s looking likely to hit for a good average with good power at shortstop. From a fantasy point-of-view, his best-case ceiling looks something like 2018-2022 Xander Bogaerts. Of course, that’s a lofty goal, but Lee looks like a high-floor prospect and not one that should be overlooked just because he’s not going to steal a ton of bases.
Lee is knocking on the door of the majors and even though the Minnesota infield is pretty set, I imagine we see him at some point in 2024.
2) Walker Jenkins – OF, 18 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (CPX/A): .362/.417/.571/3 HR/6 SB/12.2 K%/7.8 BB%
Don’t let those counting stats mislead you – that’s all in just a 26-game sample. It feels like Jenkins has more helium than anyone who is FYPD-eligible, which says a lot considering that the Twins took him fifth overall in the 2023 draft. In most FYPDs, he’s likely the third bat off the board behind Wyatt Langford and Dylan Crews, but don’t be surprised if he goes ahead of Paul Skenes in your draft.
The 6’3″ lefty-hitting Jenkins has massive power and it will be exciting to see what kind of damage he does in full-season ball as a 19-year-old. He’s not likely to steal many bags as he continues to mature, so in that sense, he is similar to Lee with a slightly capped fantasy ceiling. That ceiling is ultimately higher than Lee’s given that Jenkins could blossom into a premier power hitter, but this is a true 1A/1B situation for me given that Jenkins has the entire minor league ladder to climb.
3) Emmanuel Rodriguez– OF, 20 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (A+): .240/.400/.463/16 HR/ 20 SB/29.5 K%/20.2 BB%
On pure upside alone, Rodriguez probably ranks at the top of this list. Those counting stats are in just 99 games, so if you pro-rate that to a full MLB season, we are looking profile that is flirting with 30/30. If you want to buy into Rodriguez even more, he had a season-ending knee injury in 2022 and he was clearly a bit rusty. Through July 4th, he was hitting just .207.
Rodriguez struck out or walked nearly 50% of the time in 2023. The 20% walk rate is obviously impressive, and the high walk rates have been a staple of Rodriguez in his minor league career. There is some worry that the strikeout rate will climb into the danger zone against upper-level pitching, but that is the trade-off for someone who walks at this rate. As he continues to mature I expect the steals to tick down and the power to tick up even more.
4) David Festa – P, 23 YO
2023 MILB Stats (AA, AAA): 4.19 ERA/92.1 IP/30.1 K%/10.6 BB%
Festa is an MLB-ready arm, which is part of the reason he comes in as the top pitcher in the system. He enjoyed a nice 2023 season, with all but three of his appearances coming at Double-A, and FIP at that level (3.71) was considerably lower than his ERA (4.38). Of arms that tossed at least 90 frames in the minors in 2023, the 6’6″ righty ranked 30th in strikeout rate.
His walk rate did check-in in the double digits, though it was at 9.6% in Double-A. It’s still something to keep an eye on as he climbs to the big leagues. If he can keep it around 10% he should be a successful starter but if it climbs any higher he could run into trouble.
The Twins’ rotation seems pretty set going into 2024, but Festa might be the next man up.
5) Marco Raya – P, 21 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (A+, AA): 4.02 ERA/ 62.2 IP/25.3 K%/8.6 BB%
Raya has a deep pitch mix and performed well in 2023 despite being just 20 years old. The 6’1 righty absolutely carved up High-A, tossing 33.2 innings and posting a 2.94 ERA with a 23.5% K-BB rates. That earned him a promotion to Double-A, where again he was considerably young for the level. Ray ran into some trouble there, finishing with a 5.28 ERA and a walk rate north of 11%.
But the main concern with Raya, at least from a fantasy point of view, is that Minnesota didn’t let him pitch deep into games. This is not uncommon across the league these days, but he only averaged 2.82 innings per start and only pitched four innings on four occasions. It’s unclear if Raya can maintain his efficiency deeper into games. Hopefully, we will learn more in 2024.
6) Austin Martin – 2B/OF, 24 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (CPX, A, AAA): .260/.381/.398/7 HR/19 SB/16.3 K%/13.8 BB%
Martin is a bit of a buy-low, and it’s likely that his place on these types of lists has the greatest delta of any player in the system.
Most of Martin’s stats were logged at Triple-A, where he put up a 106 wRC+. The stats don’t necessarily jump off the page, mostly due to somewhat limited power, but there is a good chance that Martin can develop into a double-digit home run player that can annually swipe 25-30 bases in a full-time role. He may never lock into one defensive position, but that benefits us from a fantasy perspective. His plate discipline rates at Triple-A portend to at least a high-floor major leaguer.
He’s been banged up seemingly every year of his minor league career and he went No. 5 overall in the 2020 draft. It’s too early to write him off.
7) Luke Keaschall – 2B, 21 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (CPX, A, A+): .288/.414/.477/3 HR/11 SB/17.9 K%/13.6 BB%
The Twins took the second baseman Keaschall with the 49th overall pick in the 2023 draft. If the three home runs have you worried, don’t look too much into the counting stats – Keaschall only has 32 professional games under his belt. Backtracking to the spring, when Keaschall was a junior for Arizona State, and we get a clearer image of his profile. There, in 55 games, Keaschall triple slashed .353/.443/.725 with 18 home runs and 18 steals. He also walked 22 times while striking out just 28.
That plate approach carried over into his small sample in the minors, too, with Keaschall walking 13.6% of the time and striking out 17.9%. If the package we are seeing here is one of someone who could potentially have above-average power, above-average speed, and a plate approach where walks are close to as common as strikeouts, then the Twins absolutely got a steal in the second round of the draft, and you might be able to get a steal with Keaschall late in your FYPD.
Prospects Dynasty Managers Should Know
8) Matt Canterino, P, 26 YO
2023 Stats: N/A
Canterino may have the best stuff in the system but has been limited by injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2022 season and is on the 40-man, so we will likely see him in Minnesota this year. There is a very good chance with his history that he ends up in the bullpen to preserve his arm, but there is a huge ceiling here, whether he’s in the rotation or in the bullpen. Canterino has never had a stop at any level with a strikeout rate lower than 33%. If you’re looking for someone who could have a Mason Miller-like rise in 2024, Canterino is a solid bet.
9) Connor Prielipp – P, 23 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (CPX, A+) – 6.75 ERA/6.2 IP/21.9 K%/12.5 BB%
Like Canterino, Prielipp has huge stuff, but due to injury we have only seen him throw 6.2 professional innings since being drafted in 2022. It’s becoming more likely that his future is in the bullpen, but if Prielipp can show early on in 2024 that he is still on track to be a starter, he will climb quickly in dynasty prospect rankings.
10) Tanner Schobel – 2B, 22 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (A+, AA): .265/.352/.424/16 HR/12 SB/18.8 K%/11.0 BB%
Schobel had a solid 2023 season. He’s an undersized utility-infield type, but he has a good plate approach and can do a bit of everything. The upside is capped here.
11) Yasser Mercedes – OF, 19 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (CPX): .196/.248/.381/4 HR/6 SB/21.9 K%/5.7 BB%
Mercedes was a big riser in 2022 after he tore up the DSL as a 17-year-old. He battled injury in 2023 and the results on the field were underwhelming. He only appeared in 25 games, though, so this is a small sample. Mercedes is a good buy-low given his all-categories potential.
12) Charlee Soto – P, 18 YO
2023 Stats: N/A
The Twins took Soto with the 34th overall selection in the 2023 draft. He has yet to appear in a professional game, but Soto has a high-velocity fastball that should perform well in the lower levels of the minors.
13) Brandon Winokur – OF, 19 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (CPX): .288/.338/.545/4 HR/0 SB/32.4 K%/5.6 BB%
Winokur had a nice season at the Complex level in just 17 games. He’s a big right-handed bat that can hit for above-average power, though the speed is minimal and the small-sample plate approach is a red flag.
14) Simeon Woods Richardson – P, 23 YO
2023 MiLB Stats (AAA): 113.2 IP/4.91 ERA/19.3 K%/12.3 BB%
2023 MLB Stats: 4.2 IP/9.64 ERA/ 20.8 K%/12.5 BB%
It looked like maybe Woods Richardson, who has seemingly been a prospect since forever, figured things out at Triple-A in 2022, but things went backward in 2023. He looks like a back-end starter with a capped ceiling.
15) Kala’i Rosario – OF, 21 YO
2023 MiLB Stats: .252/.364/.467/21 HR/2 SB/29.6 K%/14.2 BB%
Rosario has good power, and it was on display with his .216 ISO as a 20-year-old in High-A. His strikeout rate is the red flag here. If he can keep it under 30%, this could be a .250/30 HR bat, but it’s very possible that the Ks catch up to him too much as he enters the upper minors.
The Next Five
Although these prospects do not crack the top 15, dynasty managers should keep their eye on these five players.
Jose Salas– 18 YO- Salas had the look of a top-100 prospect just 18 months ago, but he has not been able to figure out High-A pitching in two separate attempts. Still young enough to figure it out.
Danny De Andrade – 19 YO – De Andrade does a little bit of everything. That could make him fantasy-relevant at some point, but he could be a better real-life prospect than a fantasy one.
Yunior Severino – 24 YO – Severino belted 35 home runs in 120 games between Double-A and Triple-A. It’s tough to find that power anywhere in the minors. He strikes out a lot, though.
C.J. Culpepper – 22 YO – Culpepper had a nice 2023 between Single-A and High-A, though his results did dip significantly at the latter.
Cory Lewis – 23 YO – Lewis dominated Single-A and High-A in 2023, posting a sub-3.00 ERA at both levels. Let’s see how he handled upper-level bats, but he’s an intriguing under-the-radar arm.
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on X)