The Twins are going to advertise prospect Luke Keaschall, studies Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. He’s not but on the 40-man roster, so the membership might want to open a spot for him. The membership is off right this moment, in order that corresponding transfer may not be reported till tomorrow.
Keaschall, 22, was chosen by the Twins within the second spherical of the 2023 draft. Since then, he has been cruising by the minors, displaying sturdy plate self-discipline. He has taken 662 plate appearances throughout 147 video games for a number of minor league golf equipment since being drafted. In that point, his 13.6% stroll price is sort of as excessive as his 17.5% strikeout price. That has helped him produce a mixed .297/.415/.470 batting line and 151 wRC+.
He has proven different attributes as properly. He has 38 stolen bases in 45 tries. Defensively, he has performed the three non-shortstop infield positions in addition to middle discipline. He required Tommy John surgical procedure in August however has already returned to the sector, since place gamers can return from that process a lot quicker than pitchers.
That efficiency has made him a consensus prime 100 prospect. Baseball America has him at #43, FanGraphs at #56, MLB Pipeline at #57, ESPN at #43 and Keith Legislation of The Athletic at #62. Scouting studies on him typically heap reward on his skills on the plate, with greater questions on his protection. He isn’t thought of particularly sturdy anyplace within the discipline. If he can stick at second, there shall be much less stress on him to hit, whereas finally getting bumped to first base or an outfield nook will give him a better bar to clear offensively.
Regardless of his apparent abilities, it’s a little bit of an aggressive promotion, in all probability quicker than the Twins had initially deliberate on. As talked about, he simply had Tommy John surgical procedure not too way back. He has been again on the sector, taking part in second base and serving because the designated hitter, however has but to play his different attainable positions.
In a perfect world, the Twins in all probability would have given him extra time to construct up his post-surgery repertoire however the damage bug has hit them laborious, notably within the infield. Royce Lewis is on the foremost league injured checklist whereas Austin Martin and José Miranda are every on the minor league IL. Carlos Correa and Willi Castro are every nonetheless on the lively roster however each are banged up. Correa didn’t begin yesterday attributable to some wrist soreness, with Castro getting the nod at shortstop. Nonetheless, Castro was eliminated with some indirect tightness, forcing Correa to sub in defensively. Along with all these infield accidents, outfielder Matt Wallner additionally landed on the IL right this moment.
These damage points have left the Twins scrambling a bit. They acquired infielder Jonah Bride, who had been designated for task by the Marlins, in a money deal. He has expertise in any respect the non-shortstop infield positions. The Twins have Ty France and Edouard Julien getting common taking part in time at first and second base, respectively. Brooks Lee ought to be capable to cowl shortstop or third. If Correa or Castro really feel higher quickly, they’d clearly be within the combine.
There’s additionally the designated hitter spot, which has principally been stuffed by Trevor Larnach this yr. Nonetheless, Wallner’s damage may push him into the outfield extra usually, alongside Byron Buxton and Harrison Bader, with DaShawn Keirsey Jr. round as properly.
Time will inform precisely how the Twins need to prepare the defensive alignments, however with so many key contributors on the shelf or banged up, they will use all the assistance they will get. Maybe Keaschall and Julien will platoon a bit at second, since Keaschall is a righty and Julien a lefty, although the Twins presumably want to have a key prospect like Keaschall taking part in extra usually than in a short-side platoon position.
At this level, it’s too late within the season for Keaschall to earn a full yr of service time, not less than within the conventional approach. Which means the Twins is not going to be eligible to obtain an additional draft choose through the prospect promotion incentive. Will probably be attainable for Keaschall to retroactively earn a full yr if he finishes within the prime two of Rookie of the 12 months voting, although guys like Kristian Campbell and Jacob Wilson have already got a headstart on him. It’s additionally attainable that the Twins get some guys wholesome once more within the coming weeks and return Keaschall to the minors. Although if he continues hitting the way in which he has on the farm, he may make {that a} powerful name for them.
Pictures courtesy of Chris Tilley, Imagn Pictures
