**Twins’ Prospect Depth and Trade Strategy**
In recent years, the Twins have leveraged their prospect depth to execute multiple trades. Here’s an overview of the team’s top 20 prospects and their respective tiers ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
**The Importance of Prospect Depth**
Organizations often rely on prospect depth to bolster their major league roster and extend their competitive window. The Twins have used top prospects to acquire players like Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, and Jorge López. While some trades were successful, others have not been as beneficial. Below is a tiered ranking of Twins Daily’s top 20 Twins prospects, excluding Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson, who will soon graduate from prospect lists. The top prospects are categorized into five tiers.
**Tier 1: The Untouchables**
– **Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee**
– These players are unlikely to be traded. Jenkins is a potential future superstar for the Twins, and Lee, despite not having as high a ceiling, is close to making a big-league impact and may be needed later in the season.
**Tier 2: Only Available in Blockbusters**
– **Emmanuel Rodríguez, David Festa, Charlee Soto**
– These prospects would only be traded for a major acquisition with significant team control or playoff impact. Rodríguez is a five-tool talent, Festa is nearly big-league-ready, and Soto, although far from the majors, is a rare high-school pitcher for the Twins and would only be traded for controllable starting pitching.
**Tier 3: Rising Stock and Trade Bait**
– **Luke Keaschall, Brandon Winokur, Zebby Matthews**
– These prospects are the most likely to be traded. They have increased their stock this season, making them attractive to other organizations. The Twins have historically traded similar prospects, though with mixed results, suggesting a need for caution.
**Tier 4: Dropping Stock**
– **Gabriel González, Marco Raya, Tanner Schobel, Cory Lewis, Connor Prielipp**
– These players have seen their stock decline in 2024 and are more valuable to the Twins than other teams. González, acquired in the Jorge Polanco deal, and Raya, carefully managed for workload, face performance and health issues. Schobel needs to prove his power at higher levels, Lewis is recovering from injury, and Prielipp has a long injury history.
**Tier 5: Supplemental Players to Sweeten a Deal**
– **Danny De Andrade, Yunior Severino, C.J. Culpepper, Ricardo Olivar**
– These players are at the lower end of the top 20 list and could be included in trades to enhance value. De Andrade needs to prove his health, Severino has struggled this year, Culpepper was a breakout prospect but is currently injured, and Olivar is an intriguing catcher with power potential.
**Overall Assessment**
The Twins’ farm system is about average, with less high-quality depth than some other organizations. Nevertheless, they have enough prospect capital to make impactful acquisitions if they position themselves as buyers this summer.
Leave a Reply