How the mighty have fallen! Just two seasons ago, the Twins were many people's dark-horse pick to reach the World Series in the American League. This season, they sold off every spare part, including the kitchen sink, at the trade deadline in order to slash payroll. An uncertain ownership situation certainly plays a significant role in the predicament this organization finds itself in. Regardless of how they got here, this is very much a different team than it was this time last year. The major league roster has been thinned out, and there are some spots up for grabs for the Twins' upper-minors talent.
Byron Buxtonwas the Twins' offense last season, setting career highs in plate appearances (542), home runs (35), RBIs (83), and runs (97). Buxton is flanked by the ultra-talented Royce Lewis, who has the same trouble staying healthy and on the field as his teammate. Beyond these two oft-injured stars, this team has several platoon-type bats who can slug, including Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, and others. The Twins' next young star might just be Luke Keaschall, who does everything well. He'll be the Twins' second baseman for the foreseeable future.
On the pitching side of things, this team held onto its top-end starters. Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez. Both will be trade candidates this offseason or leading up to the 2026 trade deadline. Beyond these two vets, the Twins have some intriguing rotation options for the near future. Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Mick Abel, and Taj Bradley will all battle for innings next season. The Twins' bullpen took the huge hit at the deadline as they lost their closer (Jhoan Duran), set-up man (Griffin Jax), and 7th inning man (Louis Varland). The next man up to close games is anyone's guess.
There are a number of really fun prospects in this Twins' system, including outfielders Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, and shortstop Kaelen Culpepper. These are three very different offensive profiles that point toward an exciting future for the Twins offense. There are a number of other interesting bats in this system who could impact this Twins club in the near-term, including Hendry Mendez, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Marek Houston. There are also a number of pitchers on the horizon, including Triple-A lefties Connor Prielipp and Kendry Rojas, while low-minors upside arms Dasan Hill and Charlee Soto bring front-of-the-rotation upside.
Things may look bleak at the moment, but there's a path to a competitive team here in Minnesota in fairly short order if things fall right.
Gallagher arrived from the Cubs in the Willi Castro trade, and it’s a perfect marriage with the Twins’ reputation for unlocking velocity gains in young arms. Gallagher already owns a promising slider and changeup, and in his eight starts with Minnesota, he showed strong command (6% walk rate). The strikeouts weren’t there yet, but he was adjusting to a new organization and Double-A competition. With more time to settle in, Gallagher could be one of the system’s next breakout names.
Emmanuel Rodriguez
You’ll (hopefully) never get a bigger discount on Rodriguez than right now. Once a top-10 prospect, he’s fallen way back—and for good reason. Health has been a major concern, as he’s managed just over 100 games across the past two seasons. The production has also slipped: he slugged .409 this year compared to .567 the year before.
Injuries have clearly derailed his development, but the fact they keep popping up can’t be ignored. Dynasty managers have to wonder whether they’ll ever get a full return on investment from Em-Rod. That said, the ceiling is still enormous. If he can stay on the field for a full 2026, there’s 30+ home run power, 20+ stolen bases, and the on-base skills to set the table as Minnesota’s leadoff hitter.
The floor is lower than we once thought, but the upside hasn’t gone anywhere—and it’s the discounted price tag this offseason that makes Rodriguez a buy.
Dynasty Sells
Byron Buxton
A 31-year-old coming off a career year with an extensive injury history feels like an easy sell. I’m teeing this one up for myself here: I’m selling Byron Buxton. There’s no denying he put together an incredible season—35 home runs, 24 stolen bases, and a .264 average. He also played in his most games since 2017. And that last number is the one you should be focusing on. I don’t think anyone expects a repeat of the power-speed combo, but even if you only get 80 cents on the dollar in return, it’s worth cashing out while his value is this high.
Brooks Lee
Lee also popped more than expected this year, hitting 16 home runs in 139 games with the Twins. That ties his single-season high from 2023, when he split time between Double-A and Triple-A. If the Twins have proven anything, it’s that they know how to (1) squeeze velocity out of pitchers’ fastballs and (2) get hitters to unlock home run totals. Lee didn’t do it with raw power—his 88 mph average exit velocity was below league average—but by consistently squaring balls up and pulling fly balls. He especially punished heaters, slugging .500 against fastballs, while managing a sub-.240 slugging percentage against everything else.
With Kaelen Culpepper waiting in the wings, this might be the perfect time to sell Lee while he’s holding down the shortstop job. There’s a real chance this is peak value, and Culpepper could push him aside once he’s ready.
Top Fantasy Prospects
Players are in order of their fantasy prospect ranking from our September end of season list.
Walker Jenkins is "how they're supposed to look" with his muscular 6'3 210 lb frame, but injuries have introduced some prospect fatigue to his dynasty stock. The Twins are no stranger to this phenomenon, but luckily, Jenkins is still very young and is primed to make his MLB debut in 2026 as a 21-year-old. It's important to keep his age in mind when considering the other knock on his profile - he hasn't fully translated raw power to game power just yet, leading some to wonder if he'll be more of a "double over homer" type of bat. However, as has been proven before in baseball, power is often the last tool to develop in prospects, and great hitters can turn doubles into home runs without having to swing out of their shoes. Jenkins was young for Double-A in 2025 and even younger for the Triple-A level, where he managed to stay afloat and continued to hit home runs and steal bases. Some had expected the speed to drop off, but it's starting to look like Walker Jenkins could be a 20/20 bat with excellent ratios after going .286/.399/.451 across MiLB this past year. If the game power continues to develop (and if he stays on the field), multiple 25-homer seasons at peak wouldn't be surprising for this borderline-underrated dynasty asset. - Darren Eisenhauer
Rodriguez saw his stock drop significantly in 2025, finding himself barely holding on to top 50 status at the end of the year. PLIVE+ peak projections still love him, ranking him the 20th-hitting prospect in baseball, but his extreme passivity and below-average contact rates are becoming more and more concerning. He continues to do plenty of damage when he does connect, but with a swing rate below 40% and a contact rate around 65% that damage is becoming more and more rare, leaving many to wonder how much impact he’ll provide at the big league level. If you’re among those with real concerns, now might be the time to sell. - Kyle Sonntag
In his age-22 season, Kaelen Culpepper truly emerged, putting to bed fears of a defense-first shortstop (the defense remains incredibly sound) with a questionable hit tool. Culpepper slashed .289/.375/.469 while striking out less than 19 percent of the time – a strong mark for Double-A. Culpepper’s reluctance to draw free passes (9.7 percent walks in 2025) may be the only real blemish on his profile, as it indicates he may struggle against advanced pitching that can prey on his developing approach and willingness to put the ball in play. Bizarrely, Culpepper could also stand to swing a bit more (only 46.7 percent swing rate at Double-A), but he makes great contact (nearly 85 percent rate) to preserve his expected OBA. The power is very real for Culpepper, as he worked a .181 isolated power metric and smashed 20 homers to go alongside 25 stolen bases in one of the flashiest seasons in all the minor leagues across 2025 – you heard me… 20 HR and 25 SB in 2025. Culpepper is safely a top 100 prospect in the game and, depending on who you ask, a top 50 prospect for fantasy baseball. (In fact, our own Greg Hoogkamp, Matt Thompson, and Lucas Morel have Culpepper in their top 40!) The dream for Culpepper is a defensively sound infielder who could threaten 20/20 seasons at maturity, which is a player well worth your investment in leagues with any prospect inclusion. - Drew Wheeler
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Prospects| NPB| Pitching guy| Brandon Tew is an operations analyst for Sports Info Solutions, a sports analytics company that has been in business providing data to MLB teams and media since 2003. Visit their website at SportsInfoSolutions.com
