Last season the Minnesota Twins benefited from a perfectly timed youth movement that saw young players like Edouard Julien and Royce Lewis explode onto the scene and help turn things around.
At a time when the Twins offense was struggling mightily, both Lewis and Julien helped power a turn around that ended with Minnesota snapping its 19-year postseason losing streak. It harkened back to the glory days of the 2000s when homegrown talent helped revive the franchise, and it seems history is ready to repeat itself.
Lewis and Julien were part of just the first wave in the youth movement. Simeon Woods Richardson, Jose Miranda, and Austin Martin have since followed -- to varying degrees of success -- and there's even more talent in the farm system that could continue ushering in the future this season.
Top Minnesota Twins prospects who can help make an imapct this season
Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF
Brooks Lee and Walker Jenkins are getting a ton of attention as top prospects in the farm system, which makes everything Emmanuel Rodriguez is doing even more exciting.
E-Rod was named an MiLB Player of the Month in April despite missing a handful of games due to injury. Despite this, he finished the month with a 1.193 OPS and 11 extra base hits, while stealing nine bases. Defensively Rodriguez was fantastic as well, turning in highlight reel catches that only further raise his stock in the eyes of fans.
The @WindSurgeICT put on a defensive clinic last night💥
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) May 5, 2024
Emmanuel Rodriguez, Ben Ross, and Alerick Soularie all made great plays in the field to help secure the win 💨#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/diP4wffSDR
Whether the Twins feel the same way is yet to be seen, but we're reaching a point where it might be a matter of when, not if, we see Rodriguez make his debut this season. One thing that works in his favor is he's already on the 40-man roster, so E-Rod has a leg up on other potential prospects looking to get called up including Brooks Lee.
Rodriguez also fills a potential hole in the outfield platoon as a replacement for Manuel Margot, who has been a total bust since the Twins traded for him during Spring Training. Everything that Rodriguez is doing right now is exciting, as he's hitting .287/.473/.607 and still has an OPS over 1.000, which could lead to him making the leap from Double-A all the way to the Majors in the near future.