We’re about a quarter of the way through the season, and already things are starting to settle in more ways than one.
The Minnesota Twins saw an absolutely siesmic shift in momentum, from beginning the season 7-13 to ripping off a 12-game winning streak to pull themselves back into the AL Central race. It’s not a normal pace, but the Twins showed enough in the present to give fans reason to believe the future will be brighter than it seemed back in April.
It’s not just the remainder of this season that looks bright for the Twins, it’s the future beyond the horizon.
MLB Pipeline released an updated list of the Top 100 prospects in baseball and it was another reminder of how much promise Minnesota had beyond the young players it’s already watched flourish.
The Twins still have four prospects in the Top 100, and three of them took some nice jumps up to add further emphasis on the current youth movement.
Twins get phenomenal news in latest MLB Pipeline Top 100 list
Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee, and Emmanuel Rodriguez all moved up in the latest MLB Pipeline ranking of the Top 100 prospects in baseball. Gabriel Gonzalez, who the Twins acquired from Seattle as part of the Jorge Polanco trade, was the only player in the farm system to move down.
Even with sliding down to No. 86, Gonzalez is still in the Top 100 which means four Twins prospects remain ranked among the very best in the entire league.
New Rank (Old Rank) | Player | Position | ETA |
|---|---|---|---|
8 (10) | Walker Jenkins | OF | 2027 |
16 (18) | Brooks Lee | INF | 2024 |
33 (42) | Emmanuel Rodriguez | OF | 2025 |
79 (86) | Gabriel Gonzalez | OF | 2026 |
Perhaps most impressive was the giant leap that Rodriguez took.
He was among the highest risers in the updated list, moving up nine spots and putting himself alongside exciting young players like Jasson Dominguez, Kyle Teel, and Noelvi Marte, and ahead of guys like Kyle Manzardo, Jett Williams, and Brady House.
It comes as little surprise to those who have been keeping an eye on E-Rod, though. He’s been lighting things up at Double-A Wichita and was named the team’s Minor League Player of the Month in April despite missing a chunk of games with an injury.
He’s played so well that his name has popped up more than a few times as a potential call-up candidate. WIth Byron Buxton dealing with an injury and Manuel Margot slumping hard, the desire among fans to see Rodriguez make his debut grows and watching him shoot up the Top 100 prospect list will only intesnify those feelings.
Brooks Like is still the most likely of the top prospects to get call up first, though. He probably would already be on the roster had it not been for a herniated disc, as he made for a perfect replacement once Royce Lewis was lost to a quad injury.
Lewis is out, with a return date not yet set, and Lee is working his way back from that injury. The timeline still lines up for Lee to make his debut at some point before the All-Star Break, especially as other MLB-ready players like Paul Skenes, Wyatt Langford, and Jackson Holliday have taken the leap.
Either way, the Twins were already in a fantastic spot in terms of their top prospects and this latest update to the MLB Pipeline list just confirms how bright the future in Minnesota is.