5 Twins prospects who could keep the youth movement going next season
More young players could have a big impact on the Twins in 2024.
Among the many amazing things that ended up happening this season for the Minnesota Twins, the youth movement the team experienced is pretty high on the list.
It felt like a throwback in every regard, as rookies like Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien stepped up to help lead the team to its first playoff victory in nearly two decades. Minnesota won its first playoff series since 2002 as well, something that happened back when players like Doug Mientkiewicz, Cristian Guzman, Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, and Johan Santana were starting to come into their own.
That core helped the Twins dominate the AL Central in the 2000s, and now we're seeing something similar happen which hopefully has the same impact. Lewis and Julien are joined by guys like Pablo Lopez, Matt Wallner, and Ryan Jeffers as players who are well under 30-years-old who appear to be key pieces of the future.
It doesn't end there. Minnesota has a handful of talent bubbling beneath the Major League surface that could help the youth movement continue next season.
5 Twins prospects who could have a huge impact in 2024
Simeon Woods Richardson, P
The only guy on this list we've already seen at the Majors is Simeon Woods Richardson, and there's a lot of hope that it wasn't the last we'll see of him.
He came over as part of the Jose Berrios trade back in 2021, alongside fellow top Blue Jays prospect Austin Martin, but has yet to make any sort of meaningful impact. That was part of the plan, though, as trading Berrios was meant to bring in pieces that could help the Twins in the future.
That future might be now for Woods Richardson.
He's already been called up twice but only made a single appearance in each of the last two seasons. The Twins called Woods Richardson up back in April and his only work was 4.2 IP in a blowout loss to the Washington Nationals. He was lit up pretty good in that outing, but he has looked good at Triple-A over the last two years. Twins fans would like to see him closer to his 2022 performance when he posted a 2.21 ERA and 3.80 strikeout rate in seven starts for the Saints.
It could be that SWR is put to the test this year as the Twins decide on his future, but he's shown enough at times in the minors for there to be faith that the third time is the charm once he gets called up.
Austin Martin, SS/OF
If there's one guy who projects to make an immediate impact on the roster next season, it's Austin Martin. Similar to Royce Lewis, he suffered an injury setback this year that initially looked like it might require Tommy John surgery to repair. Thankfully that didn't end up being the case, and now he appears to be on track to be in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Martin's arrival couldn't come at a better time, as he helps fill several different holes in the lineup. He's a classic utility player who can get plugged in just about anywhere defensively, but he'll go a long way in helping the Twins find help in centerfield. Byron Buxton didn't play in the field at all in 2023, and ended up missing the last month of the season with an injury. That's been a common theme throughout his career, as Buxton has simply been unable to stay healthy long enough to have the sort of impact we know he can have.
Having Martin affords the Twins some flexibility in how they approach Buxton, which might in turn help solve some other positional issues. Offensively Martin adds some heft to the lineup, as he slashed .374/.454/.482 in the Arizona Fall League last year which seems to suggest his bat is waking up the way Minnesota was hoping it might when they traded for him back in 2021.
There are a handful of Twins prospects who could have an impact this season, but Martin feels like the guy who could follow closest in Lewis and Julien's footsteps.
Yunior Severino, 2B/3B
One name that has boomed in popularity lately is Yunior Severino. He's been on the Twins top prospects list for a while, but he hasn't been hyped up the same way guys like Royce Lewis, Austin Martin, or Brooks Lee have been. Even Walker Jenkins has gotten more national attention than Severino, but he's quickly becoming a future fan favorite around Twins Territory.
Severino is a 23-year-old power hitter who hit 24 homers in 87 games at Double-A Wichita, which is part of the reason he excited Twins fans who watched the offense struggle so mightily at times last season. Most recently Severino reached Triple-A St. Paul, where he announced himself with an absolute bomb of a home run -- something he did a lot the rest of the season.
This one didn't even register on Statcast. We can only assume Yunior Severino's homerun was an estimated 792 feet. Two-run blast to right, his 6th of the season with the Saints and his 30th overall. He becomes just the 8th player in the Minor Leagues to hit 30 home runs this year pic.twitter.com/9tBVcLiRjD
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) September 6, 2023
He hits some majestic long balls. Yunior Severino clubs his ninth home run with the Saints, a solo shot to right-center, and 33rd on the season, 2nd most in all of Minor League Baseball. Lead 2-0 still batting top 2 pic.twitter.com/Rruf7xjBsC
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) September 13, 2023
His stock has risen even more thanks to guys like Adolis Garcia using power-hitting to carry is team to a World Series. That's a lot to expect out of a guy who has yet to debut in the Majors, but Severino has shown enough to get fans excited about what he might look like as part of the next-wave youth movement.
Matt Canterino, P
Sonny Gray's future is murky, and even if he re-signs with the Twins he isn't part of the long-term plan. Joe Ryan struggled down the stretch and there are now doubts that he'll be more than a No. 3 starter -- which still isn't bad. Minnesota needs a Robin to Pablo Lopez's Batman in the starting rotation, and a few young pitchers might be able to fill that hole.
Matt Canterino is a name to watch.
He's a classic Twins case in both good and bad ways. Back in 2021, he was pretty much lights out at High-A Cedar Rapids, posting a 0.86 ERA, a 0.67 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts in 21 innings of work. He only pitched five starts, though, because of an issue with his arm that ultimately ended with Canterino undergoing Tommy John surgery last season.
Now he's on the otherside of a 14-month recovery timeline and could hear his name called up at some point this season. Canterino isn't as close to the Majors as some other guys on this list, but he has insane upside given what we saw from him before his surgery. He also wouldn't be the first Twins rookie to bounce back from major surgery to have an impact on the team. It's still a bit of a longshot to say he'll step up and fill in the No. 2 role next to Lopez -- and there's a chance he never does -- but there's a lot of hope that Canterino can capitalize on the early promise he's shown.
Brooks Lee, SS/3B
There might not be a more hyped prospect in the Twins farm system right now than Brooks Lee. He was picked with the highest first-round selection Minnesota has had since drafting Royce Lewis (a feat that Walker Jenkins has since surpassed), and he's been a prospect to watch ever since.
What's amazing is that Lewis was drafted back in 2017 and rode the hype wave that didn't crash into the Majors until this year, while Lee was the team's first round pick just two years ago. Lewis suffered some injury setbacks, but the hype feels to be on-par with what it was for him and other heralded prospects like Joe Mauer and Byron Buxton.
That's insane hype to live up to, as Lee is expected to be the next Great Twins Prospect and so far he's lived up to the billing. He rose through the minors pretty quickly since 2021, arriving at Triple-A St. Paul last season. That's where fans got a look at him in the same lineup as guys like Alex Kirilloff, Jorge Polanco, and Byron Buxton as they completed rehab assignments and it was a beautiful glimpse into the future.
Lee posted a .731 OPS at St. Paul, knocking in 23 RBI in 38 genes. This followed a performance at Double-A Wichita where he mashed 31 doubles and 11 home runs while slashing .292/.365/.476 in 87 games. Keep in mind he's only 22 years old and is doing all of this, which is extremely exciting.
He only has an outside chance at making the Opening Day roster, but he'll almost certainly continue his ascent and end up in the Majors at some point during the season. Once he arrives, Lee can play the left side of the infield, which allows the Twins to move Royce Lewis to second or the outfield and makes him an eventual successor to Carlos Correa at short.
Lee's rise has been insane, and he's easily the most exciting prospect the Twins have. What's even more exciting is imagining a potential lineup next October that has Lee, Lewis, Correa, and Julien all playing next to each other defensively and hitting in some variation of that order at the plate.
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