The Minnesota Twins promoted catcher Vahn Lackey, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, to High-A Cedar Rapids on Monday. Lackey, the Twins' No. 2 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, slashed .204/.389/.370 with one home run, two doubles, two triples, nine RBI, 14 walks and five stolen bases over 15 games with Single-A Fort Myers.
2026's No. 3 Draft pick Vahn Lackey hits a NO-DOUBTER for his first professional home run! 💪@Twins | @MightyMussels | @GTBaseball pic.twitter.com/832u66cYvf
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 21, 2026
Lackey, 21, appears to be the Twins' catcher of the future. Realistically, he will be in the majors in 2028. But the fact that Lackey has already earned a promotion proves there's a decent chance he could be in the majors as soon as late next season.
Cedar Rapids' season ends on Sept. 6. It doesn't look like the Kernels will make the postseason. Double-A Wichita's season ends a week later. If Lackey performs well from now through the end of Cedar Rapids' season, the Twins may consider having him play with the Wind Surge for the final six-game series of the year. Like the Kernels, the Wind Surge are unlikely to make the playoffs.
Most likely, Lackey will finish the year with Cedar Rapids. But if he dominates High-A pitching, it's certainly possible he could be in Double-A by the end of the season.
Ryan Jeffers is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. Unless the Twins re-sign Jeffers, it appears Victor Caratini will be the starting catcher for 2027, with Alex Jackson as the backup.
Caratini is under team control through 2027. In an ideal world, Lackey will be ready to take over the Twins' starting catching duties in 2028. If he has a strong 2027 season in the minors, Minnesota could consider calling him up to the majors next year to prepare him for 2028.
Twins' Vahn Lackey could join several players on list of recent picks to debut the year after being drafted
It wouldn't be completely unprecedented for Minnesota to promote Lackey to the majors next year. The Seattle Mariners have already called up their first-round pick from the 2025 Draft, left-hander Kade Anderson.
Additionally, five players from the 2024 Draft class reached the majors in 2025. Jac Caglianone, Nick Kurtz, Cam Smith, Chase Burns and Ryan Johnson are all 2024 draft picks who made their MLB debuts in 2025.
The Twins certainly shouldn't rush Lackey to the majors if he struggles in the minors. But if he performs as we expect, there's no reason for Minnesota to delay his MLB debut.
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