The Minnesota Twins promoted the organization's No. 2 overall prospect (MLB Pipeline), Vahn Lackey, to High-A Cedar Rapids on Aug. 24 after the catcher hit .204/.389/.370 over 15 games with Single-A Fort Myers. After just two games with Cedar Rapids, Lackey, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, is already turning heads.
Lackey went 5-for-8 with two home runs, three walks, five RBI, one stolen base and no strikeouts across his first two games at the High-A level.
Vahn Lackey homered for the second time in two games with High-A Cedar Rapids, after homering just once in 15 games with Low-A Fort Myers. pic.twitter.com/tyvyTFsOKl
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 26, 2026
Lackey's display of power, patience and speed over his first two games with Cedar Rapids highlighted why the Twins drafted him. If Lackey continues to perform well in the minors, he could be in the majors as soon as next season.
Vahn Lackey is part of Twins' loaded catching pipeline
Even though the Twins already had a top catching prospect in Eduardo Tait and other promising minor league catchers such as Khadim Diaw and Enrique Jimenez, Lackey was too good a prospect for the Twins to pass on. Now, Minnesota has an abundance of catching talent in the organization, something most teams don't have. The Twins also selected catcher Carson Tinney in the second round of this year's draft out of the University of Texas.
Even though Tait is also a highly regarded prospect, Lackey appears to be Minnesota's catcher of the future. In addition to his strong power and patience, Lackey, 21, has solid speed and is viewed by scouts as an above-average defender, per MLB Pipeline. He should be a solid blocker and receiver once he develops more, and he has a strong arm.
As a junior at Georgia Tech, Lackey slashed an outstanding .397/.519/.772. While professional baseball is a much different animal than college, those are still video-game numbers. Lackey's strong early impression in the minors proves he could be a star in the majors. Even though his .204 batting average over his 15 games in Single-A isn't great, posting a .389 on-base percentage without ever playing professional baseball is extremely impressive.
MLB Pipeline projects Lackey will reach the majors in 2029. But if he quickly develops to the best of his abilities and mostly avoids the IL, Lackey could reach the majors in 2028 or even 2027. Several players from the 2024 draft class, such as Jac Caglianone of the Kansas City Royals and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, reached the majors in 2025, showing that it wouldn't be insane if Lackey made his MLB debut next season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google