Here are the Twins' 2024 Top 30 prospects
Jonathan Mayo
@JonathanMayoThe Royce Lewis prospect era is finally over. The former No. 1 overall pick had been the organization¡¯s top prospect for five years and ¡°slid¡± to No. 2 at this time a year ago. Brooks Lee (the club¡¯s top pick in 2022) took over, but he held the reins for just one year, giving way to Minnesota's most recent top pick, Walker Jenkins.
Jenkins, a North Carolina high schooler who could have been a No. 1 pick in just about any other year, could hold on to the top spot for a while, though it shouldn¡¯t surprise people if he¡¯s able to move a little more rapidly through the system.
The addition of Jenkins via the Draft and Gabriel Gonzalez via trade gives the Twins an exciting quartet of bats at the top of their rankings. There¡¯s a run on pitching after that, with a number of examples of the Twins¡¯ knack for finding talent in later rounds. Marco Raya is the earliest pick, a fourth-rounder in 2020, but David Festa and C.J. Culpepper were both 13th-round picks, while Zebby Matthews was an eighth-rounder and Cory Lewis went in Round 9.
Last year, a lot of players on this list were ready to contribute, starting with Lewis. He and Edouard Julien (then both among the Top 5) have graduated from prospect status. This year¡¯s Top 5 does have a duo who could make its way to Minnesota this season: Lee and Festa.
Here¡¯s a look at the Twins top prospects:
1. Walker Jenkins, OF (MLB No. 10)
2. Brooks Lee, SS (MLB No. 18)
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF (MLB No. 42)
4. Gabriel Gonzalez, OF (MLB No. 79)
5. David Festa, RHP
Complete Top 30 list ?
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2023 preseason list to the 2024 preseason list:
Jump: C.J. Culpepper, RHP (2023: NR | 2024: 8)
As mentioned above, Culpepper might be the latest late-round pitching find for the Twins. He unlocked some more velocity during his first full season and has as many as five pitches at his disposal. He did tire as the year went on and he¡¯ll have to show he can maintain his newly improved stuff over the course of a full season.
Fall: Jose Salas, INF (2023: 9 | 2024: NR)
The Twins got Salas in the trade that sent Luis Arraez to the Marlins prior to the 2023 season and there was some cause for excitement as Salas was a young infielder coming off a decent first year of full-season ball. But he really struggled in High-A last year, finishing with a .190/.265/.272 line over 93 games there.
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools ¨C 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 65 -- Brooks Lee
Power: 60 -- Walker Jenkins (Emmanuel Rodriguez)
Run: 60 -- Brandon Winokur
Arm: 65 -- Gabriel Gonzalez
Defense: 60 -- Noah Cardenas
Fastball: 60 -- Matt Canterino (David Festa, Marco Raya, Charlee Soto, Andrew Morris)
Curveball: 50 -- Cory Lewis (Marco Raya, Matt Canterino)
Slider: 60 -- Marco Raya (Matt Canterino, Connor Prielipp)
Changeup: 60 -- Simeon Woods Richardson
Control: 65 -- Zebby Matthews
How they were built
Draft: 19 | International: 5 | Trade: 5 | Free agent: 1
Breakdown by ETA
2024: 7 | 2025: 11 | 2026: 9 | 2027: 3
Breakdown by position
C: 3 | 1B: 1 | 2B: 2 | 3B: 2 | SS: 4 | OF: 6 | LHP: 2 | RHP: 10