Chandler Wagoner knew from the first time he met with Luke Keaschall that he was the kind of player that would make an organization, and eventually a Major League team, better.
Wagoner has been the Minnesota Twins¡¯ area scout in the four corners region (for the Twins, that includes Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and the Las Vegas area of Nevada) since 2022, so he¡¯s entering his fourth Draft. That means he¡¯s the area scout who signed Keaschall as a second-round pick out of Arizona State in 2023, and when MLB's No. 57 overall prospect makes his debut in Atlanta, it will be Wagoner¡¯s first big leaguer.
¡°I¡¯m fired up,¡± Wagoner said. ¡°He¡¯s a special one to be the first one. It¡¯s been cool watching his career play out. Not an ideal way to get to the big leagues with the injuries, but I¡¯m excited for him to be up there.¡±
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For what makes him special, Wagoner goes back to that first meeting. The scout was getting things out of his bag to get ready for the interview and was simply asking Keaschall if he was enjoying the process of talking to teams in advance of the Draft. The third-ranked Twins prospect wasn¡¯t dismissive, but answered quickly with a firm ¡°Nope.¡±
¡°He said, ¡®I just want to play baseball,¡¯¡± Wagoner recounted. ¡°He¡¯s very focused. That¡¯s all he wants to do. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met with another player as committed to winning as he is. He made that very clear.¡±
That¡¯s the kind of player Twins fans should expect to get in the big leagues, one who plays a little bit with his hair on fire, who will run out every play, even a comebacker to the mound. Every play matters to Keaschall, and that will be apparent on both sides of the ball.
The 22-year old will play second base and DH for now as he continues to build his elbow back up following last summer¡¯s Tommy John surgery, but he is on a throwing progression so he should eventually be able to return to the outfield. In 2024, his first full year of pro ball, Keaschall split time between second and center field, then saw time at first when the elbow became an issue. His athleticism should allow that potential positional versatility to be a strength once the surgery is fully in his rearview mirror.
It also plays offensively as Keaschall swiped 23 bags in 2024 between High-A and Double-A. His aggressiveness serves him well on the basepaths and he¡¯s learned to harness it in the batter¡¯s box. He had just the one season at ASU after transferring from the University of San Francisco, and he put up big numbers, finishing with a .353/.443/.725 line to go along with 18 homers and 18 steals. His bat-to-ball skills have long been his superpower, but also could have become his kryptonite. He struck out in just 11 percent of his plate appearances in his Draft season while walking 8.7 percent of the time.
Recognizing that might not work at the next level, he¡¯s made adjustments to his offensive game. He still won¡¯t whiff much, carrying a career 17.5 percent K rate to the big leagues, but he¡¯s learned to be more selective, walking 13.6 percent of the time, employing a philosophy that should allow him to hit at the highest level.
¡°If you had five at-bats with Luke, maybe he¡¯d see six pitches total,¡± Wagoner joked. ¡°It¡¯s a credit to him and our player development staff, his approach has adapted a lot. He¡¯s cautiously aggressive now. He sees it better and he¡¯s making better decisions.¡±
That also helped answer one question some scouts had about Keaschall as a pro. Sure, he could make contact. But would he get to the power with a wood bat like he did at Arizona State if he was swinging at everything?
¡°He knew he could touch everything in college,¡± Wagoner said. He wasn¡¯t picking out pitches he could damage and there was concern about whether he could do that. It happened way quicker than I expected.¡±
That ability to adjust should serve him well as he faces big league pitching for the first time. In his opening weekend with Arizona State, Keaschall was jumpy and out in front. By the next weekend, he was spraying the ball, with impact, all over the field, and he basically didn¡¯t stop, allowing him to climb into the second round. He knows, Wagoner believes, how to get himself back on track and that will help him when he faces the inevitable struggles as a young hitter.
So should his competitiveness and makeup. He plays as if he takes nothing for granted because he doesn¡¯t. Keaschall wasn¡¯t recruited out of high school at all and that¡¯s something he carries with him at all times.
¡°He was a walk-on at USF, no scholarship offers,¡± Wagoner said. ¡°He knows where he came from and how hard he worked to get here and that shows up in how he plays.
¡°At some point he¡¯s going to scuffle. It¡¯s the big leagues for the first time. Then it goes back to his makeup, and his bat to ball skills. It¡¯s what you work for to get out of the struggles. He¡¯ll be prepared when it happens.¡±