Twins land 4 rising stars in Keith Law's new top-60 prospect rankings

The the most-talked about Twins prospects features a group that typically includes Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall, but there are two players making a lot of noise as Double-A Wichita who are starting to gain national attention.

Keith Law, the esteemed baseball writer for The Athletic, released his updated rankings (subscription required) of the 60 best prospects in baseball — and four Twins draft picks are included. While Jenkins and Rodriguez are ranked the highest by Law (and Keaschall isn't included because he's made it to the big leagues this season), the two Twins prospects also recognized by Law are 2024 first-round pick Kaelen Culpepper and 2022 second-round pick Connor Prielipp.

Take a look at how each of the four is doing this season and what Law has to say about them.

No. 11: Walker Jenkins

Jenkins, the No. 5 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, has been derailed by nagging injuries the first summers of his professional career. In 37 games this season between Rookie ball, Class A and AA, he's hitting .271 with a .793 OPS stemming from three homers, five doubles and one triple. It's less than great and barely good, but Law remains high on the 20-year-old.

"He’s getting on base at a high clip without showing much power yet in games. But he can really hit, and he does have plus power in there, with strong zone awareness and high contact rates – his strikeout rate in Double A was just 17.3 percent through Sunday," Law wrote.

"The Twins have kept him in center field this year, but he’s going to end up in right field, both given his size and their steady supply of guys who can play plus defense or better in center. If he stays healthy, he has All-Star upside, a high-average, 20-25 homer guy who might even be a plus defender in a corner."

No. 32: Emmanuel Rodriguez

Like Jenkins, injuries have limited E-Rod's ability to produce at the plate. He missed time with a sprained ankle in the spring, went on the injured list with a hip injury in June, and he's been on the IL since July 18 with an oblique strain.

"Rodriguez’s story is the same this year as it has been every year — he’s hitting well, getting on base a ton, but has been hurt as much as he’s been healthy.," writes Law. "He has the on-base skills, and the raw power is there, with 10 percent of his batted balls in Triple A this year coming off at 109 mph or harder. He’s got to stay on the field."

Rodriguez is hitting .254/.411/.428 and he's striking out in 33% of his plate appearances.

No. 44: Kaelen Culpepper

Minnesota's 2024 first-round pick is dominating at Double-A Wichita. The shortstop is slashing .352/.418/.534 with five homers and 13 RBIs in 21 games. That's on top of nine homers in 54 games at Class A+ Cedar Rapids.

"He’s a true shortstop who projects to stay there and be a 55 or 60 defender, while his line-drive swing has produced more power this year (14 homers through Tuesday) than I anticipated, as it seemed like he’d hit for a lot of hard contact but in the form of more doubles and triples.," Law writes. "The low strikeout rate in Double A masks some difficulty he’s had with offspeed stuff at the higher level, and he’s still a little too prone to go after pitches well out of the zone. He looks like at least a solid regular with more upside beyond that if he tightens up his swing decisions."

No. 50: Connor Prielipp

The lefty from Alabama was a second-round pick by the Twins in 2022 and he's coasting at Double-A this season, boasting a 3.21 ERA in 15 starts. That includes 55 strikes and only 11 walks in 47 2/3 innings. Law loves him.

"He’s been sitting in the mid-90s with a plus slider that has high spin rates and huge tilt, while also throwing a changeup that flashes above-average," Law says. "The Twins have been careful with him this year, so he hasn’t gone over 62 pitches in any outing, although his control has been good enough that he’s gone four-plus innings a few times despite the pitch limits. If he can hold up, he’s at least a mid-rotation starter, but that’s a big qualifier given the track record."

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