Twins Prospects Who Could Make an Impact in 2026

The Minnesota Twins have been surrounded by disappointment in each of the last two seasons after fans were hoping they’d be in the thick of contention following their ALDS bid back in 2023.

With a roster seemingly lauded with talent at multiple points throughout the past couple of years, injuries have simply derailed any hope that the Twins, or many baseball fans, may have had for the team representing the Twin Cities.

The difference between then and now is that the front office has finally leaned into the fact that the roster as it had been constructed was not going to get the job done.

The last couple of years have come with the departure of a few notable members of their team. Players like Jhoan Duran and Carlos Correa are now calling new teams home. Then there is Royce Lewis, who is looking to finally nab a full season of health under his belt with what has been a career chock full of injuries that have kept him off the field for long periods of time.

While Byron Buxton is still on the roster, and all indications are that he is going to be there for years to come, he is also one who seems to find himself on the injured list more than on the lineup card. Even then, we have seen how a front office can change its mind on a player from one day to the next.

Twins ownership recently had a change of heart when they decided to pull the team off of the market. They doubled down when they recently “mutually” parted ways with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and hired Jeremy Zoll to take over the role.

Derek Shelton is heading into his first season as Twins manager following the dismissal of Rocco Baldelli. Given his experience managing a Pirates team that was in a similar situation as the Twins currently find themselves, it will be interesting to see how he approaches handling the newfound Minnesota Twins and what prospects are allowed to make a name for themselves in 2026.

OF Walker Jenkins

Twins fans have been eagerly awaiting the major-league debut of Walker Jenkins, Just Baseball’s No. 16 prospect, since he was taken fifth overall by Minnesota in the 2023 MLB Draft. Even while dealing with his fair share of injuries as well, Jenkins looks to be every bit of the high-floor player that many have hoped he could be.  

2025 was much like the previous four seasons of his professional career, where he was limited in the number of games played (84), but the production numbers were there.

Slashing .286/.399/.451 with 10 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and a 135 wRC+ is going to have a lot of Twins fans hoping that he makes his debut quickly after the start of the year, if not as soon as Opening Day.

Given that he is still a young 20 years old, Jenkins is likely going to get some more time to clean up some things before he is called up to the big-league club.

There has been a lot of promise in Jenkins’ profile dating back to his prep days. He has always seemed to have a polished approach at the plate and a swing that mimics some of the more consistent in the big leagues now.

His debut is going to come with a lot of excitement across the league.

OF Gabriel Gonzalez

2025 was a true breakout year for Gabriel Gonzalez. After being acquired by the Twins in the trade that sent Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners, Gonzalez was quick to become a fan favorite in Minnesota and has a lot of their fans hoping his debut comes on Opening Day 2026.

Gonzalez, in 123 games across three levels in the minors, hit .329/.395/.513 with 15 home runs, 66 RBIs, a miniscule 14.5% strikeout rate, and a 148 wRC+. He was one of only five players in all of the minor leagues who had at least 159 hits in the 2025 season.

While Gonzalez is just one of the many outfield prospects who will look to make his debut for the Twins in 2025, he has an upper hand. Gonzalez is already on the 40-man roster, so it would not take a subsequent move to get him on the roster in order for him to start making his impact at the MLB level.

LHP Connor Prielipp

Do not let the ancient age of 25 fool you; Connor Prielipp is still carrying the same intrigue that he came with prior to having to undergo Tommy John surgery. This would be the second time he underwent the same surgery, having also done so back in 2021 when he was pitching for the University of Alabama.

Between the years of 2020 and 2024, Prielipp has only pitched a total of 28 innings.

Nonetheless, there is still a lot of optimism in the left-hander in large part due to how he looked when he was on the mound for 82.2 innings in 2025.

You may scoff at the ERA slightly above 4.00 and question how that game to be. But if you were to watch how uncomfortable he made hitters look in the box, and how he ran the fastball up to 98 mph, you would understand where I am coming from.

While there are questions as to whether Prielipp will end up in the rotation or the bullpen, the fact that he has a strong three-pitch mix should bode well for his chances to land in the starting rotation, at least to start his major-league career.

OF Emmanuel Rodriguez

Just Baseball’s No. 50 overall prospect, Emmanuel Rodriguez is one of the most exciting power bats in all of the minor leagues. Much like essentially every other high-profile player in the organization, Rodriguez has battled his fair share of injuries, which have limited his time on the field.

It is pretty significant when you realize the most games he’s played were back in 2023, when he played 99 games. Other than that, he has not played in more than 65 games, and that was this past season.

Despite the injuries, the hope that Rodriguez can be one of the next best Twins is still there. Whether that’s because of the promise that his profile brings, or the sheer desperation from the Twins fan base, you can’t seem to blame fans for hoping on a player that seemingly has as much talent as he does.

The Twins allowed Rodriguez to participate in winter ball this past year in order to make up for some of the at-bats that he had missed out on because of injuries. He performed quite well in that league.

An outfield trio of him, Jenkins, and Byron Buxton is one that baseball fans everywhere are hoping actually manifests itself into something real.

SS Kaelen Culpepper

The 21st overall pick from the 2024 draft has been a fan favorite since the moment the card was turned in and read on the stage in Texas.

Not only had Kaelen Culpepper exceeded all expectations in his first season, but he has skyrocketed through the minor leagues without showing any indication of slowing down any time soon.  

Through each level, he has been able to make the necessary adjustments to continue to punish baseballs across all fields. In his first full season in the minor leagues, Culpepper slashed .289/.375/.469 with 20 home runs, 64 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, a 138 wRC+, and a strikeout rate under 18% in 113 games. He split his time almost 50/50 between High-A and Double-A. At the very least, he should begin the 2026 season in St. Paul.

Just Baseball’s No. 84 prospect answered two of the biggest questions he had over his head entering the 2025 season.

The first was whether he would be able to tap into the game power, which he did with the 20 home runs. The second question was where he would play defensively as he rose through the minors, which was answered by his play at short, where he continued to make adjustments and improvements as he progressed throughout the year.