January chugs along and that can mean only one thing around these parts: it’s time to rank minor-league prospects. Every team across the majors is selling hope to their fans: some are selling it in a more immediate fashion, in the form of active offseasons full of free-agent signings and trade acquisitions. Others, meanwhile, are selling it in the personage of prospects who could make a difference over the coming years.
CBS Sports is underway examining the top three prospects in each organization. Our definition of “prospect” is simple: does that player have rookie eligibility remaining for the 2025 season? If so, they’re a prospect; if not, that’s probably why your favorite young player is absent from the proceedings.
As always, these lists are formed following conversations with scouts, analysts, player development specialists, and other talent evaluators around the industry. There’s a fair amount of firsthand evaluation, statistical analysis, and historical research mixed in, too. Plus a heaping of personal bias — we all have certain traits and profiles that we prefer over others, there’s no sense pretending otherwise.
Keep in mind that there’s no one right answer to these sorts of things. Besides, these are merely our opinions, meaning they have no actual bearing on the future. We already published our ranking of the top 25 prospects in all of the minors.
With all that out of the way, let’s get to ranking the top three prospects in the Minnesota Twins system.
Top 25 rank: No. 4
The short hook: Polished hitter beyond his years
Jenkins injured himself in the first game of the regular season, causing him to miss more than a month of action. Said absence didn’t prevent him from progressing all the way to Double-A in what served as his age-19 and first full professional season. Jenkins can really hit, as demonstrated by the fact he batted .282/.394/.439 with more walks than strikeouts in 82 games spread across four levels. Provided Jenkins can tap more into his plus strength heading forward — and there’s no apparent reason that he shouldn’t — he should develop into a middle-of-the-order fixture for the Twins. MLB ETA: Summer 2026
Top 25 rank: No. 17
The short hook: Extreme offensive game, extreme injury history
Rodriguez is a rara avis among high-quality offensive prospects. He’s so picky at the plate that he makes Juan Soto seem overeager. Such discernment has resulted in more than half of his career plate appearances ending in a walk (21.9%) or a strikeout (29.9%). When Rodriguez does put the ball in play, he displays above-average thump. He’s also a good defender. The most worrisome aspect here is how sparse he’s been in four professional seasons: just once has he played in more than 50 games, and he’s yet to clear the 100-game threshold (though he finished 2023 with 99 appearances). The error bars are so wide here, on account of Rodriguez’s odd skill set and unreliably availability, that this could end up looking like a brutal misrank in either direction. MLB ETA: Late summer 2025
The short hook: Bat-first utility player
Keaschall, the 49th pick in 2023, reached Double-A in his first full professional season. He did so while providing above-average offense thanks to his barrel and zone awareness. Overall he notched 15 home runs and 23 stolen bases across 102 games, with most of his power coming to his pull side. Keaschall should continue to be an asset on offense. Defensively, his exact landing spot is unclear. He required Tommy John surgery that ended his season prematurely, and even before that operation the Twins were experimenting with him in center field. Wherever Keaschall ends up playing, his best position is likely to be in the batter’s box. MLB ETA: Late summer 2025
