Ranking the Twins Top Position Player Prospects by ETA

[Nash Walker]

Unlike their pitching prospects, the Twins seem to have only four or five clear position players who could debut 2022. Who are you most likely to see at Target Field?

This is an exciting group with high-risk, high-reward prospects mixed with established minor league hitters. Let's break it down. 

13. SS Noah Miller
The Twins picked Miller, 19, in the first round of the 2021 draft. JD Cameron recently broke down Millers’ all-around skills, if not his lack of a transparent standout tool. Miller could see Low-A in 2022, but a slow progression is a good bet. 

12. OF Emmanuel Rodríguez
The Twins may have a budding top prospect in Rodríguez. At 18 years old, Rodríguez posted an .870 OPS in 153 plate appearances for the FCL Twins in 2021. That’s quite impressive for someone listed at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds. 

11. OF Misael Urbina
Urbina, 19, is still a ways away from the high-minors. He hit just .191/.299/.286 for Fort Myers in 2021. He was over two years younger than the average Low-A position player, but Urbina has work to do before 2022. 

10. SS Keoni Cavaco
Cavaco, 20, has had a rough two years in the minors. He’s played only 88 games, but Cavaco has hit just .217/.276/.289 while striking out in 35% of his plate appearances. 2022 is a big year for the former first-round pick. 

9. UTIL Alerick Soularie
There is a noticeable gap between Soularie and the four above him on this list. Soularie is an advanced college hitter who has yet to settle into the minors. Soularie, 22, was a monster at Tennessee and is a sleeper breakout candidate for 2022. 

8. UTIL Edouard Julien
Julien, 22, hit .267/.434/.480 across both A-levels in 2021, showing off impressive speed with 34 steals and power with 47 extra-base hits. One should expect Julien to hit in the heart of Wichita’s order for much of 2022. 

7. 1B Aaron Sabato
The Twins’ first-round pick in 2020 didn’t exactly turn heads during his pro debut. Sabato, 22, hit .202/.373/.410 across two levels, but that included a monstrous showing at High-A. Sabato could move up rapidly if he carries that late-season production into 2022. 

6. OF Matt Wallner
Twins fans have paid closer attention to Wallner, 24, because of his roots. A Forest Lake native, his performance should draw just as many eyes. Wallner hit .264/.350/.508 at Cedar Rapids despite working through a broken hamate bone in 2021. 

5. SS Royce Lewis
Many are anxiously awaiting the return of Lewis, 22, who has lost two full minor league seasons of development. He’s the type of talent who could move up quickly if everything clicks. Lewis’ progression is one of the biggest storylines for the Twins in 2022. 

4. UTIL Spencer Steer
Steer, 24, quietly broke out with a powerful 2021 campaign. Steer hit ten homers in 45 games for Cedar Rapids and earned a promotion to Wichita. His overall line there wasn’t great, but he had a 35-game stretch where he hit .272/.336/.544 with 18 extra-base hits. 

3. UTIL Austin Martin
Martin, 22, shouldn’t spend too much longer in the minors if things go as planned. Martin posted a .414 On-Base Percentage at Double-A last year and could spend most of his time in St. Paul in 2022. He’s a prime September call-up candidate. 

2. OF Gilberto Celestino
Arguably the Twins’ best defensive replacement for Byron Buxton in centerfield, Celestino, 22, is primed for another look in 2022. He hit .290/.384/.443 in 49 games for the Saints following a less-than-stellar debut with the Twins.

1. INF José Miranda
A lock for a prominent role if he’s healthy, Miranda is far and away the closest Twins prospect to the majors. Miranda, 23, was spotless at the plate in 2021. His adjustment to major league pitching is a story to watch in 2022.

The takeaway: prepare for Miranda Mania at Target Field. The breakout prospect is guaranteed to debut if healthy. Sleeper contributors include Lewis, Celestino, and Steer, with Martin likely joining the team later in the summer. The lefty-righty combo of Wallner and Sabato is intriguing for the future, as is Rodríguez. 

Who are you most excited to see in 2022? Comment below!

FOR THE PITCHER LIST, CLICK HERE -> Ranking the Twins Top Pitching Prospects by ETA

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[MinnInPa]

sorry...but i can never get too excited about any players that K as much as all these guys and cant even hit .250 in the minors. We needs Stars..not average Joe players that hit .230 and K at a 30% + rate. Really excited to see what Miranda can do when he jumps up...and then Austin Martin and Wallner. Lewis still has a lot of improving to do before he can can up and help. 

[TopGunn#22]

I think Martin would be getting a look long before Lewis.  Lewis simply must polish off the rust of not playing for two years.  If he explodes early or fizzles early the Twins shouldn't read too much into either.  He simply has to PLAY.  martin on the other hand was a standout in college and got on base over 40% of the time last year.  He has positional flexibility, although the Twins would love to see how he handles SS early in the minor league season.  If he's tearing it up, he could be up after the All Star break.  Miranda is ready.  He has nothing left to prove at AAA.  Trade Arraez for pitching and get Miranda on the field and consistent AB's from the opening bell.  I think he'll do very well.  

[RJA]

Interesting take, Nash.  I think we all agree that Miranda will be at Target Field this summer, but the others kind of depend upon what the Twins do for trades once the lockout ends.  So much depends on who if anyone they trade.  For example, if they trade Kepler, then I think Celestino or Martin will see some time, but if they keep Kepler, they may choose to use him as a backup to Buxton while Celestino and Martin spend time at St. Paul in preparation for 2023.  Likewise, if the Twins trade Arraez for pitching, I think Martin may be here this summer for sure as he could spend time at short, center, third, and second much like Arraez.  And, of course, when they sign Story this will all change ;).

[miracleb]

Can Celestino be a "close" to Gold Glove defender in center?  He will be a below average hitter....so his glove would have to carry him.  Better than nothing (if Buxton gets injured or traded in the future,) but also........not all that exciting......

[Blyleven2011]

I'd like to see the cba finalized and baseball starts with no delays ....

Minor leagues will get started on time and some of our prospects not on the 40 man roster will  play baseball and may leap frog some of the prospects because of their early start in the minors leagues ...

For example  Martin over Lewis  , maybe even Wallner over rooker  ...

Hope no games are lost ,,, 

Wake up mlb baseball  you're losing the best fans of the game

[GNess]

19 minutes ago, miracleb said:

Can Celestino be a "close" to Gold Glove defender in center?  He will be a below average hitter....so his glove would have to carry him.  Better than nothing (if Buxton gets injured or traded in the future,) but also........not all that exciting......

Good question. However, I think Celestino's performance at St. Paul was strong enough that there is some evidence he could be a decent MLB hitter. I think he projects as a 4th OF type for now.

[roger]

Interesting.  More excited about the pitchers than this group, although the top three prospects (Lewis, Miranda and Martin) should be awfully good.  Considering the current starting 8+1, Twins should be very good for the next several years.

[Eicemann]

Most excited to see Lewis because it will likely represent progress on his part.  The arrival of Miranda or Martin will likely signify a roster void to be filled due to injury (Donaldson or Buxton) or perhaps a trade (Arraez or Kepler).

[TwinsDr2021]

If the Twins think Martin will be up quick, they are going to have to figure out how they are going to work the 40 man since he isn't on it.

Of all the players listed only Miranda, Celestino and Lewis are on the 40 man so besides Martin, I believe none of the others will be up in 2022.

And to be honest most of this list does nothing for me, I hope Miranda and Martin turn out, I think Lewis will probably have a long career similiar to Cuddy, and I have no idea on the rest, but trading offense at the major league level for pitching doesn't look like the wise thing to do.

[chpettit19]

36 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

If the Twins think Martin will be up quick, they are going to have to figure out how they are going to work the 40 man since he isn't on it.

Of all the players listed only Miranda, Celestino and Lewis are on the 40 man so besides Martin, I believe none of the others will be up in 2022.

And to be honest most of this list does nothing for me, I hope Miranda and Martin turn out, I think Lewis will probably have a long career similiar to Cuddy, and I have no idea on the rest, but trading offense at the major league level for pitching doesn't look like the wise thing to do.

The 40-man is in an interesting spot. I count 22 pitchers and 16 hitters right now. I believe the rule is still that you can carry no more than 13 pitchers so the Twins need at least 13 hitters on the roster. So right now they'd only have 3 40-man hitters starting in the minors. That feels awfully unbalanced. Especially because I see 4 guys likely to be in AAA on opening day (Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Celestino).

If I'm Garza, Jax, or Strotman I'm certainly not feeling great about my spot on the 40-man yet. Enlow and Maeda go on the 60-day asap so that frees 2 more spots. So they really have 4 open spots. I'd guess 1 is being held for a SS (which then pushes the 4 I listed before to St Paul). The other three really going to pitchers to where they have 25 pitchers and 17 hitters? Feels like they've painted themselves into a tough 40-man spot and are going to be losing some guys this year. And I definitely wouldn't be trading a hitter for a pitcher at this point and pushing those numbers to 16 hitters and 26 pitchers.

A tough start injuries wise to the season leads them to losing a bunch of guys to waivers/trades. The 40-man situation isn't great and has me even further into the "youth movement" group. Can't risk losing controllable young talent for a long shot at contention in '22.

[Doctor Gast]

I get excited about Lewis & Martin because of their ability to be able to be true super utility players which we haven't had since Caesar Tovar. Super utility players add so much depth at critical positions much like LAD had with Chris Taylor and Kiki Hernandez. Still this season if they get called up, it probably won't be until at the end.

One player I'd like to see get a chance to be called up earlier is Palacios (who isn't even on your list). IMO he has the ability to  play SS and he's shown that he can be a hitter in the Twins organization. He has paid his dues and that we can better evaluate where he sits with the organization. The problem is that he's not on the 40 man roster. Our 40 man is very tight, so for him to be put on the roster he needs to be very good. It's a shame that our 40 man is so tight. So worthy players like Palacio don't get that opportunity

[mikelink45]

Interesting list - I am glad to see some hesitation on Lewis - he has missed so much and MLB is doing all it can to mess up a third year.  Rodriguez looks like he should jump three spots based on his production and those above him.  

What I see from all the lists and they are everywhere, but what else do you do when there is no action to report, is that the Twins have come to a point where so many prospects are getting to the point of needing to be on the 40 man that we should start making trades or Rule V will be a mess for us. 

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, miracleb said:

Can Celestino be a "close" to Gold Glove defender in center?  He will be a below average hitter....so his glove would have to carry him.  Better than nothing (if Buxton gets injured or traded in the future,) but also........not all that exciting......

No. Celestino's speed is probably a 50-60 tool. He's just fast enough to be an effective center fielder, not a great one.

I don't know where the expectation Celestino will be a below average hitter is coming from. He was 22 last year and had no time in AAA before the Twins threw him to the wolves at the MLB level. Celestino rebounded from his meager 62 plate appearance MLB struggles to OPS .827 at AAA at age 22.

Writing off his bat as below average is very premature. 

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

The 40-man is in an interesting spot. I count 22 pitchers and 16 hitters right now. I believe the rule is still that you can carry no more than 13 pitchers so the Twins need at least 13 hitters on the roster. So right now they'd only have 3 40-man hitters starting in the minors. That feels awfully unbalanced. Especially because I see 4 guys likely to be in AAA on opening day (Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Celestino).

If I'm Garza, Jax, or Strotman I'm certainly not feeling great about my spot on the 40-man yet. Enlow and Maeda go on the 60-day asap so that frees 2 more spots. So they really have 4 open spots. I'd guess 1 is being held for a SS (which then pushes the 4 I listed before to St Paul). The other three really going to pitchers to where they have 25 pitchers and 17 hitters? Feels like they've painted themselves into a tough 40-man spot and are going to be losing some guys this year. And I definitely wouldn't be trading a hitter for a pitcher at this point and pushing those numbers to 16 hitters and 26 pitchers.

A tough start injuries wise to the season leads them to losing a bunch of guys to waivers/trades. The 40-man situation isn't great and has me even further into the "youth movement" group. Can't risk losing controllable young talent for a long shot at contention in '22.

Kind of makes you think, how did this FO let this team get into this position. Oh I know not trading some assets when they were competing to go deep into the playoffs and having a bunch of vets pitch last year in a completely lost season. The deeper you dig the more questions come up about what this FO has really been planning or lack of planning.

There really shouldn't be a question why Tampa traded Ryan Stroman last year, they were sitting in a similiar position and they passed their question marks off for a veteran hitter to try and make a deep run.

[bean5302]

With Steer being a 2B/3B and his bat being  what I would call "adequate" in AA at age 23, I'm not convinced he's not a MiLB depth. I don't know as I'd rank Steer above Palacios.

[Major League Ready]

5 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

The 40-man is in an interesting spot. I count 22 pitchers and 16 hitters right now. I believe the rule is still that you can carry no more than 13 pitchers so the Twins need at least 13 hitters on the roster. So right now they'd only have 3 40-man hitters starting in the minors. That feels awfully unbalanced. Especially because I see 4 guys likely to be in AAA on opening day (Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Celestino).

If I'm Garza, Jax, or Strotman I'm certainly not feeling great about my spot on the 40-man yet. Enlow and Maeda go on the 60-day asap so that frees 2 more spots. So they really have 4 open spots. I'd guess 1 is being held for a SS (which then pushes the 4 I listed before to St Paul). The other three really going to pitchers to where they have 25 pitchers and 17 hitters? Feels like they've painted themselves into a tough 40-man spot and are going to be losing some guys this year. And I definitely wouldn't be trading a hitter for a pitcher at this point and pushing those numbers to 16 hitters and 26 pitchers.

A tough start injuries wise to the season leads them to losing a bunch of guys to waivers/trades. The 40-man situation isn't great and has me even further into the "youth movement" group. Can't risk losing controllable young talent for a long shot at contention in '22.

They are going to add a SS so that gets you to 22 and 17? They have Kepler and Celestino to cover center id needed.  They have Celestino / Cave / Larnach and Gordon for corner ofers.  3 deep at catcher.  Several options for 1st 2nd and 3rd.  SS is the one lean position.  Obviously, they could use Gordon as a back-up.  I guess if they lose whoever the sign and Gordon they would have to go to Palacios or use Polanco at SS.

[Minny505]

6 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

The 40-man is in an interesting spot. I count 22 pitchers and 16 hitters right now. I believe the rule is still that you can carry no more than 13 pitchers so the Twins need at least 13 hitters on the roster. So right now they'd only have 3 40-man hitters starting in the minors. That feels awfully unbalanced. Especially because I see 4 guys likely to be in AAA on opening day (Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Celestino).

If I'm Garza, Jax, or Strotman I'm certainly not feeling great about my spot on the 40-man yet. Enlow and Maeda go on the 60-day asap so that frees 2 more spots. So they really have 4 open spots. I'd guess 1 is being held for a SS (which then pushes the 4 I listed before to St Paul). The other three really going to pitchers to where they have 25 pitchers and 17 hitters? Feels like they've painted themselves into a tough 40-man spot and are going to be losing some guys this year. And I definitely wouldn't be trading a hitter for a pitcher at this point and pushing those numbers to 16 hitters and 26 pitchers.

A tough start injuries wise to the season leads them to losing a bunch of guys to waivers/trades. The 40-man situation isn't great and has me even further into the "youth movement" group. Can't risk losing controllable young talent for a long shot at contention in '22.

Excellent post. You missed Rortvedt, so it's actually 5 of the 16 hitters on the 40 likely to be in the minors on opening day. Throw in Rooker and you have 6, though I think they keep Rooker on the MLB roster to be their RHB platoon OFer. 

Maybe the plan is to sign a SS and start the season with Miranda in the rotation for starts on the MLB roster? That would make 13 provided everyone is healthy.

In that scenario, the MLB ready depth at AAA that is on the 40 man on opening day is rough. An injury in the first month will be reliant on a waiver wire pickup. Not a good place to be in April. 

I suspect a backup something to start the season either at AAA or MLB will be acquired before the season begins, in addition to a starting SS. Hopefully that backup can handle SS as well.

[twinsfansd]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:06 AM, chpettit19 said:

The 40-man is in an interesting spot. I count 22 pitchers and 16 hitters right now. I believe the rule is still that you can carry no more than 13 pitchers so the Twins need at least 13 hitters on the roster. So right now they'd only have 3 40-man hitters starting in the minors. That feels awfully unbalanced. Especially because I see 4 guys likely to be in AAA on opening day (Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Celestino).

If I'm Garza, Jax, or Strotman I'm certainly not feeling great about my spot on the 40-man yet. Enlow and Maeda go on the 60-day asap so that frees 2 more spots. So they really have 4 open spots. I'd guess 1 is being held for a SS (which then pushes the 4 I listed before to St Paul). The other three really going to pitchers to where they have 25 pitchers and 17 hitters? Feels like they've painted themselves into a tough 40-man spot and are going to be losing some guys this year. And I definitely wouldn't be trading a hitter for a pitcher at this point and pushing those numbers to 16 hitters and 26 pitchers.

A tough start injuries wise to the season leads them to losing a bunch of guys to waivers/trades. The 40-man situation isn't great and has me even further into the "youth movement" group. Can't risk losing controllable young talent for a long shot at contention in '22.

in response to this post, I don't believe the Twins will put Enlow on the 60-day IL. If they did they would have to put him on the 26 man roster first, then put him on IR, where he would collect service time as a major leaguer. I don't thin the Twins will do that. He will remain on somebody's 7-day IL list in the minors for the season.

 

[chpettit19]

56 minutes ago, twinsfansd said:

in response to this post, I don't believe the Twins will put Enlow on the 60-day IL. If they did they would have to put him on the 26 man roster first, then put him on IR, where he would collect service time as a major leaguer. I don't thin the Twins will do that. He will remain on somebody's 7-day IL list in the minors for the season.

 

The minors have a 60-day as well. They'll have to use an option year on him, but they'll put him on the 60-day after that and he'll accrue no service time this year while also not counting towards the 40-man until he comes off the 60-day. The only time someone in the minors isn't able to be taken off the 40-man while on the 60-day list is if they're on an optional assignment. Enlow won't be on an optional assignment because he has option years left so the Twins can option him to the minors, wait 20 days, put him on the 60-day, and take him off the 40-man.

At least that's my understanding of the rules.