Nash Walker

Twins Daily writers, after a tight race, opted for Brooks Lee as the No. 1 prospect in the system. Lee, almost 22, was the 8th overall pick in the 2022 draft and looks like a future regular at the big league level. Will he help the Twins in 2023? View full video

Royce Lewis' talent matched his production in a special 2022 season. Lewis crushed at Triple-A St.Paul before a strong debut with the Twins. Unfortunately, Lewis ran into the centerfield wall and tore his ACL for the second time is as many years. After another winter of rehabbing, can Lewis return better than ever for a second time in 2023? View full video

Emmanuel Rodríguez performed at an extremely high level in 2022. The 19-year-old hit .272/.493/.552 (1.044 OPS) in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. Rodríguez is currently a centerfielder but could shift to a corner as he moves up the system. After a knee injury ended his 2022 season, Rodríguez is on top-10 global prospect watch in 2023. View full video

Marco Raya struck out nearly 30% of hitters in his Low-A debut in the Twins system in 2022. Raya, 20, pairs a mid-90s fastball with potentially two plus breaking balls. Shoulder soreness has limited his workload to this point but Raya is primed for a surge in 2023, perhaps even for the Surge! View full video

One of the Twins' biggest breakouts from 2021, Edouard Julien performed a stellar encore in 2022. Julien hit .300/.441/.490 with 19 doubles, three triple, and 17 homers for Double-A Wichita, putting him on track to debut for the Twins in 2023. Julien looks like a left-handed on-base machine with no discernable defensive home, similar to what the Twins had with Luis Arraez. View full video

After a down season and a trade in 2021, Simeon Woods Richardson re-established himself as a top-6 prospect thanks to a sterling 2.77 ERA across the upper minors in 2022. Woods Richardson cut his walk rate from 14% (2021) to 8.5% (2022) while throwing the most innings of his professional career. 2023 could be a special one for the 22-year-old right-hander. View full video

Connor Prielipp was regarded as one of the best pitching prospects in the 2022 class. Unfortunately, an elbow injury and subsequent Tommy John Surgery ended his final season at Alabama before it started. Prielipp is a strong lefty with a nasty slider and frontline rotation stuff. Will he realize his potential starting in 2023? View full video

José Salas cracks Twins Daily's top-10 heading into 2023 after a solid season in the low minors in 2022. Acquired in the Luis Arraez-Pablo López deal, Salas brings exciting potential as a switch-hitter with speed and on-base skills at the young age of 19. View full video

After an impressive debut in 2022, Louie Varland is set up to pitch a handful of innings for the Twins in 2023. Varland posted a 3.81 ERA and 20% strikeout rate in five starts, offering hope that he's ready to go when his name is called this summer. View full video

It was a rough season overall for Austin Martin, the former top-100 global prospect and No. 5 pick in the 2020 Draft. Martin's numbers dropped across the board but he finished the season strong, including a stint in the Arizona Fall League. The talented Martin is due for a bounceback in 2023. View full video

Matt Canterino and David Festa are two of the top pitching prospects in the Twins’ system, and both show up here in the 11-15 range. Yasser Mercedes had an incredible stint in the DSL, Matt Wallner looks like a 30-homer bat and Noah Miller’s defense at shortstop is dazzling. View full video

The Twins’ underrated prospect depth shows up here at the end of our top 20, with a former top-100 prospect, two higher upside international signings, their 2nd round pick from 2022 and a potential bullpen weapon. View full video

The long-standing saga is finally over. Was it worth the treacherous, annoying wait? I certainly think so. The Twins have agreed to terms with Carlos Correa in a stunning twist to the craziest free agency story in recent memory. Now onto the baseball: how does Correa impact the 2023 roster? Image courtesy of © Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports On the surface, Carlos Correa’s return isn’t an addition. He played 136 games for the Twins in 2022, hitting .291/.366/.467 (140 OPS+) while producing 5.4 b-Wins Above Replacement. Correa lead the team in bWAR and OPS (.834), mostly thanks to a scalding September. While “adding” a player of Correa’s ilk is always exciting, many Twins fans may be understandably more skeptical of his impact on the roster. The Twins won only 78 games last year, with Correa mostly healthy; why should we expect more with a similar group in 2023? The Twins collapsed late in the summer, making Correa’s torrid finish a forgotten tale. The fresh memory on many minds is Correa’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position when the Twins needed him all summer. Through July 1st, Correa posted a wRC+ of 85 with runners in scoring position, well below the league average of 106. Naturally, Correa posted a sterling 128 wRC+ with runners in scoring position after July 1st. We’ve learned through study (and this book) that great hitters are great hitters no matter the situation. Correa’s career OPS with runners in scoring position is .818. His career OPS with no men on base? .825. Correa had a tremendous second half in 2022, hitting .304/.380/.486 (149 wRC+) while producing 2.4 f-Wins Above Replacement. Correa was top-10 in the American League in Win Probability Added after the All-Star break. Correa's slower start could be due to a shortened spring training, heightened pressure on a quasi-one-year deal, or simple batted-ball luck. Whatever it was, Correa put it in the rearview after the first half. While it’s understandable to question Correa’s true impact, his .730 OPS with RISP in 2022 is due for positive regression. He should drive in more runs and provide more overall impact at the plate throughout the season. Trust the numbers here, including his highest hard-hit rate since 2017 (44.7%). The concern with his right ankle isn't insignificant. Two teams took the PR hit rather than commit huge money to Correa. Something must be up, right? It's impossible to know for sure. Correa may have a rough time through his 30s... or he may not. In a refreshing change of pace, the Twins are taking the risk. Players of Correa's stature are rarely available to the Twins in free agency. It’s easy to forget the hype surrounding Correa when the Twins signed him last March. We’re honestly talking about a generational shortstop. Through their age-27 seasons, only three shortstops have more bWAR than Correa since the Senators moved to Minnesota: Alex Rodríguez, Robin Yount, and Cal Ripken Jr. Among those shortstops who logged at least 3,500 plate appearances, Correa ranks 3rd in OPS+ behind only A-Rod and Hanley Ramírez. Since 2019, Correa’s 39 Defensive Runs Saved are the most among all shortstops. He’s a unique talent, evidenced by at least two teams offering him over $300 million in contracts this winter. FanGraphs ZiPS projects Correa for 5.6 fWAR in 2023. That’s the highest among Twins and a full 4.2 more than Kyle Farmer. Correa completely changes the outlook of the current roster, especially considering the Twins are much deeper in pitching talent than they were on Opening Day in 2022. The "Absurdly Preliminary 2023 ZiPS Projected Standings" from Dan Szymborski at FanGraphs pegged the Twins for 81 wins before the Correa, Christian Vázquez, and Joey Gallo signings. We can reasonably expect that projected win total to rise at least four notches after these moves. As currently constructed, the Twins look like an 85-86 win team. Add a frontline starter via trade, and that number will approach the desired 90. Correa was a key piece as one of the best free agents available. Beyond his impact on the field, the Twins will welcome Correa, the person, back with open arms. Byron Buxton, José Miranda, and countless other team members spoke highly of their new friend and teammate throughout the 2022 season. Correa’s postseason experience and pedigree - things we lauded him for less than a year ago - are needed more than ever. It’s natural to wonder if the Twins are truly getting *better* with the move to retain their star shortstop. Every season and roster is different, and the Twins are much better today than they were yesterday. Continue to acquire great players, and great things tend to happen. Correa is a great player. Excitement is warranted. View full article