4 Twins in Keith Law's new top-100 prospects of 2024
The Minnesota Twins have four prospects in Keith Law's 2024 top-100 prospects list, including three in the top-50, which Law revealed Monday.
Minnesota's fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft, outfielder Walker Jenkins, once again takes the top spot in the Twins organization, coming in at No. 15 overall. Jenkins drew comparisons to Bryce Harper while coming in at No. 14 on ESPN's recent prospect rankings. He also checked in at No. 10 on MLB's updated prospect rankings in late January.
"It’s about as textbook a swing as you’ll see, with elite bat speed and great hip rotation for hard contact and what should end up as 25-30 homer power, if not more," Law wrote in his prospect rankings for The Athletic. "He had zero issues in pro ball with contact or plate discipline, although he didn’t show much of the power, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he took a year or two to grow into that part of his game."
The 18-year-old showed off his skills at the plate in his first stint as a pro, hitting .362/.417/.571 with three home runs and 22 RBIs in 115 plate appearances at rookie ball and Single-A in 2023.
Shortstop Brooks Lee is No.31 in Law's rankings. Twins general manager Thad Levine recently said that Lee, a 2022 draft pick (eighth overall), will come to the majors "when he tells us he's ready to go." That could be this summer.
"He’s boosted his contact quality in the last year and hits a ton of line drives, as his swing finishes with enough loft to often put him in the ideal launch-angle range for line-drive contact," Law wrote.
In the minors Lee has slashed .281/.355/.459, finishing the 2023 season with Triple-A St. Paul where he hit .237 with five homers and 23 RBIs in 38 games. While MLB Pipeline has Lee as the No. 18 prospect, ESPN has him at No. 29.
Outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez came in at No. 47 on Law's rankings.
"He’s got a big leg kick, and when he swings, he swings pretty hard, with plus game power already and high exit velocities for his age, offering the possibility of a 30-homer corner bat with high walk totals," Law wrote. "He doesn’t chase much, with his high strikeout total more a function of running deep counts than poor recognition ... There’s real upside with the bat if he translates the selectivity into more of the hard contact he’s already making when he does deign to swing."
Rodriguez clubbed 16 home runs in 455 plate appearances for the Twins' A+ affiliate Cedar Rapids Kernels. He batted .240 in 2023 with 134 strikeouts while drawing 92 walks. ESPN has Rodriguez at No. 33 while MLB has him at No. 42.
The final member of the Twins to break Law's top 100 is recently acquired outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez. The 20-year-old was a part of the package the Mariners sent Minnesota in exchange for Jorge Polanco.
"Gonzalez offers some real upside with the bat if he can stop swinging at everything within a half-mile of the strike zone," said Law. "He’s up there to do damage and has such good hand-eye coordination and feel for the barrel that he can hit pitches anywhere in the zone and, to some extent, just outside of it, so he swings early and often."
Gonzalez struck out 89 times in 535 plate appearances across Single-A and A+ ball in the Mariners system in 2023. He hit 18 home runs and drove in 84 while batting .298 in 2023.
MLB ranks Gonzalez as the 79th best prospect in baseball while he doesn't break ESPN's top 100.
Mar 2, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Brooks Lee throws to first during the third inning at Tropicana Field.
Credit: Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
