3 Twins Veterans Most Likely to Lose Their Roster Spot to a Prospect

The Twins' Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul is loaded with some of the top prospects in the organization. One national outlet recently listed the Saints as the most talented team in all of minor league baseball. And with the Twins' big-league club off to a slow start, fans are already clamoring for those prospects to be called up.

It may not happen for a while longer, but it seems like only a matter of time until the likes of Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez make their MLB debuts. Of course, that will require current Twins players to lose their roster spots. Maybe injuries will clear a path for the prospects. Or maybe the Twins will simply run out of patience with veterans who aren't performing.

These are the three Twins players we view as most likely to lose their jobs to prospects.

1. Brooks Lee, SS

The first few weeks of this season are an important prove-it period for Lee, who had a .654 OPS while grading out poorly as a defender last season. So far, nothing has changed. Lee is 4 for 22 with no extra-base hits in his first 24 plate appearances of the season. His defense at shortstop also continues to be poor, as evidenced by an error that sparked a big Tigers inning on Monday night.

Nearly 200 games into Lee's big-league career, it's hard to find one thing that the former No. 8 overall pick has proven he can do at a high level. He's rapidly trending towards bust territory if he doesn't turn things around quickly.

Prospect replacement: Kaelen Culpepper (No. 2 in Twins' top 30)

Culpepper homered in both ends of a doubleheader on Sunday and had a .927 OPS through his first eight Triple-A games. The Twins' 2024 first-round pick, reigning minor league player of the year, and No. 2 prospect is knocking on the door of the big leagues.

Even if the Twins want to wait a bit longer to promote Culpepper, they may have to consider giving more starts at shortstop to Tristan Gray or even a Triple-A veteran like Orlando Arcia or Ryan Kreidler. Lee does not appear to be the answer.

2. James Outman, OF

Outman, who is currently the Twins' backup center fielder, has not shown much of a pulse at the plate in recent years. He's 0 for 12 this season with seven strikeouts in 13 plate appearances, including going 0 for 7 with six Ks in two recent starts while Byron Buxton was at DH after an injury scare. Since his breakout season with the Dodgers in 2023, in which Outman placed third in NL rookie of the year voting, he's hit .125 with a 39.4 percent strikeout rate in 317 plate appearances for LA and Minnesota.

Prospect replacement: Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 4) or Walker Jenkins (No. 1)

The tricky thing here is that Outman is currently in a specialized role as the Twins' backup CF who can also be used as a pinch hitter, pinch runner, or defensive replacement. If and when the Twins promote one of their star outfield prospects, they're going to want to have that player in a regular starting role. So it's not as easy as saying the Twins should simply call up Rodriguez (who has an .839 OPS in 66 career Triple-A games) and DFA Outman.

The way it could work is if Josh Bell starts at first base and Matt Wallner is the regular DH, opening up a starting spot for Rodriguez in right field (with Austin Martin as the backup CF). But the Twins seem to prefer using Bell at DH and having Kody Clemens or Victor Caratini start at first, with Wallner in right. Their deeply flawed roster construction presents some barriers when it comes to the near-term outlook for top prospect promotion.

Jenkins is off to a slow start to this season, so the Twins will likely be patient with him.

3. Bailey Ober, SP

This one is significantly less likely than the other two. Still, it's worth considering the possibility that the 2021-24 version of Bailey Ober isn't coming back. Two starts into his season, Ober has a 6.75 ERA across 8 innings. His fastball is averaging 89 miles per hour and he's struck out just five of the 35 batters he's faced. After a brutal 2025 season, the 6'9" righty might simply be cooked. With that said, the Twins are almost certainly going to give Ober plenty of leash to see if he can rediscover his old form.

Prospect replacement: Connor Prielipp (No. 5) or Andrew Morris (No. 13)

Zebby Matthews is off to an awful start at Triple-A, but Prielipp and Morris have both been sharp in their first two outings. The top two Saints pitching prospects have each allowed one run in 7.1 innings so far. They're still building up and aren't immediate candidates for promotion, barring a Twins pitching injury, but they're worth watching as replacement options if Ober's struggles continue.