Minnesota Twins' Top Prospect Sustains Serious Injury Days Into Impressive Debut

Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch on Friday in a game against the Los Angeles Angels and is headed to the injured list.
Minnesota Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall (15) walks against the Chicago White Sox in the third inning of a game April 23, 2025, at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall (15) walks against the Chicago White Sox in the third inning of a game April 23, 2025, at Target Field in Minneapolis. | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

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Luke Keaschall had a rousing first week to his major league career after the Minnesota Twins called him up from Triple-A Minneapolis.

The second week didn’t start so well.

In his first plate appearance Friday night in an 11-4 home win over the Los Angeles Angels, an 86.8 mph sinker thrown by veteran Kyle Hendricks hit Keaschall in the right wrist. The result was a nondisplaced fracture of his right forearm, and he’s headed to the injured list.

The designated hitter on Friday, he stayed in the game but was replaced before his next at-bat.

“I don’t think he knew it right away because he went out there and we got the thumbs up that he was OK,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, per MLB.com. “He went in and tried to do some stuff in the cage in between innings, and we learned pretty quickly that he wasn’t going to be able to [stay in the game].”

Keaschall was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 57 overall prospect in baseball and No. 3 in the Twins’ farm system at the time the team brought him up from Triple-A St. Paul.

He made his MLB debut in Atlanta on April 18 and since then, he’s 7-for-19 (.368) with three doubles and two runs driven in. He’s also scored four times, walked five times and stolen five bases, giving the Twins a needed offensive spark.

The Twins did not say how much time they expect him to miss.

The 22-year-old Keaschall said after the game that he hopes not to miss much time.

“I was a little angry, but I’ve got to try and think of the big picture,” he said. “Think about getting healthy as fast as possible.”

He knows what it is like to rehab an injury; he had Tommy John surgery last summer.

The Twins selected Keaschall in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He played collegiately at Arizona State.

In 148 minor league games in the Minnesota farm system, he hit .297 with 115 hits in 103 games. He has 15 home runs and 48 RBIs with a .903 OPS.

This season, at Triple-A St. Paul, he was averaging .261 with one home run and five RBIs in 14 games.

Keaschall was named the minor league player of the year for the Twins in 2024, hitting .303 with time split between High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita.

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.