11 Twins Prospects To Watch Beyond The Top 30

The Twins Top 30 prospects rankings are up now for Baseball America subscribers, with full scouting reports, BA grades and tools grade projections for all 30 players.

Through the process of narrowing the list down to a Top 30, there are other intriguing names who didn’t make the cut but are worth monitoring, with the potential to jump into the Top 30 in the future. Some of those are players who might be in the upper levels and could see big league time this year, though likely in a limited role, while others are lower-level players still in the complex leagues with more upside but plenty of risk.

Beyond the Top 30, these are 11 prospects to watch in Minnesota’s farm system.

Aaron Sabato, 1B. A massively-framed prep shortstop, Sabato moved to first base/DH immediately in college and settled in to do what he did best—hit. Sabato was a dominating slugger at North Carolina, but the Twins’ 2020 first-round pick has not carried that success to pro ball. He’s a career .209 hitter, albeit with solid on-base percentages and slugging numbers. Sabato hits the ball quite hard when he connects and he also draws walks. But that’s pretty much all he can do to help a team, which makes him a relatively limited player as a right-right first baseman. The problem is he’s struggled to make contact more than was expected. Sabato can be beaten by quality stuff in the zone, especially on the inner third. He has power but his selective approach makes him vulnerable to velocity. When he tries to catch up to fastballs, he ends up starting his swing early and then becomes vulnerable to offspeed. He does have a solid feel for the strike zone. When he does walk, Sabato is a base clogger as a 20 runner. He’s below-average at first base defensively. 

Mark Contreras, OF. Contreras was a $10,000 senior sign in 2017 who failed to hit over .230 in his first two full seasons in the minors. But he found some power to go with what has always been a good glove, a plus arm and plus speed. He parlayed that into an MLB callup when the Twins were ravaged by injuries.

Kala’i Rosario, OF. One of the best prep prospects to come out of Hawaii in years, Rosario has plus-plus raw power which is turning into productive power already. But he’s going to have to cut down his 33% strikeout rate. 

Andrew Morris, RHP. Morris impressed at Texas Tech as a starter with a lively 92-95 mph fastball and a big-breaking curveball. He’s most likely to eventually end up as a useful lower-leverage reliever in pro ball.

Brayan Medina, RHP. Medina could one day throw 100 mph. He was shipped to the Twins as the player to be named in the Taylor Rogers/Brent Rooker trade. He has a big arm but has to tame his bottom-of-the-scale control. 

DaShawn Keirsey, OF. The Twins ran out of outfielders in 2022 because of injuries. If history repeats itself in 2023, expect to see Keirsey in the majors. He’s one of the Twins’ best defensive outfielders and is a plus runner who has bounced back from a significant hip injury. 

Ben Ross, SS. A plus runner who has a knack for stealing bases, Ross also has an above-average arm and a track record of hitting with a short, balanced swing.

Cody Laweryson, RHP. Laweryson has a long arm action that ends with him almost pushing the ball to the plate, but his arms-and-elbows delivery works. Laweryson’s low-90s fastball, slider and changeup are all fringy, but he throws strikes, generates weak contact and never gives up home runs. 

Dalton Shuffield, SS. A 2022 10th-round senior sign, the Twins pushed Shuffield all the way to Triple-A, where he managed to hold his own over 14 games. He’s a heady middle infielder with some pop in his bat. 

Omari Daniel, SS. Much like fellow-Twin Noah Miller, Daniel should be a no-doubt shortstop, but he had Tommy John surgery in 2022. He has to get healthy and faces questions about his bat. 

Jake Rucker, INF. There’s no plus grade on Rucker’s scouting report, but everything is a 40 or better. He is a heady player who can play first, second and third base as well as left field. If he can continue to improve at the plate, he could be an emergency callup.