As MLB’s Trade Deadline nears, the Minnesota Twins are in prime position to acquire a rental starting pitcher. People have thrown out names like Yusei Kikuchi, Jack Flaherty, and Nathan Eovaldi as ideal candidates for Minnesota’s front office to pursue. Obtaining a high-end rental arm will require team decision-makers to part ways with significant prospect capital. However, if the Twins want to make a deep run this postseason, they must acquire a frontline starting pitcher and possibly a high-leverage left-handed bullpen arm at the expense of losing a high-end prospect.
The organization finds itself in a complicated position. Still, signs point toward the front office taking the plunge and parting ways with significant prospect capital to help the team in the short run. This aggressive approach has come back to bite the team in recent history (hello, Tyler Mahle and Jorge López). However, being aggressive at the Trade Deadline is sound and should be encouraged, even if the players ultimately provide little to no value upon acquisition. Which prospects will most likely leave the organization in a trade next Tuesday? Let’s take a look.
Luke Keaschall
The Twins took Keaschall out of Arizona State in the second round of the 2023 draft, and he has already earned the sixth spot on Aaron Gleeman’s updated midseason top 20 prospects list. The right-handed infielder has slashed a combined .325/.439/.487 with 106 hits, 21 doubles, and 11 home runs over 399 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. In doing so, Keaschall has ingrained himself into Minnesota’s plans and could earn a promotion to the parent club as soon as next season.
Keaschall represented the Twins in the All-Star Futures Game and became a near-consensus top 100 prospect. As a result, he has begun garnering national attention and increasing his stock as a hard-hitting, contact-skilled bat with surprisingly substantial power.
The Twins could utilize the 21-year-old at the deadline as the headliner in a package for a frontline starter like Eovaldi or Flaherty. Although the Twins only drafted him last year, Keaschall is likely the most valuable prospect the organization would be willing to part ways with at the deadline, assuming Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee, Emmanuel Rodriguez, David Festa, and Zebby Matthews are untouchable, especially for a rental arm.
Andrew Morris
Selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of Texas Tech, Morris, like Keaschall, has skyrocketed up Minnesota’s prospect rankings and quickly become one of the best starting pitching prospects in the organization. Morris earned Twins minor league pitcher of the month honors for June after posting a 1.01 ERA, 1.91 FIP, .079 WHIP, 27% strikeout rate, and 5% walk rate between Single-A and Double-A.
However, the Twins could capitalize on the 22-year-old’s hot start to the season and include him in a package for a top-of-the-line rental next week. Morris could headline a package to acquire a rental starting pitcher like Kikuchi or a high-leverage left-handed reliever in Tanner Scott. Starting pitching prospects are fickle, and a significant injury or sudden drop in performance could cause them to drop down prospect lists and lose whatever value they had just recently possessed. Therefore, the organization could be wise to part ways with Morris as his value is peaking.
Gabriel Gonzalez
The Twins acquired Gonzalez with fellow prospect Darren Bowen, starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, and reliever Justin Topa in the trade that sent long-time Twin Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners. He has been largely unimpressive in his first season in the Twins organization, slashing a combined .253/.305/.414 with 41 hits, ten doubles, and four home runs over 177 plate appearances.
Gonzalez has gone from being a near-consensus top-100 prospect to not possessing a spot on any reputable midseason rankings list. The primary concern regarding the 20-year-old’s fall from grace is that he lacks discipline at the plate. Despite striking out only 13.5% of the time, most of his batted balls end up as ground balls or pop-outs, evidenced by a 50.4% groundball rate and 28.1% flyball rate. Despite struggling in his first stint in the Twins minor league system, he hasn’t performed horribly, and there is enough perceived value to where he could be a meaningful part of a package for a frontline starting pitcher or left-handed reliever.
