The Minnesota Twins have one of the top farm systems in all of MLB, highlighted by Walker Jenkins, who is ranked the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.

We saw a small glimpse of the future with Brooks Lee, David Festa, and Zebby Matthews last season. While the Twins have some top-notch prospects, some need to have a strong season to take the next step or even retain their status entering 2025.

Kaelen Culpepper

The 2024 first-round draft pick out of Kansas State got off to a great start in his first year with the Twins organization. In nine games with Single-A Fort Myers last August, Culpepper hit .297/.366/.541 and displayed fantastic hard-hit contact at the plate.

That earned him a promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids that month.

However, Culpepper’s time in Iowa showed that he still has work to do, as he finished the season with a .616 OPS in 17 games.

While Culpepper did not hit the ground running in Cedar Rapids like he did in Fort Myers, this is not the worst scenario for the young prospect. In fact, this is a learning opportunity to show how Culpepper can adjust to a higher level of baseball competition.

That’s why he needs to have a big year this summer to show he can handle the High-A level of professional baseball in 2025.

Culpepper is currently the fourth-ranked prospect in the Twins system and could potentially rise to the top upon the graduation of Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez.

The upside Culpepper possesses is tremendous, but his 2025 season in Cedar Rapids will be a big test to show how he can handle adjustments moving forward.

Luke Keaschall

Keaschall finished last season as the No. 3 prospect in the Twins system, but unlike Culpepper, he has the chance to contribute to the Twins this season.

In 133 games in the minor leagues, Keaschall has been a .300 hitter with a .901 OPS. By all accounts, he was on his way to the Twins sooner rather than later.

However, the Twins announced back in August that Keaschall will be undergoing Tommy John surgery and he missed the remainder of the season.

Derek Falvey remained optimistic about Keaschall’s return from the surgery saying he underwent the surgery in August so he could get a head start on 2025.

Even while battling injury, Keaschall showed a strong bat that carried him up to Double-A Wichita. With his athleticism and versatility.

Keaschall should make his major league debut in 2025, but when a player is coming back from a significant surgery, there must be caution. Still, 2025 will be a big year to show he can respond after going under the knife and show he still has tremendous upside.

Marco Raya

Raya needs to show he has a future role with the team in 2025. Right now, Raya is on the 40-man roster, but his name was under consideration for the Rule 5 draft.

Given Raya’s strained shoulder in 2021, the Twins have been uber-cautious regarding Raya’s workload over the last few seasons. Of the 24 games Raya pitched last year at Wichita, he only pitched six full innings one time. In his only appearance with Triple-A St.

Paul on September 20th, Raya pitched five innings of shutout baseball and struck out four batters.

Given the rise of both Festa and Matthews, it’s not inconceivable to see Raya having the same trajectory in the Twins system.

For Raya to take the next step, the Twins need to have him pitch more innings at the Triple-A level. By all accounts, his shoulder is healthy and should be able to take on more innings as a starting pitcher. If all goes well in St. Paul, look for Raya to make his MLB debut next season with the Twins.