The Minnesota Twins would benefit from playing as many big-league-ready prospects at the top level as they can this season, as they're unlikely to contend for a championship. However, they sent several of their prospects back down to the minors on Monday after they were non-roster invitees in spring training, per MLB.com's Matthew Leach.

"Minnesota sent out four of its top 10 prospects and six of the top 13, a list that included numerous players who made very strong impressions this spring," he reported. "In total, nine players were sent out. Pitchers John Klein, Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, Kendry Rojas and Andrew Morris, and outfielders Emmanuel Rodriguez and Gabriel Gonzalez were optioned to Triple-A St. Paul; outfielder Hendry Mendez was optioned to Double-A Wichita; and catcher Patrick Winkel was reassigned to Minor League camp."

Rodriguez is No. 74 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list and went 8-for-19 with two homers, four RBIs, five walks, and three runs scored in spring training. The 23-year-old  also has a .912 OPS with 50 homers, 161 RBIs, and 59 stolen bases over 295 career minor-league games. 

Meanwhile, Gonzalez went 9-for-18 in spring training with one homer, four RBIs, one walk, and four runs scored. On top of that, the 22-year-old is hitting .301 with an .847 OPS across 441 career minor-league contests.

Prospects with those kinds of resumes usually get extended MLB playing time in the regular season at some point, especially for a squad that hasn't made the playoffs in two straight seasons. Still, there's no reason for Minnesota to rush the development, especially with its other prospects still in the big leagues this spring.

Minnesota kept two of its MLB Top 100 prospects with the big-league club on Monday despite their lack of production so far this spring. Outfielder Walker Jenkins (No. 14) is 0-for-7, while shortstop Kaelen Culpepper (No. 52) is 4-for-16 with one RBI and one stolen base. 

Although Jenkins is hitless so far, he's Minnesota's only top-50 prospect for a reason. The 2023 No. 5 overall pick is hitting .295 with an .863 OPS over 192 career minor-league games and played 23 Triple-A contests last season. Additionally, Culpepper is hitting .280 with an .823 OPS across 139 minor-league games, but he didn't get past Double-A last season.

The latter player was the Twins' No. 21 overall pick in 2024, so he's had less time to develop. But if Jenkins continues to produce in Triple-A this year, there's no reason why he shouldn't get called up over the summer.

Up next for Minnesota is a spring training matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.