Will this player become the Twins' next star?
The Minnesota Twins believe in their current core of players. Despite rumors of a rebuild early in the offseason, Minnesota is expected to hold onto its stars. The Twins are confident that they can compete in the American League Central when healthy. There is one specific young player who they think can join Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis as stars at the MLB level.
"Luke (Keaschall) was great, a guy that... identified by our scouting group, developed all the way through the minor league system. Wasn't a highly-touted prospect coming out of college, but this kid can really hit," Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said of infielder Luke Keaschall during a recent appearance on MLB Network. "He came on strong. He got hit in the forearm, broke his forearm, had some time down.
"But we think this kid is a star in the making. Right in the middle of the lineup."
Is Luke Keaschall a 'Star in the Making'?
Falvey and the Twins clearly have a strong belief in Keaschall. A 23-year-old, Keaschall impressed during his rookie season in 2025. However, he appeared in only 49 games. Nevertheless, he still recorded a stellar .302/.382/.445 slash line to go along with an .827 OPS across his 207 big league plate appearances.
Keaschall finished ninth in American League Rookie of the Year voting even though he played in less than 50 games. One has to imagine he would have been a legitimate contender to win the award if he had played a full season.
For the Twins, though, their confidence in Keaschall goes beyond his statistics.
"He leads by example in the way he goes about playing the game," Falvey continued. "There's an intensity to it and guys feed off of it. So we think he's gonna be a guy that's gonna be a big part of the middle of our order again."
The Twins believe Keaschall is already displaying signs of leadership -- something that is not always common for 23-year-olds at the MLB level. If he lives up to his potential as both a star player and a leader, the Twins will have another reliable piece to the puzzle as they look to emerge as a true contender.
Minnesota still has work to do this offseason. The Twins need to make at least a couple more additions in order to become a legitimate postseason ball club. If they can add more depth around their core of star players, the Twins will be an especially intriguing team to follow in 2026.