Twins' Hitters Fantasy Baseball Preview | Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Willi Castro, Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and More

Let's continue our fantasy baseball team preview series with the Minnesota Twins. We'll cover hitters here - check back later for a writeup on the team's pitchers.

We've covered the Giants (hitters and pitchers), Athletics (hitters and pitchers), Pirates (hitters and pitchers), Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Rays (hitters and pitchers), Braves (hitters and pitchers) and White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

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Top Fantasy Hitters

There's several Twins on the ADP list, but not many hitters going early in drafts.

Royce Lewis is the first Minnesota hitter going, at pick 129.94 on average. Carlos Correa is nearby, at pick 138.29 on average.

Willi Castro, Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers are also going late in some drafts.

Lewis is sadly turning into a big “what if” fantasy player. When on the field, he's starred, but he's missed far too many games for fantasy owners to be super confident in him.

In 82 games last season, Lewis had a .233 average and .295 on-base percentage. He popped 16 home runs, drove in 47 runs, stole no bases and scored 40 times. Those numbers doubled to account for a 162-game season are really good, but with just 152 games played over three MLB seasons, there's not much confidence that Lewis can get through a season.

Lewis isn't a premium fantasy pick right now, but you are still taking a pretty big gamble on him if you are taking him around his ADP. Regardless if he is your No. 1 fantasy third baseman or a backup option, I'd be drafting at least one more 3B just in case Lewis doesn't make it through the season again.

Correa has some durability concerns of his own, although last year was his first time under 135 games over the past four seasons.

In 86 games in 2024, Correa had a .310 average and .388 OBP. He hit 14 home runs, drove in 54 runs and scored 55 times. It's a shame his season was cut short, because he was great at the plate when healthy.

Correa is a borderline top-10 fantasy shortstop, but is currently 12th. I like Correa more as a secondary fantasy SS as well, and think his ADP is fair. He could bust again if he doesn't make it through the season, but there's a good chance he outperforms that draft slot as well.

Just make sure you have another option at shortstop in case Correa cannot stay healthy, or replicate last season's big numbers.

Castro started the 2024 season hot, but went really cold later in the season.

Castro played in 158 games, and has position versatility that's valuable for fantasy owners. He had a .247 average and .331 OBP last year, along with 12 homers, 60 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and 89 runs scored.

He's expected to be the team's designated hitter this season, but should find his way into the lineup often because of his defensive versatility. Late in a standard league draft, I have no issues taking Castro - if he doesn't pan out, you can drop him and your fantasy team isn't going to be set back.

Buxton is another player with big-time durability concerns. He played 102 games last season, which marked his first time over 100 games since 2017.

In his time on the field in 2024, Buxton has a .279 average, .335 OBP, 18 home runs, 56 RBIs, seven stolen bases and 62 runs scored. Several Twins really performed well when on the field last season, but health really killed the team's chances of making much noise.

Buxton is a better deep-league option, but is fine to take late in a standard league draft. He's just a secondary option, but could hit well enough to appear in fantasy starting lineups daily. He's a low-risk and higher upside player if he can stick on the field all season.

Jeffers is the Twins' catcher and is coming off his best season in several statistics.

He played in a career-high 122 games, finishing with 21 home runs, 64 RBIs, three stolen bases and 56 runs scored. Jeffers had a .226 average and .300 OBP, which were way below his 2023 marks, but line up with his career marks.

Jeffers plays enough to warrant a secondary fantasy catcher spot in standard leagues. I think he's a better deep-league option though, and should only be a waiver wire pickup in standard leagues if he gets hot at some point. 

Other Starting Options

We've already gone over several members of the team's projected lineup, but there's a few more worth discussing in length.

Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach are left-handed hitters projected to be in platoons with Jose Miranda and Harrison Bader. Ty France and Brooks Lee are the other projected starters, while Christian Vazquez is the top backup catcher and Edouard Julien is an infield option off the bench.

It might be difficult for any members of a platoon to be consistent fantasy assets, but I definitely would keep tabs on Wallner, Larnach, Miranda and Bader, especially because they all could bat near the top of the order when in the lineup.

France is coming off a bit of a down season with the Mariners and Reds. He had a .234 average and .305 OBP, along with 13 home runs, 51 RBIs, one stolen bases and 46 runs scored.

He's a bit of a bounceback candidate, but is just a deep-league option to begin the regular season. 

Lee got his first taste of the MLB in 2024, playing in 50 games. He had a .221 average and .265 OBP, along with three home runs, 27 RBIs, three stolen bases and nine runs scored.

Lee was the team's top prospect a couple years ago, and the team definitely isn't going to give up on him after just 50 games. I'd keep close tabs on Lee in all leagues, just in case he breaks out, or emerges as the top prospect he once was.

Vazquez isn't likely to carve out a big role unless Jeffers misses extended time with an injury. Julien would likely only get in the lineup if there's an injury to an infielder - after looking at the games played for the infielders to start this article, Julien is definitely a name to keep track of for when/if an infielder goes down.

Top Prospects

Walker Jenkins (No.3) is the team's top prospect on the MLB's top-100 list.

Jenkins' ETA isn't until 2026, but he's been a quick riser in the minor leagues so far, and I wouldn't rule out a 2025 debut for the 2023 fifth overall pick.

Emmanuel Rodriguez is the No. 37 overall prospect in baseball and has an ETA of 2025. 

In parts of four minor league seasons, Rodriguez has a .250 average, but an eye-popping .422 OBP. He has played in 230 games, tallying 44 home runs, 130 RBIs, 49 stolen bases, 200 runs scored, 223 walks and 304 strikeouts. He could be the first call if Buxton or another Minnesota outfielder goes down with an injury.

Luke Keaschall is the No. 61 prospect in baseball. His ETA is also in 2025.

He's got a .300 average and .419 OBP across two minor league seasons. Keaschall has played in 133 games, posting 18 home runs, 63 RBIs, 34 stolen bases, 109 runs scored, 81 walks and 105 strikeouts. He can play all over the field, which should help him reach the big leagues quicker.

Diego Cartaya and Payton Eeles are two other top-30 prospects of the team from the end of last season who could factor in at some point this season.

Cartaya has a .236 average and .340 OBP across parts of five minor league seasons. He has played in 363 games, tallying 66 home runs, 234 RBIs, four stolen bases, 243 runs scored, 181 walks and 428 strikeouts along the way. He's an option at catcher if Jeffers or Vazquez misses time.

Eeles signed with the team in May of 2024 and after going undrafted. He worked his way up to Triple-A, hitting .306 and getting on base at a .435 clip. He's just 5-foot-5 and 180 pounds, but is on the verge of potentially getting called up - he could get the call if a middle infielder is injured.

Jair Camargo, Patrick Winkel, Yunior Severino, Austin Martin, and Jeferson Morales are some other players ages 25 or younger who are in big league camp this spring.