Three observations of the Twins' top prospects so far in 2023

With Royce Lewis making an immediate impact at third base, Lee's best chance to make the majors is if Correa's plantar fasciitis forces him to the injured list. But Lee's bat has shown it needs some work and the Twins' best option might be to let him get reps and hope he's ready next summer.

Emmanuel Rodriguez is having trouble with strikeouts

Rodriguez may have been the Twins prospect with the most buzz after slugging his way through the pitcher-friendly Florida State League last season, but strikeouts have been a huge problem as he's made his way to Cedar Rapids.

Rodriguez struck out at least once in his first 15 games to begin the season and has multiple strikeouts in 16 of his 30 games with the Kernels. Because of his struggles at the plate, Rodriguez is hitting just .173/.333/.373 with six homers and 20 RBI.

There is still hope for Rodriguez, who at age 19 hit .272/.493/.552 with nine home runs, 25 RBI and 11 stolen bases with Fort Meyers last season. But Rodriguez still struck out 52 times in 136 at-bats, signaling a need for improvement as this season progresses.

Marco Raya is the Twins' pitching prospect to keep an eye on

A lot has been made of the Twins' issues developing their own pitching and top prospects Simeon Woods-Richardson (0-5, 7.38 ERA) and Jordan Balazovic (0-1, 4.45 ERA) have struggled at Triple-A St. Paul. But the Twins pitching prospect to watch may be in Cedar Rapids, where Marco Raya is building off a strong first season in the organization.

Raya went 3-2 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in 65 innings last season but he was even more dominant than those numbers suggest. Raya notched just under a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his lone season in Fort Myers and held opposing hitters to a .199 average at the plate.

Making the jump to High-A hasn't been a problem as Raya has a 2.61 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP in 20.2 innings this season. Raya also has 24 strikeouts to just five walks and is holding hitters to a .145 batting average.

The catch is that Raya's workload has been monitored as he works against his injury history. A shoulder injury put him on the shelf in the 2021 season and the Twins limited him on the mound in an effort to keep him healthy. 

This has continued in 2023 as Raya has yet to pitch more than three innings in any start but even if he's forced to the bullpen, Raya is proving he has strikeout stuff and solid command, which should help him rise through the Twins' organization.