Insider Compares MN Twins Rookie to MVP Candidate

You probably were left wondering what the Minnesota Twins had to offer after Derek Falvey completed the Pohlad-mandated takedown of the roster. Rocco Baldelli needed eight new players from Triple-A just to fill out a lineup card.

The reality though, is that the Twins have been playing better baseball since. They have even done so without Byron Buxton.

Right now the straw that is stirring the drink is none other than rookie Luke Keaschall. He has yet to play a game where he hasn’t reached base, and he hit a walkoff on Sunday afternoon against Kansas City. The rookie is now earning some serious praise.

Luke Keaschall earns MVP comparison for Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins promoted Luke Keaschall back in April. He then spent more than three months on the injured list with a broken forearm. He’s back and picking up where he left off. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi is so impressed he dropped an MVP candidate comparison for the rookie.

“His name is Luke Keaschall. He can play! He reminds me, a little bit, of what Bobby Witt Jr. was when he first came in the league…The tools, the speed. You start your career with a 12-game on base streak. He’s hitting .415, yesterday a walkoff home run to win the series for the Twins over the Royals. I had a great conversation with Willie Bloomquist, former member of Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, now the baseball coach at Arizona State…Willie would have talked about Luke Keaschall until, I just stepped out here five minutes ago to be on this segment. Loves this young man. Grinder. I love this too, he’s a former two-sport athlete. The other sport, it’s not even football or hoops, it’s wrestling. You’ve got a tough, up-the-middle ballplayer, who’s a former high school wrestler…This man is the future of the Twins. Willie told me, as great as the tools are, you saw it on the swing, the character, the toughness, off the charts.”

Jon Morosi – MLB Network

It’d be impossible not to light up when thinking about Keaschall in the vein of Bobby Witt Jr. The Royals shortstop finished second in MVP voting last season to Aaron Judge. He won his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards and has a career 131 OPS+.

Luke Keaschall said enough. pic.twitter.com/iziFSbnuVT

— Ted (@tlschwerz) August 10, 2025

Sure, Keaschall is just 12 games into his big league career, but he has reached base in all of them and has an 11-game hitting streak. Keachall is batting .415/.500/.707 with eight extra-base hits (two homers) and a 3/5 K/BB. He also tied an MLB record for the most stolen bases (5) through his first five career games.

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After the Twins failed to produce during the 10th inning on Sunday afternoon, Keaschall came up with two outs and Kody Clemens on. He sent the fans home happy.

Wrestler mentality not foreign to MN Twins

Keaschall isn’t alone in bringing the two-sport wrestling mentality to the MN Twins. Former teammate, and begrudgingly traded one, Louie Varland also was cut from the same cloth.

It’s unfortunate that Twins fans will need to watch Varland pitch for the Toronto Blue Jays now, but the similarities between Keaschall and the St. Paul natives personalities are evident.

You can bet that Keaschall won’t go on to break Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. He’ll probably go through a significant slump in his career too. He has the mindset to overcome those tribulations though.

L👀king good, Luke pic.twitter.com/JqFmJ5h7fE

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 11, 2025

As if Bobby Witt Jr.’s comparison wasn’t enough, Keaschall is doing Mike Trout things on the diamond as well. The swings look similar, and the Twins would love to see the results continue to follow.