‘That guy’s a big leaguer’: Twins prospect Luke Keaschall swinging hot bat

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Luke Keaschall, representing the Twins at the MLB Futures Game on Saturday, lined up along the first base line with the 25 other players on the American League squad.

Each player was shown on the video boards and introduced by the public-address announcer before their nationally televised game at Globe Life Field. When the camera panned to Keaschall, he was announced as Brooks Lee, the player he replaced in the prospect showcase after Lee was called up to the majors.

Keaschall shook his head and grinned.

“It was funny,” said Keaschall, who struck out in his lone at-bat as the National League won the seven-inning game 6-1. “It just made me smile a little bit.”

It might not be long before Keaschall is a household name to Twins fans.

Keaschall, listed at 6-0, 190 pounds, is arguably the top-performing hitter in the Twins’ farm system. In 84 games between Class AA and High-A, Keaschall is batting .327 with 11 homers, 21 doubles, 38 RBI and 19 stolen bases. He’s carrying a .438 on-base percentage.

He had eight hits in 13 at-bats after he was named to the Futures Game with two homers.

“At the end of the day, you’re playing baseball,” said Keaschall, 21. “There are obviously slight adjustments to be made along the way. As you go up, the talent gets a little bit better, a little bit sharper, but you’re still playing the same game.”

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Keaschall, from Watsonville, Calif., had only one offer to play Division I baseball out of high school — he played his first two college seasons at the University of San Francisco — as an undersized infielder who lost a season because of the pandemic.

He was a talented wrestler in high school, starting in the 106-pound weight class as a freshman before moving to the 160-pound class by his senior year. He credits his mindset on the field and his work ethic to wrestling, but he always wanted to play college baseball after watching his brother, Jake, play at a nearby junior college.

“He was my big brother,” Keaschall said. “I always looked up to him. When he was playing college ball, I was like, ‘I want to do that.’ ”

There were predraft questions about Keaschall’s best defensive position and how much power he would add. He’s now playing second base and center field. Among the 130 players with at least 100 plate appearances in the AA Texas League, Keaschall ranks second in batting average (.318), fourth in on-base percentage (.418) and 10th in slugging percentage (.468).

No one from the Twins is surprised.

He met with Twins scouts and front office staff at the MLB Draft Combine a month before the club took him with their second-round pick. When he walked out of the room, scouting director Sean Johnson turned to the rest of the group and said, “That guy’s a big leaguer.”

“That’s the only time I’ve done that so far in four years,” Johnson said. “The way he’s wired, he walks away from you, and you think that guy’s going to play in the big leagues because he’s free-minded. He doesn’t have a lot of clutter in his brain. He’s fearless. He can handle failure. Just a tough kid who is also super humble.”

Keaschall quickly developed a reputation for spending hours in the weight room. He reported to Fort Myers, Fla., in early January this year to rehab from a wrist injury, and he spent extra time working with minor league hitting coordinator Bryce Berg. Keaschall stood taller to center his batting stage and created better angles with his swing, so he could handle pitches at the top and bottom of the strike zone.

Once the season neared, Keaschall focused on his swing decisions. He had an ultra-aggressive approach at Arizona State, often swinging early in counts. Now he’s taking more walks and forcing pitchers to challenge him.

“He plays with controlled aggression,” Johnson said. “That’s how I’d describe his swing: controlled aggression. He’s hunting, but he’s also very selective at the pitches he swings at.”

It’s more than stats, too. Keaschall is one of those players who makes teammates better.

“He’s just one of those guys that he could have the best game of his life, and if his team doesn’t win, he’s not happy,” said Twins scout Chandler Wagoner, who watched Keaschall play about a dozen games for Arizona State. “You can tell that just by being around him.”

It’s been a quick upward rise for Keaschall. One year after he was the 49th player taken in his draft class, he’s considered one of the better prospects in the sport.

“At the start of the season, I was hoping to play as well as I could and do what I can to help make this career as long as I possibly can make it,” Keaschall said. “I feel like I’m doing a good job starting my career off. I just want to keep playing well, playing hard and keep it up for a long time.”