Brody Hopkins- P- TB- Rookie- Hopkins was called up by the Rays and will pitch out of the bullpen. He has been used as a reliever at AAA Durham since early last month. Hopkins is the Rays' top pitching prospect, although his eventual role isn't defined yet. He hits triple digits with his fastball but control is a big issue. Since Hopkins moved to the bullpen he has struck out 16 in 9 IP. He has also walked 5. While that is a high number of walks it is a vast improvement over his numbers while he was primarily starting. In 85 IP Hopkins walked a whopping 87 batters while struck out 106. Despite walking more than a batter per IP his ERA was 5.40. Hopkins will get a look in the last couple of weeks of the season and then next spring. He needs to improve his control to have a chance at being with the big club next year and it might be as a reliever.
Emmanuel Rodriguez- OF- MIN- Rookie- The Twins' #5 prospect made his MLB debut yesterday in fine fashion. Roriguez hit a homer in his first AB and went 1-for-4 overall. He slashed .262/.414/.500 with 11 homers in 220 PAs at AAA St. Paul. Rodriguez has been plagued by injuries in his career, having more than 267 PAs once in his 6 professional seasons. He has improved his plate discipline, lowering his overall K% from 31.8% to 26.4%. Rodriguez has the tools to produce. The question will be if he can stay healthy. We've seen this before. Maybe adding him and Byron Buxton together, the Twins can get a full season's worth of solid OF production in 2027.
Josh Jung- 3B- TEX- Hot- Jung came off the IL and went 2-for-5 with a run and RBI. He is now slashing .295/.362/.440 with 9 homers in 401 PAs. Jung is overperforming a bit, with a .286 xBA and .432 xSLG. While he has been impacted by injuries, he is going to have the 3rd most PAs in his 5-year career. Jung's EV of 90.6 and HardHit% of 48.3% are improvements over 2025. He will fall well below his projected 22 homers for this year but if he stays healthy in 2027 that sort of production is very possible.
Louis Varland- RP- TOR- Stats- Varland didn't get a save out of his scoreless IP yesterday because he didn't come in for a save situation. He pitched because he hadn't appeared for two days. After having no saves in the first 4 years of his MLB career, Varland has racked up 33 in 2026. He has continued to add velocity as he did in each of his previous years. Varland's K/9 made a jump from 9.29 in 2025 to 11.17 this season. His ERA of 1.24 and FIP of 1.83 put him in the elite level of closers. Varland's inning of work yesterday got him to a career high in IPs at 73.1 (and counting.) He is in the 99th percentile of xERA, 96th percentile in Chase%, 76th percentile in EV, 63rd Percentile in HardHIt%, 93rd percentile in Barrel%, and 93rd percentile in xBA. Varland's value among closers is going to be much higher at the start of 2027 than it was at the start of 2026.
Hao-Yu Lee- 2B- DET- Hot- Lee snapped out of a 4-game hitless skid by going 3-for-5 with a walk, 2 doubles, a triple, 2 runs, and 3 RBI. He is now slashing .262/.321/.418 with 8 homers in 303 PAs. Lee has an EV of 89.8 and HardHIt% of 41.0%. He has overperformed, with a .230 xBA and .389 xSLG before yesterday. Lee is only 23 but is in his 6th professional season. This is his first MLB season and he has room to develop. His EV and HardHIt% look better in context. Lee has been seeing time at both 2B and 3B. He could earn a full-time role in 2027.
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