Infield Prospects Luke Keaschall, Caleb Durbin Have Dazzling Debuts

Luke Keaschall and Caleb Durbin, two top-prospect infielders, hit safely in their first times at bat in Major League Baseball on Friday night. No surprise, though neither safety was exactly a smoking line drive.

Scouts forecast many of those type hits on the way for two players who exhibit hustle and headiness in addition to athletic skills.

Keaschall, 22, took a half swing on an outside pitch and looped a ball just inside the right-field line to drive in a run for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins’ No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline then stole second and eventually scored with a nifty slide on a sacrifice fly. He later added a double for a 2-for-4 debut.

“It was awesome,” Keaschall told Rick Farlow of MLB.com. ”I was just trying to get the ball to the outfield. I wasn’t swinging at the best pitches to get the ball to the outfield. But I got the job done, and I was just happy I scored a run.”

Durbin, seconds after blasting a ball down the left-field line that looked like a home run before curving foul, then did what he does best. He hustled his way down the first-base line after topping a slow roller towards third. Safe! Both Durbin, 25, and the umpire made the call and Milwaukee Brewers fans went wild.

“I didn’t expect that. That was really cool,” Durbin told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “Definitely easy to feed off of a crowd like that. I was just trying to go out and play hard and let the results be what they are, and it ended up being a really fun night.”

Durbin, No. 21 on the Brewers’ prospect list, later added a single and scored. Another 2-for-4 debut.

Luke Feels The Force

Keaschall has great bat-to-ball skills and is expected to add some power as he matures. The six-foot, 190-pounder signed for $1.5 million as a second-round choice (No. 49 overall) in 2023 out of Arizona State. Only nine of the 48 players picked before him have made it to MLB thus far.

He hit .327 overall in college, with his first two seasons being at San Francisco. In one year at ASU, he really excelled: .353, 18 homers, 18 steals and 58 RBI in 55 games.

Keaschall plays second base, third and shortstop. He debuted with the Twins at designated hitter as the organization is being careful with him following Tommy John surgery last year.

In 148 games in the minors, equivalent to a normal full season in MLB, he has hit .297 with 19 homers, 117 runs, 68 RBI and 38 steals in 45 attempts. He has shown good plate judgment with 90 walks to 116 strikeouts.

Whirling Dervish Durbin

The Brewers acquired the scrappy 5-7, 180-pound Durbin from the New York Yankees with starting pitcher Nestor Cortes for closer Devin Williams in December.

Before the deal, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com, “I think he’s a stud, frankly. Great bat-to-ball, elite ability on the bases as a base stealer, a good defender in the middle of the diamond at second base. He’s really started over the last year-plus to create some position flexibility, too. … Really competitive, kind of that hard-nosed, tough player.”

That was just after Durbin went wild again in the Arizona Fall League, where he is a legend. In 24 games, he hit .317 with 29 steals in 30 tries, 5 homers, 26 runs and 21 RBI. That helped the Salt River Rafters win the AFL title.

Added to his 2023 totals, Durbin has 50 steals in 53 attempts, a .331 average (59-for-178), 44 runs, 33 RBI in 47 AFL games. More impressively, he also totaled 31 walks to 13 strikeouts. With apologies to Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, Durbin is Mr. October AND November in the Grand Canyon State.

Manager Pat Murphy said after the game Friday that Durbin will start at third base “for the foreseeable future”. Murphy spoke highly of Durbin all spring as he watched him go 10-for-10 on steal attempts, scored 13 runs in 18 games and hit a pair of homers.

Not bad for a guy who signed for $50,000 as a 14th-round pick (No. 427 overall) by the Atlanta Braves out of Washington University in St. Louis in 2021. The Braves dealt him to the Yankees in December 2022 for lefty reliever Lucas Luetge.

Comparisons To …

The Twins would love to see Keaschall become this generation’s Ian Kinsler, a second baseman of about the same size and skill set. In 14 seasons with five teams, primarily the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers, the 6-0, 200-pound second baseman batted .269 with 257 homers and 243 steals. The four-time all-star won two gold gloves.

The Brewers wouldn’t mind if Durbin gave them a Hall of Fame career similar to Johnny Evers. He was the 5-9 second baseman listed at a mere 125 pounds in the famous “Tinker To Evers To Chance” poem about the Chicago Cubs’ great infield 120 years ago.

In 18 seasons for four clubs, Evers hit .270 with 324 stolen bases, 778 walks and 293 strikeouts. He totaled 12 homers. Durbin has the pop to beat that roundtripper mtotal and the skills to provide reasonably similar ratios offensively.

The Future For Luke Keaschall and Caleb Durbin

It’s bright. Rules changes have put the running game back in play and both can take advantage of that, especially Durbin. He has a manager who loves to play “small ball” and gamble big on the bases.

Both players are probably best suited for second base. Right now, their skills will get them in the lineup somewhere. Keaschall may even end up in the outfield if his arm does not completely back from surgery – though there is no inclination that it will not.

Luke Keaschall and Caleb Durbin won’t ever challenge for home-run records. Both appear to be solid, dependable baseball players who are fun to watch.