MINNEAPOLIS -- In an otherwise hugely disappointing Minnesota Twins season, 23-year-old rookie Luke Keaschall has lived up to the top prospect hype and then some through his first 43 games, batting .313/.396/.454 with 13 steals. Those are numbers that closely resemble his .294/.411/.458 line in the minors.

Keaschall's rookie showing is especially impressive when one considers that he's not yet fully recovered from Tommy John elbow surgery he had 13 months ago and that he sustained a broken forearm from a hit-by-pitch in his seventh major-league game on April 25, missing over three months of this season.

Despite two significant injuries to his right arm, leading to starts and stops and a ton of missed development time, Keaschall looked like he belonged in the big leagues from the moment the Twins called him up on April 18. And he's been hitting and running wild since, a bright spot in a dark year.

What have we learned about Keaschall after 43 games?

Let's start with the basics: He's been really good.

This is Keaschall's age-22 season. He has a 135 OPS+, which is sandwiched between Miguel Sanó (149) and Kent Hrbek (128) for the second-best OPS+ in Twins history by a 22-year-old. And because his value goes beyond his hitting, he has 1.9 bWAR already, a massive 7.2 bWAR pace per 162 games.

"I just go out there and play the same game I've always played," Keaschall said. "It doesn't feel like I go out there and I'm like, 'Oh my goodness, there is Bobby Witt Jr. or there is Mike Trout.' Don't get me wrong, those guys are fricking cool. But I just don't think of it that way. I'm confident in myself."

Within the strong overall production, Keaschall has shown an uncommon mix of contact skills and plate discipline for such a young hitter, suggesting his initial success is more than just a hot streak and is instead built mostly on bat-to-ball ability and sound swing decisions.

To be clear: Almost any rookie who comes up and hits .313 is being helped by at least some good luck. In Keaschall's case, his batting average on balls in play is an unsustainably high .346, which would be second to Aaron Judge (.348) among all active hitters with at least 2,500 plate appearances.

That will come back down to earth with more playing time, but even with a BABIP closer to the .310 range -- a figure reached by 41 active players with at least 2,500 plate appearances -- Keaschall would hit about .285. And sure enough, his expected batting average through 43 games is .283.

In addition, his .370 expected on-base percentage is the seventh-highest by any 22-year-old in the past decade, with exclusively household names ahead of him on that list: Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Ronald Acuña Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa. That's some amazing OBP company.

BABIP variance will likely be a major factor throughout Keaschall's career because he puts a ton of balls in play thanks to his contact-driven approach. Keaschall has struck out in just 12.8 percent of his plate appearances, which places him in the 93rd percentile league wide.

Some contact hitters, such as Jose Miranda, do themselves a disservice by swinging at good and bad pitches alike, turning a strength into a weakness once pitchers stop throwing them strikes. Keaschall has been able to avoid that trap by combining high-end contact with elite-level plate discipline.

Keaschall has swung at just 19.6 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, a 94th percentile "chase" rate. He's not getting himself out, forcing pitchers to attack him in the strike zone. And when Keaschall does swing, he's made contact 82.2 percent of the time, ranking in the 85th percentile.

"Good hitters are trying to find adjustments pitch to pitch," Keaschall said.

Some ultra-disciplined hitters, such as Edouard Julien, run the risk of being too passive, which also allows pitchers who can pound the strike zone to exploit. Keaschall has mostly avoided that trap so far, swinging at an average-ish number of in-zone and middle-middle pitches. It's a delicate balance.

"He's looking to hit every pitch, but he can lay off the ones he doesn't want," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "That means he's actually identifying pitches, making pretty good decisions. He can also hit different types of pitches that are moving in different ways. It allows you to be a well-rounded hitter."

Keaschall has sprayed hits all over the field and has the muscular build of a slugger, but actually hasn't hit the ball hard. His average exit velocity (86.1 mph) and hard-hit rate (32.1 percent) rank in the seventh and 14th percentiles, respectively, and his average bat speed (66.8 mph) is in the fourth percentile.

Those metrics suggest it will be challenging for Keaschall to develop substantial home run power. He simply doesn't appear to have that type of swing. But that's never been in his profile, and a deeper look at his quality-of-contact metrics shows a secret weapon shared by lots of good hitters.

Keaschall's approach isn't tailored for hunting 115 mph exit velocities or tape-measure homers. Instead, he's squared up a pitch on 36.1 percent of his swings, which ranks in the 96th percentile. The league leaders in square-up rate are a fun trio: Luis Arraez, Mookie Betts and Steven Kwan.

That's the type of hitter -- a line-drive machine and a professional pest, in the best possible way -- Keaschall is seemingly built to be. And because he has way more extra-base thump and patience than Arraez, there's way less risk of him being a one-dimensional singles hitter.

Along the same lines, Baseball Savant's "most similar" hitter to Keaschall is Jose Altuve, who fits the "line-drive machine and professional pest" label as well as anyone ever has. Altuve's hard-hit rates and exit velocities have been among MLB's lowest for the entirety of what will be a Hall of Fame career.

Slow bat speed is less of a problem for Keaschall because of his incredibly compact swing, with an average length of 6.3 feet that's fourth-shortest in MLB. Not surprisingly, Arraez has MLB's shortest swing, and Kwan is also in the top 10. It's all part of the give and take of swing speed versus length.

"I think his at-bats almost mirror his personality in a lot of ways," Baldelli said. "He's able to see the ball and attack the ball in a way where he's not necessarily going up there sitting on (specific) pitches. He can see it, and he's got such a good, short, strong swing. He's a good, natural hitter."

Keaschall is six feet tall on a good day. But like Altuve, he's especially fond of pitches up in the zone, attacking them almost twice as often as low stuff. His swing is even shorter when elevated, enabling him to feast on fastballs. As pitchers adjust, his ability to lay off low breaking balls will be crucial.

"The league is going to adjust to everyone," Baldelli said. "He's done well. You better believe they're not going to pitch him the same way they pitched him the first 40 games. But he's shown an ability to lay off pitches out of the zone and to be prepared for a particular type of pitcher. And I've seen him make adjustments during games and even during at-bats."

If he wants to develop 20-homer power, Keaschall will need to swing faster and hit the ball harder. But that's not necessarily required to be a very good hitter. He shares many traits with the players who have become impact hitters by avoiding strikeouts and racking up singles, doubles and walks.

Keaschall is fast, but not remarkably so. His average sprint speed is in the 84th percentile league wide and ranks tied for third on this year's Twins with James Outman, trailing Byron Buxton by a fairly wide margin and also slightly behind Harrison Bader (before being traded).

But what stands out about Keaschall's speed is how hard he runs. He relentlessly hustles and is extremely aggressive in nearly every situation. But even more so than that, he's visually one of the highest-effort runners you'll ever see. He runs as if his cleats and the infield dirt are feuding.

"Keasch is intense, man," reliever Michael Tonkin said. "He plays the game hard. I love the way he plays the game."

And it works, too. Keaschall already has 13 steals, the most in Twins history through 43 games, and he's been caught just three times. He's on a 49-steal pace per 162 major-league games after stealing 45 bases, with an 85 percent success rate, in exactly 162 minor-league games.

"I played with him a little in Triple A this year," infielder Ryan Fitzgerald said. "And right away, I could tell he's just a ballplayer. Guys like that give you energy. That's who you build a team around. High-energy player. And he's going to be playing this game for a long time."

Even setting aside steals, Keaschall has also taken an extra base -- going first to third, stretching a single into a double, etc. -- 43 percent of the time, above the league-wide average. He's fast, he's aggressive and he's effective, putting pressure on the defense and making a tangible impact.

"He's always making things happen," Baldelli said. "And he's been like that since the first day I've seen him play. He's not satisfied just getting to first base or just taking one base. Luke is always going to play in the aggressive manner we really like. It's a very enjoyable kind of player to watch."

Keaschall's speed and base-running prowess, along with high-end contact skills and elite-level swing decisions, would seemingly make him a model leadoff hitter capable of good batting averages, great on-base percentages and 30-plus steals per season atop the Twins' lineup.

Now that you're sufficiently enthused about Keaschall's offensive upside, let's talk about his defense at second base. It hasn't been pretty thus far, with lots of weak and/or off-target throws, and a surprising number of misplays on balls he's had more than enough range to reach.

Keaschall has totaled minus-two Outs Above Average in 36 starts at second base, equal to minus-nine per 162 games. While errors are an outdated way to evaluate overall defense, Keaschall's six -- three fielding and three throwing -- are an eyebrow-raising pace of 27 per 162 games.

This is where Keaschall's injury history makes it tricky to assess his upside. He's just 13 months removed from major surgery on his throwing elbow, the recovery for which was interrupted by breaking the same arm. He missed a lot of reps and just recently resumed throwing without limitations.

It's no surprise, then, that Keaschall has often looked shaky at second base. His average arm strength of 75.2 mph ranks in the seventh percentile and can be linked directly to his ongoing recovery from elbow surgery, which likely also explains at least some of his throwing misfires.

It remains to be seen how much Keaschall's arm strength and accuracy will bounce back, given that they were considered mediocre even when the Twins drafted him in the second round out of Arizona State in 2023. Are Keaschall's other fielding issues due more to rustiness or skill limitations?

"He's been working his butt off at second base," Baldelli said. "He's done a solid job over there. And I've been impressed with a lot of things I've seen."

Ideally, he'll be able to stick at second base and be an average-ish defender whose range and athleticism make up for other deficiencies. Keaschall has also played some center field. If a slide down the defensive spectrum is needed, left field would fit his strengths and minimize any arm issues.

Keaschall was a top-50 prospect, and he's raised his stock even higher since debuting, with great production and the underlying skills to match. Where he sticks in the field isn't settled long term, but Keaschall looks like a core lineup piece and a building-block player for the Twins with All-Star upside.

What we've learned about Twins rookie Luke Keaschall: Hot hitting, hard running, big upside