Souhan: Forget payroll. Prospects will determine if and when the Twins win again.

With their trade deadline deals and announcement that the Pohlads would retain ownership of the team, the Twins became a Minnesota meme, up there with State Fair food choices and hawk-sized mosquitos.

Over the weekend, venerable Star Tribune outdoors columnist Dennis Anderson even compared the Twins to bad bird hunting. I am not making that up.

Memes are entertaining. They also short-circuit critical thinking.

Does this Twins team deserve criticism for collapsing for a second consecutive summer? Absolutely. The Twins have been pathetic.

Should the Pohlads spend more on payroll? I think so.

Is the Twins’ low payroll the reason this team stinks? That’s easy to say and harder to prove.

On Opening Day, the Twins ranked 17th out of 30 MLB teams in payroll size. I think they should be a few slots higher, but as long as baseball retains its current economic model, the Twins will probably never be in the top 10, no matter how much anyone complains.

Don’t think that can happen? I would encourage you to look east, where the pierogies roam. The Milwaukee Brewers, who had the 23rd-highest payroll on Opening Day, have the best record in baseball.

The Twins are in fourth place in the American League Central. The three teams ahead of them all had lower payrolls to start the season.

Maybe signing the right free agent would have staved off collapse this summer. More likely, this team would have failed with a higher payroll because the core of the team — the young position players — was not good enough.

With the exception of Luke Keaschall, this group of young players lacks athletic ability, fielding range, offensive production and, perhaps, mental toughness.

If healthy, the rotation should be good enough next year. The Twins will probably have to spend money or make trades to rebuild the bullpen. Neither will matter if they can’t produce runs.

The Twins might not improve until their best young hitting prospects begin producing in the majors.

Here are the five hitters who could make the Twins winners again, regardless of payroll size:

* Royce Lewis. He has gone from being the Twins’ best player to jeopardizing his career. He has dramatically improved in the field. If he reestablishes himself as a star-caliber slugger, he will solve many of the Twins’ problems. His home run on Sunday provided a moment of hope.

* Keaschall. He just got here, and he’s already probably the Twins’ second-best position player, behind Byron Buxton.

* Walker Jenkins. The Twins’ top prospect should be a classic big-league slugger.

* Kaelen Culpepper. The Twins’ 2024 first-round pick is thriving at Class AA Wichita. If he could play shortstop in the majors, he would solve another major Twins problem.

I think the Pohlads should allow the front office to spend money on a proven closer and a veteran middle-of-the-order hitter. Veterans in those positions can aid the growth of young relievers and hitters and give the Twins a chance to compete while they’re waiting on their top prospects.

They cleared enough payroll during the roster purge to be able to afford such players.

The odds are against all five of their key position-playing prospects becoming stars, but if three or four emerge as reliable run producers, the Twins’ payroll size could become an afterthought.

The Twins’ deepest playoff run of the last 34 seasons occurred in 2002. That team ranked 27th in payroll, won 94 games and the division, and advanced to the American League Championship Series.