2025 MLB Farm Review: Minnesota Twins

There were some good and bad updates out of Fort Myers in 2025.

We’ll start with the bad, as Dylan Questad walked 62 over 74 innings despite 83 strikeouts. Questad, a former fifth-round pick, also gave up nine home runs, as well.

Byron Chourio, acquired almost three years ago in the Pablo Lopez trade, slashed .193/.340/.234 with five extra-base hits over 57 games. While Chourio was able to cut down the strikeout rate, it marked his second down year in Low-A.

Now, let’s move on to the good.

Dasan Hill, one of the Twins’ second-round picks back in 2024, pitched very well in 2025. Hill struck out 68 over 52 innings, flashed hard stuff, and posted one of the highest swing-and-miss rates in the Florida State League.

Jay Thomason, a 17th-round pick out of the Air Force Academy, hit eight home runs and 17 extra-base hits across 39 games, consistently making hard contact.

Additionally, several of the Twins’ draft picks from 2025 made their debuts. Among them were Ryan Daniels, Bruin Agbayani, and first-rounder Marek Houston. Houston, who has the potential to be an above-average power hitter and fluid defender at short, notched 20 hits in 12 games with Fort Myers.

Cedar Rapids Kernels

Aside from Dasan Hill, the Twins went college-heavy in 2024. Minnesota selected infielders Kaelen Culpepper and Kyle DeBarge, both natural shortstops, in the first round. The Twins followed those two up with former Tennessee slugger Billy Amick (2nd), catcher Khadim Diaw (3rd), and FSU outfielder Jaime Ferrer in the fourth round.

All five of those individuals played in Cedar Rapids this season.

Culpepper (23% Whiff% in the Midwest League), a three-year starter at Kansas State, ripped through the Midwest League. The 23-year-old slashed .293/.385/.479 with nine home runs and 20 extra-base hits over 54 games. Minnesota promoted Culpepper in mid-June.

DeBarge hit 21 home runs with the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2024. He didn’t hit for as much power in 2025, as DeBarge posted eight home runs and 36 extra-base hits over 121 games. However, DeBarge — who played second, short, and in the outfield — walked 70 times over 543 plate appearances. And like Culpepper, not a lot of swing-and-miss (24.2% Whiff%).

Amick, a big power hitter in college, spent a lot of time on the IL this season. The corner infielder only played 59 total games, 54 of which came with Cedar Rapids. Amick slashed .310/.418/.455 with four home runs and 20 extra-base hits. There was a fair amount of swing-and-miss (32.1% Whiff%) in this game.

As for some of the other notables, Brandon Winokur (34.1% Whiff%) led the team in home runs and stole 26 bases. On the other hand, he struck out 131 times over 122 contests. Jaime Ferrer posted a .635 OPS in High-A, while Diaw (.866 OPS) hit well in an injury-shortened season.

There’s also Eduardo Tait, who played 30 games in Cedar Rapids after he was acquired in the Jhoan Duran trade. Tait was already in High-A, and as noted when the trade happened, had a propensity to expand the zone as a Phillie. However, the power was legitimate in Low-A.

The pop showed up in spurts with the Kernels, as Tait recorded 13 extra-base hits over 30 games.

As for the pitching, Dasan Hill made three outings for the Kernels after he was promoted. Hill struck out 15 over 10 innings. However, arguably the best pitcher on the Kernels from 2025 was 22-year-old Jose Olivares.

Olivares, who hit 95-97 MPH with his heater the year before in Low-A, struck out a team-best 107 over 90 innings. The right-hander posted a stellar Whiff% of 34.2%.

Wichita Wind Surge

We’ll get to Walker Jenkins in a second. However, perhaps the most pleasant story of 2025 was the success of Kala’i Rosario, a fifth-round pick out of high school in 2020 who had a breakthrough year with Wichita.

Rosario led the Texas League in home runs (25), as part of a season that saw him belt 60 total extra-base hits and make relatively consistent contact.

Aside from Rosario, it was a strong run in Double-A for both Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins. Culpepper adjusted well to Double-A, as he hit .285/.367/.460 with 11 home runs and 19 extra-base hits across 30 games. Jenkins, who missed time due to injury, batted .309/.246/.487 with 19 extra-base hits and 11 stolen bases. Plus, a sub-23% Whiff%, which put him among the top 50 in the circuit (min. 200 swings).

Hendry Mendez (16.7% Whiff%) batted .324 (.911 OPS) after he came over from Philadelphia for Harrison Bader.

Moving on to the pitchers, the 2025 campaign was good to both Pierson Ohl and Connor Prielipp. The two each had Whiff% above 30%, and both were added to the Twins’ 40-man roster this year. Ohl made his MLB debut in 2025, while Prielipp — a lefty who sat in the mid-90s — struck out 73 over 61 innings.

Another notable pitcher to talk about is Ryan Gallagher, one of two pitchers Minnesota acquired from the Cubs in the Willi Castro trade last July. Gallagher missed a lot of bats in High-A, as he posted a 32.3% Whiff%, struck out 85, and walked just 16 over 72.2 IP to cement himself as a fast-rising arm.

Gallagher was in Double-A before the trade, as he made two starts with Knoxville. His time with Wichita was mixed, as Gallagher struck out 37 over 37.2 IP. However, he conceded seven home runs with the Wind Surge.

St. Paul Saints

Aside from Zebby Matthews and David Festa — both pitchers with MLB experience heading into the year — the two pitchers under the microscope this season in St. Paul were Marco Raya and Andrew Morris. Raya was selected to the 40-man roster in 2024, while Morris was up in 2025 for the Rule 5 Draft.

We’ll start with Raya, who has plenty of work with a sinker, changeup, mid-90s fastball that capped out at 97-98 MPH, plus a sweeper, cutter, and hard curveball. Raya (30.5% Whiff%) missed plenty of bats. However, despite that and keeping the ball in the park, he gave up over 100 hits — although the Barrel% was below 7% — and walked 57 over 98 innings.

Morris, meanwhile, didn’t miss as many bats, as he struck out 89 over 94 innings. His HR/9 also spiked, from .8 HR/9 in a small Triple-A sample size from 2024 to 1.05 in 2025. The Twins did protect from the Rule 5 Draft in November.

Minnesota also saw positive results from Pierson Ohl and Mick Abel, both of whom averaged over a strikeout per inning at the level. Both Abel and Ohl saw times down the stretch for the Twins.

Offensively, Carson McCusker hit well in St. Paul with 22 home runs and 47 extra-base hits over 106 games. Unfortunately for McCusker, he didn’t have success at the MLB level after he debuted and will play in Asia next season.

Emmanuel Rodriguez slashed .258/.429/.423 with six home runs and 14 extra-base hits across 52 games. A lot of swing-and-miss for Rodriguez with St. Paul, to the tune of 36.6%. His 28.5% Whiff% on pitches inside the zone was the eighth-most in Triple-A last season (min. 250 swings).

Early Projected Top 5 for 2026

1. Walker Jenkins
2. Kaelen Culpepper
3. Eduardo Tait
4. Marek Houston
5. Dasan Hill

The top of this list is straightforward. Jenkins has the power, contact ability, and skills to be a foundational piece for the Twins. Culpepper, meanwhile, has done nothing but hit, both at the collegiate and Minor Leagues.

We have Tait at #3, even though his chase-heavy habit is concerning. Despite that, Tait hit well as a young catcher in Low-A.