The Twins’ system has plenty of names worth tracking, and a handful of them made a loud case this season. From rookie ball to Wichita and all the way up to St. Paul, the next wave keeps producing players who have forced their way onto the radar.
Jhomnardo Reyes was one of the biggest breakout stories before the Twins dealt him to the Orioles for 1½ seasons of pitcher Dean Kremer. The 18-year-old outfielder was on a tear in rookie ball, batting .296 with 12 doubles and seven homers in 49 games for the Twins’ Florida Complex team. He also drove in 44 runs, scored 31 times and reached base at a .409 clip.
Caden Kendle, meanwhile, turned heads at Class AA. The Twins want the 24-year-old outfielder to spend the offseason sharpening his defense, but his bat did the heavy lifting after a midseason move to Wichita. In his first 45 games there, the 2024 fifth-round pick hit .371 with 15 doubles, 11 homers, 44 RBI, 34 runs and a 1.076 OPS.
On the mound, Adrian Bohorquez showed why he belongs in the conversation despite a right flexor strain that sidelined him for more than a month. The 21-year-old right-hander logged a 3.29 ERA in 18 outings, striking out 65 and walking 31 over 54 innings. Since getting back to full health, he’s been even sharper, putting up a 0.87 ERA across his last 31 innings in Wichita with 37 strikeouts.
Riley Quick kept climbing in his first pro season, and his name fit the pace. The 22-year-old right-hander moved through three levels this year and finished with a 4.29 ERA in 22 starts.
He piled up 108 strikeouts and issued 46 walks in 77 innings, with blisters repeatedly bothering him and likely playing a part in the walk total. Even so, it was a promising debut year.
Ty Langenberg also spent the year proving he can handle a heavy workload. The 2023 11th-round pick out of Iowa led the system with 123 innings, though his season included a demotion from Class AAA St.
Paul after he struggled there. At Wichita, the 24-year-old right-hander settled in and posted a 3.65 ERA in 21 outings, with 75 strikeouts and 27 walks over 86 innings.
Paulshawn Pasqualotto rounded out the group by moving from high-Class A to Class AAA in a season that kept moving upward. The 25-year-old right-hander, a 12th-round pick in 2023, recorded a 3.95 ERA in 40 relief appearances while striking out 90 and walking 26 in 66 innings.
In Other News...
Twins May Regret Passing On Their Biggest Offseason Trade Debate
The Twins spent the offseason weighing whether to use one of their best pitching assets to reshape the roster, and the biggest names in that discussion were Joe Ryan and Pablo Lpez. Instead of moving either starter, Minnesota kept both in place and banked on its current core to push the club toward a postseason return, a choice that looked reasonable at the time given how much value each arm carried.
The decision has only grown more complicated since then. Lpezs season-ending elbow injury wiped out his trade value and changed the calculus completely, while Ryan stayed healthy and remained the more obvious chip if the front office had wanted to attack other weaknesses before Opening Day. In hindsight, the Twins may have passed on their best chance to make a meaningful roster reset when the market still offered them real leverage. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Bats Failed At The Worst Time And One Regular Stands Out
Minnesotas offense has hit a rough patch at exactly the wrong time, and the late-season slide has made every quiet night feel heavier. Royce Lewis, Victor Caratini, Ryan Kreidler and Trevor Larnach have all come under the microscope as the Twins try to stay afloat in the playoff race, with the numbers pointing to a lineup that has simply not been carrying its share of the load.
Lewis remains the most obvious name to watch because his presence in the middle of the order was supposed to help steady the group, but the recent production from those four hitters has gone the other way. When the bats go cold in September, the margin for error shrinks fast, and Minnesotas struggles to string together offense have become a direct part of why its postseason position has been so hard to maintain. [Read more 🡒]
Byron Buxton Just Put The Twins 2027 Outfield In Question
Byron Buxton is headed for arthroscopic hip surgery next Friday, another reminder of how carefully the Twins have to handle one of the most gifted players in the organization. The nagging injury has pushed his health back to the center of the conversation, and Minnesota is already weighing ways to help manage his body while trying to preserve the impact he brings when he is on the field.
One possibility being considered is a move out of center field and into a corner spot, a change that could ease the physical toll and potentially lengthen his career. It also adds another layer to the Twins outfield planning, because Buxtons durability has long shaped roster decisions and now leaves Minnesota facing more questions about what its future alignment should look like. [Read more 🡒]