When people talk about the Twins’ prospect pipeline, the conversation usually starts with the headliners: Walker Jenkins, Vahn Lackey, Kaelen Culpepper, Marek Houston and Emmanuel Rodriguez. Three of those names - Jenkins, Culpepper and Rodriguez - are already on the Twins’ active roster.
But beyond that spotlight, a few other prospects turned in seasons that deserve a lot more attention. Khadim Diaw, Hendry Mendez and Adrian Bohorquez all put together strong minor-league years without making nearly as much noise as some of the bigger names in the system.
Diaw, 23, may be the most overlooked of the group. He sits behind Lackey and Eduardo Tait in the catcher hierarchy, but his season gives Minnesota another interesting option to keep in mind.
Diaw also logged plenty of time in center field, which adds another layer to his value if the Twins need him to handle the outfield down the road. He earned a jump to Double-A after batting .300/.405/.454 with five home runs and 31 RBI in 58 games at High-A Cedar Rapids.
Once he reached Wichita, he was even better, hitting .314/.430/.449 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 49 games.
Mendez followed a different path, but his year was just as easy to miss. The Twins landed him from the Philadelphia Phillies in last year’s Harrison Bader trade, and he kept producing wherever they sent him.
He opened the season with Wichita and hit .281/.363/.494 with four home runs and 21 RBI over 24 games, which was enough to send him to Triple-A St. Paul.
With the Saints, he continued to hold his own, finishing at .281/.377/.411 with eight home runs and 42 RBI across 78 games.
Bohorquez also quietly stacked up an impressive season. The 21-year-old moved up to Double-A after putting together a 4.19 ERA in 38 2/3 innings with High-A Cedar Rapids.
He also threw four scoreless innings for the FCL Twins on a rehab assignment. In his four starts for Wichita, he was outstanding, posting a 1.06 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Across all three minor-league levels, Bohorquez finished the year with a 3.02 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP and 69 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings.
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Twins Could Turn To A Former First-Round Pick Few Saw Coming
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General manager Jeremy Zoll has already confirmed the clubs interest, while manager Derek Shelton has said he wants to feature as many former first-round picks as possible on the field. If Cavaco gets the call, his path would be one of the more unusual ones in recent Twins memory, taking him from High-A to independent ball and now to the edge of a major-league bullpen opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Former Twins Arm Is Putting The Jeff Hoffman Trade Back In Focus
The Jeff Hoffman deal has already had one of those little side stories that can make a trade look a lot bigger in hindsight. John Klein, the right-hander the Twins sent to Toronto in the Aug. 3 swap, had just made his major league debut in Minnesota this season before becoming part of the package that brought Hoffman to the bullpen picture.
Kleins next step came quickly, with the Blue Jays recently calling him up for a doubleheader against the Orioles, a reminder that his path is still moving even as his minor league performance has been uneven. Toronto has him ranked as its No. 29 overall prospect, so his progress will keep drawing attention in a trade that Minnesota will be measured against for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Jenkins Is Making The Twins Look Right For Calling Him Up
Walker Jenkins arrived in the majors with the kind of uneven first impression that can come with a late-season call-up, but the Twins have spent the past week seeing more and more of why they brought him up. After opening his MLB career with a low batting average, the young outfielder has started to settle in, going 11-for-25 with three home runs over his last six games and giving Minnesota a much clearer look at the kind of bat he can bring.
Even with the Twins out of playoff contention, Jenkins stretch at the plate has made the promotion look worthwhile in the larger sense. He still has rookie eligibility left for 2027, and his path to this point has already included multiple injuries, which makes every productive game feel a little more meaningful for a team trying to gauge what comes next. What Minnesota is watching now is whether this late-season burst is the start of a longer run toward becoming a regular outfield option. [Read more 🡒]