One Twins Hitting Prospect to Watch at Each Minor League Level

[Cody Christie]

The Saints have already kicked off their 2023 campaign, and other affiliates will follow shortly. Here is one hitter to watch for each Twins affiliate in 2023.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

The Twins have accumulated depth in the upper levels of the minors, with many of their top prospects projected to play at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Other prospects are further away from Target Field, but that doesn’t mean their development is any less important. Below are hitters to keep tabs on this season, even if they aren’t the top-ranked prospect at that level. 

Triple-A: Matt Wallner
Saints Opening Day Roster
Many fans will keep close tabs on Edouard Julien’s Triple-A performance based on a solid spring and WBC performance. Don’t forget about Matt Wallner. He’s coming off a tremendous 2022 season, hitting .277/.412/.542 (.953) with 32 doubles, four triples, and 27 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A. Twins Daily named Wallner the 2022 Minor League Hitter of the Year, but he dropped in the site’s prospect rankings from eighth to eleventh. He’s off to a strong start at Triple-A by going 4-for-12 with three extra-base hits and three runs. Wallner will impact the big-league roster at some point in 2023, but he will have to bide his time with the Saints until an opportunity is available. 

Double-A: Aaron Sabato
Wind Surge Opening Day Roster
Brooks Lee, the organization’s top prospect, will start the year at Double-A, where he ended the 2022 season. Like Lee, Sabato is a former first-round pick, but he is still waiting on a breakout season. Last season, he split time between High- and Double-A while hitting .215/.336/.438 (.774) with 17 doubles and 22 home runs. He’s averaged 38 extra-base hits per season in his professional career. Sabato turns 24 years old in June, which should be roughly the average age of the competition at his level. He’s played at two levels in each of his first two professional seasons, so he will be trying to power his way to Triple-A by the season’s second half. 

High-A: Misael Urbina
Kernels Opening Day Roster
The Kernels have four of Twins Daily’s top-10 prospects on their Opening Day roster, including Emmanuel Rodriguez, Marco Raya, Connor Prielipp, and Jose Salas. All eyes will be on Rodriguez based on his 2022 performance and emergence as a top-100 global prospect. Urbina is an intriguing name to follow. He was one of Minnesota’s top international signees back in 2018 and played parts of the last two seasons in Fort Myers. Last season, he hit .247/.323/.407 (.730) with 26 extra-base hits in 60 games. He continues to have the skills to be a five-tool player, but he needs to put it all together for an entire season.  

Low-A: Ricardo Olivar
Mighty Mussels Opening Day Roster
None of Twins Daily’s top 20 prospects are on the Fort Myers roster to start the 2023 season, but there are still hitters to watch. Danny De Andrade is the top-ranked prospect in the group, and he will be making his full-season debut. Olivar played most of 2022 at the rookie level but posted some solid offensive numbers. In 43 games, he hit .341/.433/.580 (1.013) with 12 doubles, three triples, and five home runs. Defensively, he is a catcher, but the Twins have been giving him more time in the outfield to keep his bat in the line-up. Can he build off his strong offensive showing with more playing time in 2023?

Which hitters will you be watching at each level? Will any of the names listed above have a breakout season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[weitz41]

Sabato..There's a spot for a RH power bat on the Twins roster if he can find his way back to something closer to his college K rate and OBPs. Plus it might be a make or break season for him and a 40 man spot.

Yake and Shuffield are none top 30 guys I'll be watching along with the some of last years DSL players.

[Doctor Gast]

My eyes will be on Richardo Olivar. The Twins are quiet on Olivar but besides showing a nice bat, he has the athleticism of becoming a top catcher. IMO quality is much better than quantity. The Twins are packed with mediocre catchers that at best profile at MLB back-ups, they then take up playing time of those who have promise.

[Dman]

For A ball for me I will be watching Shuffield.  He is old for the level but was already producing at AAA last year.  He needs a prove it year and maybe he can head back to AAA or at least AA by years end.  Could be an elite bat but will know more at the end of this year.

At High A it would be Ben Ross. He came from a small school with pretty excellent bat to ball skills.  Hoping he does well and that the Twins found a late first round talent in the 5th round.  I also like Cardenas at that level.  Good eye at the plate and can hit the ball.  Hopefully he can turn into a well rounded catcher. 

AA going with Rucker.  He might not have a high ceiling but he just seems like a solid player.  I think if he can tape into more power maybe that can be a plus tool for him.  Probably limited to corners but he is moving up fast and I am hoping the bat will end up better than average.

AAA for me would be Helman.  He is very close to being a legit MLB player IMO. The Slugging is there the plate discipline is there he just needs to up his game a bit more and he has MLB utility player written all over him.  Hoping for a  big year from him.

[DocBauer]

AAA: Wallner for sure. He only has half a season there and keeps getting better. He just needs to keep doing what he did last year, and polish his defense. Martin when he gets healthy. Julien is a given. And I'm really intrigued by Carmago ar catcher. There's life in his bat. Can he make enough contact? And I'm with Dman on Helman as a super utility player who can play everywhere.

AA: Lee is a given. I liked the way Severino took another step last year. I think he's close to AAA. Prato might be very undervalued as a utility player and potential table setter option, but he's behind some other good options. Winkel already at AA! Always got my eyes on catchers. Just don't know what to think about Sabato. Sooner or later he has to show HIT ability. Not sure I believe in him, but I'll be watching him.

A+: The question here might be is there anyone NOT to peak my interest? I hate to say it, but Cavaco has the least of my attention, though I natural hope for a sudden turnaround. I do like moving him to CR to see if something breaks free. 

But the INF is LOADED and the OF might be just as much. Rodriguez is another given, but does Urbina make a move and start to harness all that talent? Rosario got a long look in ST and has huge power potential.

And I can't but help focus on Cardenas behind the plate. The talent seems to be there, and he knows the zone. Does the bat and power potential start to manifest itself in 2023?

A-: Ft Myers is interesting but it's a complete collection of most of the past 2 drafts as well as some young international players moving up from the FCL. I'm really intrigued by the staff, and I'm not sure how the offense is going to perform. DeAndre obviously has my attention. Why are Perez and Shuffield there??? I have to believe this is a temporary assignment for both until a few things settle in above them and they are quickly promoted.

But once again I'm looking a lot at the catchers. Cossetti had 1 game of pro ball after being drafted last year. He showed a good bat in college. Does it translate? Tatum as the 3rd catcher drafted in 2021 and did nothing with the bat last year. And Olivar seems to be budding as a hitter and is a much better athlete at catcher than you normally see. Can they harness that in to him being a legitimate catching option?

Keep wondering where Baez in all of this? 

[Doctor Wu]

Thanks for all the comments and input on these players. Other than the "star" prospects I don't know much about most of the others in the minors. Good to get more  background on these guys. Hopefully, some of them actually CAN contribute to the MLB club in the near future.