Twins Daily Minor League All Stars - 2024: The Pitchers

[Seth Stohs]

Hey now, these guys are now Twins Daily All Stars. This season, they got their game on and went and played.  Which Twins minor league pitchers were voted as Twins Daily All Stars for the 2024 season. 

 Twins Daily’s minor-league writers voted for the awards and for an all-star team of Twins prospects. To reiterate, this isn’t a Top Prospect ranking or list, but which players in the Twins system had the best seasons in 2024. We’ll vote for Twins top prospects again here soon. Each writer chose five starting pitchers, a right-handed reliever, a left-handed reliever, and two more relievers. 

Before we get to the All Star pitchers, here are our 2024 Twins Daily Award winners (and links to the articles to see who else received votes). 

Short-Season Hitter of the Year: Eduardo Beltre
Short-Season Pitcher of the Year: Melvin Rodriguez 
Minor League Hitter of the Year: Luke Keaschall 
Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: Zebby Matthews 
Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Spencer Bengard
Twins Minor League All-Star Hitters 

Read through our choices for each position. And then discuss and cast your votes as well. 

Here we go.  

Starting Pitchers

RHP Zebby Matthews - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints  
Acquired:  Twins 8th round draft pick in 2022 out of Western Carolina University
2024 MILB Stats: 6-3, 2.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 0.6 BB/9, 10.6 K/9
2024 MLB Stats: 1-4, 6.69 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 10.3 K/9
What a season 2024 was for the sturdy right-hander from North Carolina. The 2022 draft pick began the season with the Cedar Rapids. After four starts, he was 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. He moved up to Double-A Wichita and he pitched 10 times (9 starts). He was 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. It was time to move up again. He made four starts in St. Paul. Two went well. Two didn’t. That ended his minor-league season. The numbers shown above look great, and they are. Just to put the counting numbers out here instead of the rate numbers. In 97 innings, he had 114 strikeouts to just seven walks. Seven walks. Jeepers! 

And that’s about the time that Joe Ryan got hurt and missed the rest of the season. Matthews was called up and on August 13th, he made his first start of the season. He gave up two runs on five hits over five innings to earn his first Win against the Royals. He made nine starts for the Twins. I would argue that six went pretty well and three went poorly. 

In my opinion, it’s clear that he has the ‘stuff’ to pitch in the big leagues. His fastball averages 94.9 mph. His cutter comes in at 90.9 mph. His slider drops a little bit more than a cutter and averages 87.2 mph. Those three account for 85% of his pitches, but he also throws the occasional mid-80s changeup and low-80s curveball. In the minor leagues, he threw an incredible number of strikes and dominated. In the big leagues, it’s clear that command is just as important as control, spotting pitches and consistently. 

ETA: August 2024

RHP Andrew Morris - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints  
Acquired:  Twins 4th round draft pick in 2022 out of Texas Tech 
2024 Stats: 10-5, 2.37 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
Andrew Morris has always been young for his level, going back to when he skipped a grade in elementary school. He was a 17-year-old freshman at Colorado Mesa University. After going 18-2 in his three years at the Division II school, he transferred to Texas Tech and went 8-2 as a 20-year-old senior. The Twins made him their fourth-round pick in 2022. He began his first full-season in Fort Myers and went 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA in 11 games (10 starts). He moved up to Cedar Rapids and went 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA in seven regular-season starts. He helped the Kernels to the 2023 Midwest League Championship. That’s where he began the 2024 season. He went 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA in seven starts before moving up to Double-A. With Wichita, he pitched in 12 games (10 starts and two games finished). He went 6-3 with one save with a 1.90 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He ended his season with seven starts in St. Paul. He went 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 133 total innings, he had 133 strikeouts and just 32 walks. 

Essentially, Morris found himself about eight-to-ten starts behind Matthews. He is 15 months younger than Matthews and has a similar pitch mix. His fastball sits between 93 and 96 mph. He throws a lot of sliders and throws them anywhere from 84-91 mph. His changeup currently is about seven to 10 mph slower than his fastball. He throws an occasional slow curveball too, maybe just to show it. 

ETA: June 2025

LHP Christian MacLeod - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints  
Acquired:  Twins 5th round draft pick in 2023 out of Mississippi State 
2024 Stats: 4-4, 3.41 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, 10.4 K/9
Christian MacLeod, like most Twins pitching prospects, stands at least 6-4. He’s a lanky lefty with a smooth motion and delivery. While he doesn’t throw as hard as many of the other prospects, he is able to really mix and match his velocities to keep batters off balance. His fastball sits right around 90 mph. He mixes it well with a lot of changeups. He also throws a quality slow curveball.    

MacLeod grew up around the game. His dad, Kevin MacLeod, was drafted by the Oakland A’s in 1987 and reached Double-A over four minor-league seasons. Christian grew up in Alabama and went to Mississippi State where he pitched in the College World Series. The Twins took him in the 5th round of the 2022 draft and he had five strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings in the FCL. Unfortunately, he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the 2022 season. He came back midway through the 2023 season with two games in Fort Myers before pitching in 15 games (14 starts) in Cedar Rapids. He began the 2024 season with 12 starts for the Kernels. In 48 2/3 innings, he had 58 strikeouts but 25 walks. He was 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA. He moved up to Wichita and pitched eight times (7 starts). He was 1-2 despite a 3.72 ERA. He also made one late-season spot start for the Saints in St. Paul. He gave up four earned runs in five innings. In 92 1/3 total innings, he had 107 strikeouts and 46 walks.   

The southpaw is still working his way back. The lefty throws a fastball in the 89-91 mph range. He throws a lot of changeups and is able to get swings and misses with both. The walks have been a bit high, but that should improve as well as her distances himself from surgery. 

ETA: May 2026

RHP Ty Langenberg - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels.   
Acquired:  Twins 11th round draft pick in 2023 out of University of Iowa 
2024 Stats: 8-5, 3.67 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 9.7 K/9
Langenberg grew up in Urbandale, Iowa, just outside of Des Moines. After high school, he stayed in-state and went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City. In 2022, he went 7-2 in 14 games. In 2023, he went 6-3 with a 4.15 ERA. The Twins liked what he showed and made him their 11th round draft pick that summer. After two appearances in the FCL, he made three appearances in Fort Myers. 

This season, he began with nine starts in Fort Myers. He went 3-3 with a 3.38 ERA. And then he got to head back home, sort of. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids in mid-June and pitched 12 times, likely with friends from just down the road at his old college stomping grounds. He went 5-2 with a 3.90 ERA. Combined, he threw 108 innings and had 116 strikeouts with just 30 walks.   

Langenberg throws five different pitches. He has a four-seam fastball that sits between 91 and 93 mph, but he touched 95 at times. . He also throws a sinker that is thrown at about the same speed but with a little different movement. He throws a cutter between 86 and 91 mph. His changeup is a mid-80s. Finally, he has a breaking ball in the high-70s and low-80s. 

ETA: May 2027

RHP Travis Adams (24) - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints  
Acquired:  Twins 6th round draft pick in 2021 out of Sacramento State 
2024 Stats: 5-9, 3.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 8.4 K/9
A California native, Adams headed north to attend Sacramento State. In college, he had impeccable control to go with good stuff. Following the draft, Adams made one appearance in the FCL. In 2022, he made 15 starts in Fort Myers before ending the season with seven starts. Combined, he had 108 strikeouts and 26 walks over 22 starts and 100 2/3 innings. The Twins aggressively pushed him to Double-A Wichita where he pitched in 26 games (25 starts). While the numbers weren’t great (4-10, 5.66 ERA), he made every start and went 109 2/3 innings. He returned to the Wind Surge to start this season. He pitched in 22 games for the Surge (19 starts). He went just 5-7 with a very solid 3.67 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. He earned his promotion to St. Paul late in the season and pitched in four games. Combined, Adams worked 127 innings. He had 118 strikeouts and just 35 walks.   

Adams has a very interesting pitch mix. He has no less than six pitches, and he throws them anywhere from the mid-70s to the mid-90s. He throws both a two-seam (sinker) and four-seam fastball. He throws those pitches between 93 and 95 mph. He throws a cutter in the 87-92 mph range. He has a slider between 83 and 86 mph. And he throws a slow curveball in the high-70s and low-80s. Finally, his changeup sits 86-89 mph. I’m sure he would like to drop that a couple of mph. As you can see, he’s got a strong variety of pitches. He’s got multiple fastballs. He’s got multiple breaking pitches. And he’s got a changeup. He certainly has the pitch-mix to be a starter. 

ETA: August 2025 

Bullpen 

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher: Spencer Bengard (22) - Ft. Myers Miracle, Cedar Rapids Kernels
Acquired: Twins 15th round draft pick in 2023 out of California Baptist University  
2024 Stats: 8-2, 1 Save, 1.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 7.8 K/9
Spencer Bengard grew up in southern California and went to Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. He stayed very close to home and went to California Baptist in Riverside. While there, he was teammates with fellow Twins prospects C.J. Culpepper and Liam Rocha, as well as Anthony Silva in 2022. He transferred to Riverside City College and was the Twins 16th round pick in 2023, one round after they took Bengard. 

Bengard got into two games with the FCL Twins last summer before the end of the season. This year, his season started about a month late. He began his season in Fort Myers where he went 7-2 with a 1.64 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 13 games (7 starts). He ended the season with six games (1 start) with the Kernels. He went 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He fits into the “reliever” category because just eight of his 19 appearances were starts. However, even pitching out of the ‘pen, it was almost always in a long-relief role. He completed five innings in 10 of his outings. He went less than three innings only twice. 

Bengard isn’t a flame-thrower. His fastball tops out at 93 mph but sits 89-92 mph. He also throws both a slider and a changeup in the low-to-mid 90s. Occasionally, he will throw the breaking ball a bit slower, in the upper-70s. 

ETA: May 2017 

Left-Handed Relief Pitcher: Samuel Perez (24) - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels
Acquired: signed as free agent (6/3/21) from Venezuela 
2024 Stats: 2-1, 3 Saves, 2.49 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 10.2 K/9
Originally signed by the Angels in 2017 from Venezuela, he came to the Twins organization during the 2021 season. He was the Twins Daily short-season pitcher of the year that year. And he has spent a lot of time with the Mighty Mussels since then. He was briefly in Cedar Rapids in 2022. He pitched 35 times this season for the Mussels and ended the year with five games for the Kernels. 

Perez is unique in the game, and maybe it helps him find success. The lefty’s “fastball” tops out at about 86-87 mph. He’s also got a changeup and a curveball that comes in about 10 mph slower and keeps hitters off balance. 

ETA: May 2029

Relief Pitcher: Kyle Bischoff (25) - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints
Acquired: signed as undrafted free agent (May 30, 2023)  
2024 Stats: 5-2, 6 Saves, 3.23 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, 11.4 K/9
Bischoff certainly has an interesting back story. In 2018, he started at the University of Toledo where he pitched for four seasons. Given an extra season, he pitched for Michigan State in 2022. He went undrafted and went to the United Shores Baseball League where he pitched for Westside in 2022. He made two USBL appearances in 2023 before he signed a minor-league free agent contract with the Twins. He spent that summer in the FCL. In 2024, Bischoff rose all the way from the cornfields of Iowa to one call away from the big leagues in St. Paul. He pitched in 28 games with the Kernels, 14 games at Double-A Wichita and ended the season with three games with the Saints. The 6'2", 210 pound righty put up stronger numbers in Wichita than Cedar Rapids and held his own in St. Paul. 

Bischoff is primarily a two-pitch pitcher. He throws a two-seam fastball that sits 94-96 mph. He also throws a cutter at 87 to 90 mph. He’s got good velocity and a pitch that moves each horizontal direction. That can make it difficult for a batter to guess. 

ETA: August 2025 

Relief Pitcher: Nolan Santos (23) - Ft. Myers Miracle, Cedar Rapids Kernels
Acquired: Twins 7th round draft pick in 2023 out of Bethune-Cookman University 
2024 Stats: 4-5, 11 Saves, 2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, 10.6 K/9
A Florida native, Santos headed to Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach after a season at Miami Dade College. In 2022, he had 113 strikeouts and 33 walks in 90 1/3 innings. In 2023, he had 138 strikeouts and 35 walks in 97 1/3 innings. The Twins drafted him in the seventh round and then pitched five games and 6 1/3 innings between the FCL and Fort Myers. He pitched in 29 games for the Mussels this season before ending the season with 14 games in Cedar Rapids. In 67 2/3 combined innings, he had 80 strikeouts with 26 walks. To this point, he keeps the pitches down and the ball in the ballpark. 

Santos isn’t a flamethrower, but he is a true pitcher. He leads with his four-seam fastball which comes in between 89 and 93 mph. He also breaks bats and misses barrels with a mid-80s cutter. And then he throws a slow curveball, like low-70s curveball.  

ETA: May 2027 

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So there you have it. The first annual Twins Daily Minor League All Star team. Who would get your vote? Below are the votes/selections of our Twins Daily Minor League writers:

Previous Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
Looking Back: 2016 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
RH SP: Fernando Romero, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: Trevor Hildenberger, LH RP: Michael Theofanopoulos.

Looking Back: 2017 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
RH SP: Clark Beeker, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: John Curtiss, LH RP: Andrew Vasquez.

Looking Back: 2018 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
RH SP: Tyler Wells, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: Cody Stashak, LH RP: Andrew Vasquez.

Looking Back: 2019 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
RH SP: Randy Dobnak, LH SP: Devin Smeltzer, RH RP: Moises Gomez, LH RP: Zach Neff

Looking Back: 2021 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
SP (4): Louie Varland, Josh Winder, Cole Sands, Jordan Balazovic, RH RP: Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran.

Looking Back: 2022 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
SP (4): Louie Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Brent Headrick, RH RP: Cody Laweryson, LH RP: Evan Sisk. 

Looking Back: 2023 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars
SP (4): Cory Lewis, Pierson Ohl, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, C.J. Culpepper,  RH RP: Miguel Rodriguez, LH RP: Kody Funderburk, RP: Regi Grace, John Stankiewicz. 

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[DocBauer]

Nothing wrong with the choices here. But something doesn't feel quite right with no Lewis on the list.

[FlyingFinn]

What a great group of starting pitchers. Matthews probably should get minor league pitcher of the year for all of baseball.

MacLeod - will the velocity likely increase as he gets further from surgery? I have him added to the 40 man roster. But if he's topping out at 90 mph, not sure that plays in MLB these days.

[ryan189]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

What a great group of starting pitchers. Matthews probably should get minor league pitcher of the year for all of baseball.

MacLeod - will the velocity likely increase as he gets further from surgery? I have him added to the 40 man roster. But if he's topping out at 90 mph, not sure that plays in 

 

[DocBauer]

7 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

What a great group of starting pitchers. Matthews probably should get minor league pitcher of the year for all of baseball.

MacLeod - will the velocity likely increase as he gets further from surgery? I have him added to the 40 man roster. But if he's topping out at 90 mph, not sure that plays in MLB these days.

Agree on the velocity issue. 90 MPH from a lefty with a great change and curveball might still play, especially if control/command is there. And also wonder if more time away from surgery might not see his velocity gain a few ticks. Hopefully it will. But I have to wonder if he doesn't need a 4th offering? Could a cutter give him a different enough look to keep hitters further off balance?

If the velocity doesn't tick up, or not enough, I'm wondering if his best role, and quickest route to MLB, might not be in the pen. If the FB is located well, the change should help him against RH hitters, and the curve could be affective against both sides. 

[Otaknam]

Great write up! Morris and Matthews seem like they have a chance to number three starters. However, no one on this list looks like a future number one or two starter, which the Twins lack. Hopefully off season pitching clinics can help these guys add 2-3 mph to their fastballs. 90 mph fastballs won’t cut it anymore, except for a lefty reliever with a solid 3 pitch mix and excellent breaking pitch or change up. Hopefully the team has some fire balling starters in the lower levels who have a chance to be top of the rotation, a necessity to have World Series aspirations. A bunch of number 3-5 starters can work during the season, but won’t cut it in the playoffs when faced with an actual ace starter. 

[LambchoP]

SP depth will always be needed. We've got a good starting rotation with Lopez, Ober, Ryan, SWR and Festa. But then we get a little thin with starters who would be ready to pitch in the bigs. First up will probably be Mathews, who needs more time in St Paul. Then Morris. After that we're looking at the likes of Dobnak and Bouschly until Cory Lewis, Raya and Culpeper are ready, which is probably still a ways off. This is why I think if we trade Paddack we should try for a veteran innings eater for the rotation. Guys go down and if we lose any of Lopez Ryan or Ober for any length of time, we'd be screwed. Our pen needs reinforcement too, especially a couple lefties.

[Einstein]

Good stuff Seth, how about a thread on the hardest throwers in the system?