Adrian Bohorquez: The Twins’ Breakout Pitching Prospect to Watch in 2025

[Cody Christie]

The Twins have plenty of pitching prospects to get excited about in the upper minors, but one low minors pitcher might have one of the highest ceilings in the system. Get to know more about him.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Photo of Adrian Bohorquez)

The Minnesota Twins' farm system has been a steady source of intriguing talent in recent years, boasting a mix of polished prospects and high-upside projects. Among the latter group is 19-year-old Adrian Bohorquez, a right-handed pitcher with the potential to vault up the organization’s prospect rankings in 2025. Bohorquez’s tantalizing pitch mix and raw ability position him as a candidate for a breakout campaign.

A Limited Track Record, But Big Upside
Bohorquez’s professional résumé is brief but compelling. Over two pro seasons, he’s logged just 77 innings, with only 16 1/3 of those coming outside of rookie-level competition. In those limited frames, Bohorquez flashed promise and inconsistency, striking out hitters at over a 27% clip at three levels and issuing 10 walks in that small Low-A sample size. For now, question marks abound, but the consensus is clear: Bohorquez possesses an undeniably live arm and all the tools necessary to establish himself as a legitimate starting prospect. He’s just a long way from Target Field.

The Twins have found some hidden gems in the international market, and Bohorquez is looking to join that group. He signed out of Venezuela for just $10,000 during the 2023 international signing period. Bohorquez was an older signee at 18 years old, when many other players sign at 16 and agree to deals even younger than that. While he didn’t make waves immediately, he made significant strides in 2024. Coming Stateside, he pitched his way from the Florida Complex League to full-season Fort Myers, putting himself on the radar as a high-upside arm.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander typically throws his four-seam fastball at 94 mph, but he has touched 98 mph, which indicates that more consistent velocity may emerge as he gains experience. MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs give his fastball a 55 grade, with the potential to be a 60-grade pitch as he improves. His slider, thrown at 87-88 mph, is his best secondary pitch, showing late bite and effectiveness against both right- and left-handed hitters. Currently, MLB Pipeline gives this pitch a 50. 

Complementing this is a mid-70s curveball with depth and spin rates exceeding 2,800 rpm. While his changeup currently lags behind as a below-average pitch, it has shown flashes of depth and fade when thrown at around 90 mph. Developing this pitch will be key to his ability to handle left-handed hitters and stick as a starter.

The Road Ahead
If 2025 goes as planned, Bohorquez could end the season as one of the top 20 prospects in the Twins’ system. He enters the year as arguably one of the best pitchers in the low minors, a distinction that reflects both his talent and his advanced approach on the mound. With his current repertoire, Bohorquez is poised to dominate hitters in Low A, and may only face meaningful challenges once he reaches High-A or Double-A competition.

Still, there are hurdles for the young pitcher to overcome. Without a reliable weapon to neutralize left-handed hitters, Bohorquez’s path to becoming a complete starter could hit roadblocks. Last season, he allowed lefties to reach base nearly 32% of the time. Additionally, his command remains a work in progress. After showing improved control in the Florida Complex League, he struggled to find the zone consistently at Fort Myers in Florida State League action. He posted a 12.3 BB% with a 16.0 K-BB% last season. The Twins will continue working with him to refine his mechanics and strike-throwing ability, which will be crucial for his long-term success.

Projection and Potential
Physically mature and boasting a starter’s build, Bohorquez has the tools to project as a solid No. 4 starter for a contending team, but his upside is even higher. His three-pitch mix is enough to carve up lower-level hitters, but his ultimate ceiling will depend on his ability to refine his command and add depth to his repertoire. If he succeeds in those areas, Bohorquez could quickly become one of the most exciting arms in the Twins’ system.

For now, Bohorquez remains a name for Twins fans to monitor closely. He’s not yet a household name, but that could change by this time next year. With a live arm, a dynamic arsenal, and plenty of room to grow, Bohorquez is poised to take a significant step forward in 2025.

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What should the team expect from Bohorquez this season? What changes does he need to make in 2025? What’s his ultimate ceiling? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[tony&rodney]

Bohorquez is one to watch in his first full year above the rookie level leagues. Good player to highlight. Last season Fangraphs also liked Yoel Roque but I haven't heard or seen anything about him.

[LambchoP]

Seems a bit early to be citing him as a possible "highest ceiling in our system". Dudes thrown 16 innings above rookie League and didn't exactly light everyone up lol. 

[bean5302]

He'll be interesting to watch over the next couple of years. I suspect he's going to be a little slow developing due to how rough his arsenal is, and his inability to throw strikes. I'm a fan of getting that BB rate down to a reasonable level first, then add K's later. Too many pitchers advance on high K rates until they hit AAA and struggle or wash out of MLB quickly.

[madtowntwin]

You are correct Bean - Walks at any level will almost always haunt....

[gman]

To have a continuous pitching pipeline you need to develop pitching at all levels. 3 years from he could be one of the top pitchers in that pipeline.

[Dman]

I am huge fan of Bohorquez.  The delivery looks easy, like playing catch. He was young for that level and in a small sample the K rate and the few hits he gave up make it look like he could have a dominant arm.

i get the concerns about control but he is only 19. We had older college arms with worse WHIP’s than he had and bigger control problems.

Yep he has a long way to go, but for his first look at A ball at a young age he looks like he could be special. He needs that changeup or maybe a sweeper to get there. Hopefully his development continues at a fast pace.

[Doctor Gast]

I understand the concern. There's a big adjustment coming stateside. Once he makes that adjustment he can focus on the rest. '25 is a big year for him. IMO he'll come out on top, at least I hope so.

[dxpavelka]

20 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Seems a bit early to be citing him as a possible "highest ceiling in our system". Dudes thrown 16 innings above rookie League and didn't exactly light everyone up lol. 

You don't get clicks by writing that Cy Young could pitch or Barry Bonds could hit.

[Omgbenji]

lol, so you say he could be one of the most exciting arms with some of the best upside in the system in a couple years yet he projects as a #4 starter??? Sorry, but I don't get excited for #4 starters. We have heaps of potential #4 starters

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

This article is pretty solid.  Showing that if he has a good season which is completely reasonable he could jump into our top 20 prospects.   If velocity continues to tick up,  and he gains more control,  with that slider,  you have a very effective starter.   Really need to work on lengthening him out.  Only 53 innings last year.  A 2.2 ERA  in A ball in 16 innings (extremely small sample size),  ultimately show he belongs stateside to continue development.     

[ashbury]

I can't quite tell if Bohorquez stands out because of his potential or because the rest of the Twins' arms in the FCL this year were lackluster.

[Doctor Wu]

Interesting article. As always, very informative. Bohorquez is not a player I had paid any attention to before, but now he's on my radar. I hope he becomes one of those prospects that excels beyond expectations. We need more of that with the Twins. 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

On 1/29/2025 at 1:11 PM, ashbury said:

I can't quite tell if Bohorquez stands out because of his potential or because the rest of the Twins' arms in the FCL this year were lackluster.

We had very few arms in the FCL.  That doesn't take away from Bohorquez.  He showed right away he belonged stateside with his late season performance in A ball.  The other thing is even though limited innings he got stronger throughout the year even with jumping to A ball.  

 

Here are his BA from June to Sept   .195   .189   .152   .100 (1 start - 3 inninings) 

Now onto OBP                                    .327   .311   .298  .182  

Next is     OPS                                     .522   .663  .516  .382

Hopefully the Twins can unlock just a little more velocity,  but his secondary pitches look legit already.  He was basically an afterthought, only signing for 10k.  If he can become something would be pretty remarkable.  

[jorgenswest]

On 1/28/2025 at 8:14 AM, bean5302 said:

He'll be interesting to watch over the next couple of years. I suspect he's going to be a little slow developing due to how rough his arsenal is, and his inability to throw strikes. I'm a fan of getting that BB rate down to a reasonable level first, then add K's later. Too many pitchers advance on high K rates until they hit AAA and struggle or wash out of MLB quickly.

The strikeout and walk rates in the low minors can be deceptive. Some pitchers have stuff so good that the over challenged batters make so little contact and every count goes deep. That lack of contact and deep counts leads to an increase in walks (and strikeouts) as opposed to weak contact outs. I would be more concerned about a pitcher that relies and weak contact outs with lower strike out and walk rates up to AA. I think that weak contact will progress to solid contact too often as they move up the ladder. The Twins would have much better data to analyze whether the walks are a result of poor command or deep counts. With the data I can see I would prefer the high strikeout and walk pitcher in the lower minors to the high contact low walk rate pitcher.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

The strikeout and walk rates in the low minors can be deceptive. Some pitchers have stuff so good that the over challenged batters make so little contact and every count goes deep. That lack of contact and deep counts leads to an increase in walks (and strikeouts) as opposed to weak contact outs. I would be more concerned about a pitcher that relies and weak contact outs with lower strike out and walk rates up to AA. I think that weak contact will progress to solid contact too often as they move up the ladder. The Twins would have much better data to analyze whether the walks are a result of poor command or deep counts. With the data I can see I would prefer the high strikeout and walk pitcher in the lower minors to the high contact low walk rate pitcher.

It can be deceptive, but if it was a stuff guy, I'd be expecting to see rates more in the 14+ K/9 range. Borquez is walking too many compared to his K rate for the level he's at. On the bright side, he's not giving up a ton of hits and the BABIP against is low which might just mean he's inducing mostly poor contact.

[tony&rodney]

The data from games at the lowest levels for pitchers is only minimally useful. Development is the idea and only those on the ground really know how the pitchers are doing. Scouts watch a ton of these games and try to ascertain who could be pilfered from another team as an additional body of a larger deal via trade.