Minnesota Twins April Minor League Standouts: A New Pitching Prospect Emerges at Cedar Rapids

[Jamie Cameron]

We’re a full month into the MiLB season. Let’s take stock of some notable performances from Twins prospects in the month of April.

Image courtesy of © William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This will be a (roughly) monthly update on the Twins farm system. The goal here is simple: shine a light on some great performances throughout the Twins system, outside of their most famous or top-100 prospects. Some of those folks will be featured here, of course, but there are so many good performances to mine in a deep system. Here are some guys who caught my attention in April (listed alphabetically).

Billy Amick, CI, Cedar Rapids
One critical question facing Amick coming into 2025 was whether he would be able to maintain an elevated walk rate from Fort Myers. He has. Through his first 90 plate appearances, Amick is walking 15.6% of the time. That’s going to offset some of the swing-and-miss (65.7% contact rate) nicely. The home run power hasn’t shown up for Amick just yet, but he’s mashing extra-base hits. A .919 OPS and 168 wRC+ are strong indicators that he’s going to perform well at High A. I’d guess Double A, where pitchers can fill up the strike zone more effectively, will give us our first indication of how much of a challenge Amick’s bat-to-ball skills will prove to be, long-term.

Kyle DeBarge, INF, Cedar Rapids
DeBarge had a major ground ball problem in a small sample at Fort Myers in 2024. He’s been as advertised in 2025. His ground-ball rate is down about 15%, and he’s pulling the ball around 13% more in the early going. All of that adds up to a .358 OBP and 123 wRC+ through his first 19 games. He’s also 11/11 in stolen base attempts.

Kyler Fedko, INF, Wichita
Fedko is easily the most fun, pleasant surprise in the Twins system in April. After posting an 85 wRC+ in Double A in 2024 (76 games), he seems to have made some meaningful changes to his approach. He’s swinging 8% less, and his line-drive rate is through the roof. Fedko had a solid approach, anyway, but he’s walking 18.2% of the time in the early going for Wichita. His BABIP is .361, so let’s see how May goes, but that 184 wRC+ deserves an April shoutout.

Carson McCusker, OF, St. Paul
At 6-foot-8, 250 pounds, he has a 167 wRC+ at Triple A. I have to admit, I doubted McCusker could replicate his Double-A performance in 2025, but he’s tearing the cover off the ball. The power is real (110.6 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity, second-best at the level), and he’s being way more selective at the plate in 2025. His bat-to-ball numbers hold up. If he gets a shot with the big-league club will determine if he can play a role with the team long-term. I’d be interested in seeing what he looks like at first base, personally.

Ricardo Olivar, C/OF, Wichita
Olivar has hit everywhere he’s been—until he stalled out in his first go-around at Double A in 2024. He’s not a catcher (or much of a fielder) at all, so he needs to rake to find a role. He’s looking much improved in the early going. It’s a .308/.375/.401 start, with an improved line-drive rate and solid bat-to-ball metrics. He’s off to a much better start.

Dasan Hill, LHP, Fort Myers
It’s only been three appearances for Dasan Hill, but no one is touching him at Fort Myers thus far. The 6-foot-5 lefty in his age-19 season has shown dominant stuff in his first 10-plus innings of pro ball.

It’s a small sample, but no one is touching his stuff. He’s put up a 2.29 FIP, with a 50% K% and 9.5% BB%. That’s utterly dominant. Opposing hitters are making contact with his stuff just 58.1% of the time, too. He has four above-average pitches, with the fastball having touched 98 mph already. When guys are starting their pro careers, I only look at a few factors: Can they throw strikes? Can they miss bats? Can they stay healthy? There’s work to do on the strikes (62.5%), but Hill has checked all the boxes and then some in the early going. He’s been impressive.

Jose Olivares, RHP, Cedar Rapids
Olivares is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher at Cedar Rapids who has largely flown under the radar, but has always had good raw stuff. It’s a fastball that’s been up to 98 mph in 2025. In his first 10 2/3 innings, he’s yet to allow a run (2.02 FIP) and is striking out 37.8% of hitters. He’s running close to a 58% ground-ball rate. Like Hill, there’s work to do on the strike-throwing, but it’s been solid so far in 2025. Olivares is an up-arrow name for me.

Cody Peschl, RHP, Fort Myers
One of the most fun aspects of each minor-league season is seeing which arms emerge from the previous draft class to make their way onto our collective radar. Peschl was the Twins' 15th-round pick out of Campbell University in 2024. In 14 innings at Fort Myers, the 22-year-old is yet to allow an earned run (2.24 FIP). He’s definitely had an unsustainable strand rate, but he’s pitching extremely well. It’s a 33.3 K% and 7 BB% and near-elite strike throwing (68%). Peschl is getting a ton of misses in the strike zone. He’s a name to keep an eye on.

Connor Prielipp, LHP, Wichita
Prielipp’s back-of-the-baseball-card 4.22 ERA at Double A might look discouraging, but he’s been much better than that number suggests. He’s managed a 2.84 FIP while maintaining his usual dominant stuff. He’s managed a 37.8 K%, which has barely eroded from High A. The strike-throwing has continued to be strong (67.5%), and his walk rate is down from 7.7% to 4.4%. Opposing hitters are making more contact against Prielipp in 2025, but it’s all poor contact. He’s running a 56.5% ground-ball rate through his first three appearances. From a performance and stuff perspective, Prielipp is ready for Triple A.

Feel free to join the discussion on a prospect who intrigues you in the comments. If you have notes or updates for other prospects, feel free to leave those in the comments too.

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[tony&rodney]

Fun report. I have enjoyed watching (via milb.com) a ton of minor league ball this year. Last year I caught more Wichita games. This year I have tuned into Prielipp pitching but switch to another game when he is lifted or when the Surge are batting. Mostly, I have followed the Saints and Kernels. Agree that Prielipp looks ready for AAA and think Hill can go to A+ in a month if he continues to cruise. Enjoyed your synopsis on the players.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

The young high end pitchers are looking very good.  Priellip, Charlee Soto, Questad,  Hill have had fantastic performances in the early going.  

Tanner Hall is still an enigma to me.  He had 14 walks in 109 innings pitched in 2022 in college,  and 33 in 2023.  His calling card was control. 

This year he has 1.6 whip with 12 walks in 18 innings pitched.  He had a very good game yesterday, but he needs to continue working on limiting the hits and walks.   I am hoping he his turning the corner, but it is looking like he was a very good college pitcher and that may be his ceiling.  

Pasqualotto, Bragg and Bengard from 2023 are both looking extremely strong in reliever roles.   

AAA has been rough on pitching so far other than Matthews who has been exceptional, and Morris who has been very good, after that it falls off.  Lewis has  9 era and Raya an 8 ERA (even worse, a 2.78 whip,  woof).   Hopefully as it gets warmer and they can break off some rust they will begin to look stronger as the season goes on.    

Doktorczyk, and Peschl from last years draft,  have performed very well so far.  Kisting, Jones, and Carpenter have been solid as well.  

 

[cmoss84]

I didn't know McCusker was drafted by the Brewers. They must have seen Richie Sexson in him. Maybe they were right. 

[Guest]

I love these kind of updates! Why in the world is McCusker not being taught 1st base?

[FlyingFinn]

Didn't know Olivares was throwing 98 but did see his good pitching stats this year. I would have put him in my top 20 though I seem to have way more pitchers ranked highly than hitters.

[ryan189]

4 hours ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

The young high end pitchers are looking very good.  Priellip, Charlee Soto, Questad,  Hill have had fantastic performances in the early going.  

Tanner Hall is still an enigma to me.  He had 14 walks in 109 innings pitched in 2022 in college,  and 33 in 2023.  His calling card was control. 

This year he has 1.6 whip with 12 walks in 18 innings pitched.  He had a very good game yesterday, but he needs to continue working on limiting the hits and walks.   I am hoping he his turning the corner, but it is looking like he was a very good college pitcher and that may be his ceiling.  

Pasqualotto, Bragg and Bengard from 2023 are both looking extremely strong in reliever roles.   

AAA has been rough on pitching so far other than Matthews who has been exceptional, and Morris who has been very good, after that it falls off.  Lewis has  9 era and Raya an 8 ERA (even worse, a 2.78 whip,  woof).   Hopefully as it gets warmer and they can break off some rust they will begin to look stronger as the season goes on.    

Doktorczyk, and Peschl from last years draft,  have performed very well so far.  Kisting, Jones, and Carpenter have been solid as well.  

 

adams has looked good in AAA some how everyone forgets him whip under 1 and leads the international league in least amount of walks

[Seansy]

30 minutes ago, ryan189 said:

adams has looked good in AAA some how everyone forgets him whip under 1 and leads the international league in least amount of walks

Isn't Adam's being used mostly in relief?

I think that's part of the reason he isn't getting as much hype as other prospects.

[ryan189]

2 minutes ago, Seansy said:

Isn't Adam's being used mostly in relief?

I think that's part of the reason he isn't getting as much hype as other prospects.

ya like long relief looks like 4 innings at a time  but is 2nd on the team in innings behind zebby

[jkcarew]

11 minutes ago, Seansy said:

Isn't Adam's being used mostly in relief?

I think that's part of the reason he isn't getting as much hype as other prospects.

Yes...and no. It seems he’s being ‘paired’ with starters who are making pre-determined short starts for whatever reason (like Raya)…20 inning in 6 appearances. Honestly looks more like a starter than Raya at this point, for whatever that’s worth.

[jkcarew]

This is a good sample. Fwiw…Questad has been as good as Hill (small samples obviously) at Fort Myers and is only one year older.

A bunch of guys are smacking the ball around at Cedar Rapids.

Among the top 10…I probably would have called out Soto. Nice start to his A+ level…and still won’t turn 20 until the end of the season.

[Jamie Cameron]

2 hours ago, ryan189 said:

adams has looked good in AAA some how everyone forgets him whip under 1 and leads the international league in least amount of walks

Adams I have a hard time with. He's pitched really well. Good strike thrower. However, he really doesn't miss enough bats. Not sure how he's going to carve out a role for himself.

[Jamie Cameron]

1 hour ago, jkcarew said:

This is a good sample. Fwiw…Questad has been as good as Hill (small samples obviously) at Fort Myers and is only one year older.

A bunch of guys are smacking the ball around at Cedar Rapids.

Among the top 10…I probably would have called out Soto. Nice start to his A+ level…and still won’t turn 20 until the end of the season.

Questad has been GREAT. Good call. Still want to see more consistency with the strike throwing but he is absolutely worthy of a shoutout.

[thelanges5]

Would’ve liked to see Langenberg in an article like this. He has struggled in the early goings. Hopefully he starts to figure it out soon. 
 

McCusker could be good at 1B. No one could throw it over his head.
 

Amick could be the future of 1B for the Twins. 

[ryan189]

11 hours ago, Jamie Cameron said:

Adams I have a hard time with. He's pitched really well. Good strike thrower. However, he really doesn't miss enough bats. Not sure how he's going to carve out a role for himself.

morris k%18 adams 22% morris had one game with more ks then innings pitched  the rest were way under adams had one game with less then innings pitched and Morris gets a pass

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

15 hours ago, ryan189 said:

adams has looked good in AAA some how everyone forgets him whip under 1 and leads the international league in least amount of walks

He has looked very good.  He is the non sexy pick that will likely produce,  most likely as a reliever.  There is value in that.  I definitely had recency bias of looking at primarily the last 2 drafts.   

[2wins87]

Peschl is intriguing.  Looks like his slider is just devastating low-A hitters.  Seems like he might need to improve his fastball to stay competitive at higher levels, but definitely seems like the biggest pop-up so far.