Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month: March/April 2025

[Eric Blonigen]

Image courtesy of © Jim Krajewski/RGJ / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There have been many impressive performances over the first four or five weeks of the season. Honestly, it was a little tough celebrating just five guys. So, I didn't. I picked six. We'll start with an honorable mention, as we work toward the most impressive start to the minor-league season.

Honorable mention: Anthony Prato - 2 HR, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 6R, 4 SB, .333/.429/.500, 11:4 K:BB
Anthony Prato is more of an organizational depth guy than someone who factors into the Twins' future plans, spending his third season at Triple-A St. Paul. He put up great results in 2023. No call-up. Last season was more moderate production, but still solid, and no call-up. Despite the Twins needing infielders so desperately that they currently have Mickey Gasper, Kole Clemens and Jonah Bride on the 26-man roster, Prato still hasn’t received the call. He can play short, second, and third, and for the first month of the season, has been outproducing anyone’s expectations. Will it result in a call-up? Probably not. Hopefully, he’s able to at least get a cup of coffee at some point; he has certainly been an organizational soldier.

5): Ryan Fitzgerald - 2 HR, 6 2B, 14 RBI, 13 R, 2 SB, .316/.439/.494, 17:15 K:BB
Ok. He’s old. Like, too old to be a prospect. Like, he’s at an age where he should be hitting big-league free agency. He’s in his fifth season at the Triple-A level, and with his third affiliated organization, following years in the Red Sox system and a single year in Omaha, with the Royals' Triple-A affiliate. At 31 years old, he’s not much more than a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option for the Twins, and is more likely to be organizational depth. But, he plays shortstop, and the Twins are famously thin at the position. Could he make the Twins this season? Absolutely. He almost has to be called up in the event of an injury to Carlos Correa, or if Brooks Lee were to struggle for an extended stretch.

4) Nate Baez - 1 HR, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 12 R, 1 SB, .341/.463/.477, 6:7 K:BB
Hey, a catcher! The Twins are gonna need some of these over the next couple of seasons. And, you know, always. Nate Baez is another hitter who’s old for his level. Repeating High A in his age-24 season, Baez catches, and can field both first and second. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Arizona, and suffered a hamate injury that limited him immensely in 2023.

Now, I said he’s a catcher, and he is. But it’s in the same way that Mickey Gasper is a catcher. So, adjust your expectations accordingly. He’s been on fire in the early going, so it makes sense to keep an eye on him to see if he can keep it up.

3) Jay Thomason - 6 HR, 3 2B, 9 RBI, 15 R, 5 SB, .213/.422/.557, 20:19 K:BB
One of the best things about writing about the Twins is that there’s always something new to learn. For me, this week, it was learning about Jay Thomason, whom I was admittedly unfamiliar with due to his low draft status and lack of pedigree. He was the Twins’ 17th-round pick in 2024, out of the Air Force Academy, and Thomason is almost two years older than average for Low-A players. But, through the first 21 games of his first full season, he’s been turning heads. With a 20:19 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Thomason is putting up a .979 OPS despite hitting just .213. He has launched six home runs and added three doubles on just 13 hits, and splits time evenly between first, second, and third bases. While he doesn’t appear on any organizational top prospect lists, he is the sort of guy who could rise through the system quickly if his early season performance is for real.

2) Kyler Fedko - 5 HR, 4 2B, 12 RBI, 16 R, 1 SB, .311/.440/.623, 17:14 K:BB
Yeah, he’s old for Double-A, at 25. (This note about age is becoming a pattern.) No, he’s not on any top prospect lists. Sure, his OPS is a full .300 points higher in the early going of the 2025 season than any of his four prior years. You know what, though? It doesn’t matter. Through the first month of the season, he has been on one. He’s walked almost as much as he’s struck out, and has shown some pop by hitting four homers in 15 games. Drafted in the 12th round of the 2021 Draft, he projects as someone who may or may not get a cup of coffee… unless he keeps this up. Could he? Maybe. Will he? Who knows. Either way, he’s making opposing pitchers look silly, and making a bit of a name for himself.

And the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month for March and April is:

1) Carson McCusker - 7 HR, 6 2B, 23 RBI, 17 R, .325/.398/.651, 29:8 K:BB
So, McCusker technically has a lower OPS than Fedko, but I don’t care. I’m rating him higher, based on likely upside and proximity to the majors. The Twins have a bit of a knack for finding players other organizations miss out on. Whether it’s their late-round tall college pitchers from unheralded schools (like Bailey Ober) or guys making things happen in indy ball (like Payton Eeles and McCusker), the provenance matters less than what the players do with their opportunity. So what has McCusker done to warrant inclusion on this list? Only punish baseballs like they personally offended him. Through the first month and change of the season, McCusker has shown that he might be the next man up when the Twins need another slugging outfielder. In his age-27 season, he’s not quite a prospect, but he’s roughly level with the average Triple-A hitter. He has real power, and if not for his propensity to strike out at a Joey Gallo clip, fans might be a bit more excited about him. As it stands, he’s exactly the sort of player who may just need an opportunity with some extended runway, and he could carve out a nice big-league career as a corner outfielder. Brent Rooker, anyone?

So there you have it. Congrats to this slew of hitters who have had a great month at the plate. Will any of them show up on the list again next month? Stay tuned!

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[AceWrigley]

Carson McCusker is one large dude.

[LambchoP]

I say give Mccusker a shot, at least until Wallner comes back. I understand they like having Keirsey as a pinch runner and defensive sub, but it's becoming clear he probably can't hit big league pitching. Of course, the infield is more of a concern right now with guys like Gasper, Clemens, Bride and Vasquez all getting starts and all struggling to hit .200 :(

[thelanges5]

Getting to the tipping point in the season where we might need to get some of these dudes called up just to see what we’ve got. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

I admit that I was one of the people beating the drum for Keirsey to get called up last year. Sound that the FO was right and I was wrong - Keirsey does not appear to be able to hit me pitching that's too bad because his speed and defense would be an asset.

I do think it's time to admit that the Keirsey experiment did not work and give McCusker a shot, particularly once Castro is ready to come back. Castro Can take over the role of late inning Pension runner and outfield defensive substitution since I don't think he will be playing a lot of infield with Lewis, Correa and Lee pretty well ensconced in the infield and Julien available to play 2B. We need hitting and we need it badly. I think it is time to give McCusker a shot to see if he can help us up visibly and frankly maybe Prato as well. They don't have to be all-stars, they just have to be better than whichever three of Gasper, Clemens, Bride and Keirsey are left once Lewis comes back to the roster. Not a high bar although Bride might be able to hit some. 

 

[Bodie]

So, DHs who are old for thier competition.

Encouraging!

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

Getting to the tipping point in the season where we might need to get some of these dudes called up just to see what we’ve got. 

They're still in the "showcase the veterans for trades" part of the season.

[twinstalker]

Okay, I don't think much of Billy Amick, but where is he?  It would seem this kind of list is made for his April.  Let's check:

.922 slug, 0 HRs.

Heh.

[Mike Sixel]

9 hours ago, Bodie said:

So, DHs who are old for thier competition.

Encouraging!

Way to come into a celebration thread!