Minnesota Twins Minor League Relievers Of The Month - June 2025

[Steven Trefz]

Image courtesy of © Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The Twins' major-league bullpen took a nosedive in the latter part of June, and Jonah Bride’s six innings of 15.00 ERA relief serves as an unfunny comedic snapshot of just how bad it got. As leads continued to get lost, and deficits continued to get expanded, Twins fans wondered if there was any relief coming from the farm system. There is hope, Twins Territory, and these are the arms worth watching after their June 2025 performances across the Twins affiliates.

Honorable Mentions

• Mike Paredes (Wichita): 2.33 ERA, 5 G, 20 IP, 14 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 13 K, 0.78 WHIP, .194 BA
• Kade Bragg (Cedar Rapids): 1.80 ERA, 8 G, 15.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 11 BB, 18 K, 1.33 WHIP, .184 BA
• Tyler Stasiowski (Fort Myers): 0.84 ERA, 7 G, 10.2 IP, 11 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1.31 WHIP, .275 BA

#5 – RHP Cody Laweryson - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints
1.32 ERA, 9 G (1 Wichita/8 St. Paul), 1 SV, 13.2 IP, 12 H, 2 ER, 14 K, 7 BB, 1.39 WHIP, .231 BA
The 2019 14th-round draft pick stayed on the charts even though his promotion to St. Paul at the start of June led to the inevitable bump in competition level. After an inning of work with Wichita on June 3, Laweryson pitched in eight games for the Saints. While his stat line showed a regression from May’s work against Double-A batters, the 27-year-old right-handed hurler held his own and held down a reeling Saints bullpen. The best pitcher, according to the metrics listed above, was actually lefty Richard Lovelady (0.32 WHIP, .100 BA, 3 saves for the Saints in June). Lovelady was released (opted-out) and signed a major-league deal with the Mets at the end of June, and followed that move up with two poor outings for the Mets. Being a current member of the team is a prerequisite to getting on the list, so Laweryson gets the nod from St. Paul for June.

#4 - RHP Brent Francisco, FCL Twins
1.32 ERA, 6 G, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 0.71 WHIP, .185 BA
If you are looking to go diamond hunting this June, Francisco is your man. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound righty signed a minor-league free-agent contract at the end of May, and he’s done nothing but put zeros on the board ever since. In a month wherein the major-league bullpen was riddled with walks, the 10 strikeouts and zero walks by Francisco in June show a level of control that is rare in rookie ball. Will Francisco be pitching at Target Field in July? Of course not. But one can daydream about how his pitch mix will play as he travels up the system.

#3 - RHP Matt Gabbert, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
0.00 ERA, 4 G, 9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 0.22 WHIP, .069 BA
Gabbert continues the theme of spotless scoreboards in our June relief pitching awards. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, the 23-year-old hurler looks imposing, and his results prove that his pitching is also impressive. Gabbert signed out of Boise and the Pioneer League in 2023, and after a wasted season of injury in Cedar Rapids in 2024, he is trying to regain momentum one rung lower, at Fort Myers. Twitter might not be familiar with Gabbert, but by the end of the year, it’s a safe bet that Twins fans will know who the big man is.

#2 – LHP Samuel Perez – Cedar Rapids Kernels
0.00 ERA, 5 G, 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB 4 K, 0.68 WHIP, .154 BA
At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Perez looks to secure the left-handed reliever pipeline for years to come. He couldn’t have had a better June, blanking his opponents across eight outings and notching a save in the process. Perez has been climbing the organizational ladder since 2021, and this season, righties are actually hitting worse off of him (.202) than lefties (.375). His work has mostly been across the middle innings, so it will be interesting to see if the Twins continue to mold him to high-leverage situations as he advances. If so, Perez’s star will continue to shine brightly.

Twins Minor League Reliever of the Month – RHP Ricky Castro – Wichita Wind Surge
1.35 ERA, 5 G, 20 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 21 K, 0.85 WHIP, .176 BA
While Castro’s first few months at the Double-A level were forgettable (1.52 WHIP, .305 BA, 6.82 ERA across 31.2 innings), he adjusted brilliantly in June. Signed to a free-agent minor-league deal in May 2024, Castro has been filling a long-relief role going three or four innings at a time. Does this mean Castro is being thought of as a starting pitcher prospect? Is he being built up for a piggyback role in the future? While his future role is yet to be determined, he struck out 21 batters while only walking four in the month of June, and he is deserving of recognition as a key contributor to his team’s success, and his organization’s hopes.

June has come and gone, but several relief pitchers in the Twins organization made their mark and hope to continue that success into the dog days of summer. How would your ballot look for the Twins Minor League Relievers of the Month? Let us know in the comments.

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[jkcarew]

Yeah…Castro’s not being used as a reliever. He’s started 9 of the 14 games he’s appeared in…and piggybacked the other times.

Good month nonetheless.

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Yeah…Castro’s not being used as a reliever. He’s started 9 of the 14 games he’s appeared in…and piggybacked the other times.

Good month nonetheless.

Truth. 

[AceWrigley]

The clip of Castro closing out the game. Top notch video production work there.

[LambchoP]

Do the Twins train any pitchers to be starters anymore? Even if they do technically start a game, it seems they never stretch anyone out past three, maybe 4 innings. Maybe this is a normal thing in the minor leagues. I just think if you expect a guy to pitch deep into games once he makes it to AAA or the show, you have to condition them to do just that in the low minors...

[Major League Ready]

23 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Do the Twins train any pitchers to be starters anymore? Even if they do technically start a game, it seems they never stretch anyone out past three, maybe 4 innings. Maybe this is a normal thing in the minor leagues. I just think if you expect a guy to pitch deep into games once he makes it to AAA or the show, you have to condition them to do just that in the low minors...

The pitchers that demonstrate they have what it takes to be a starter can be stretched out once they reach AAA.  Spreading the innings usage out in this way does not burn up young pitchers but still gives them plenty of innings from a developmental standpoint.