Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitters of the Month – July

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

Last month, designated hitter Aaron Sabato claimed Twins Daily’s Minor League Hitter of the Month after his monster performance at Double-A forced the Twins to move him to St. Paul. He cooled down a little in July, which allowed a new group of prospects to showcase their offensive prowess. Before we get into the top performances, here are a few hitters who just missed the cut. 

Honorable Mentions: 
At High-A Cedar Rapids, Jaime Ferrer is continuing to help his prospect stock. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Ferrer slashed .291/.365/.545 (.911) for the month. His OPS jumped over 340 points compared to June. In a five-game stretch, he went 9-for-21 (.429 BA) with four doubles, a triple, and two home runs.

In the Dominican Summer League, offensive performance can be fluky because of the pitching inconsistencies at that level. However, infielder Haritzon Castillo still had an impressive month where he finished with a .807 OPS, including six doubles in 16 games. He’s only faced younger pitchers in five of his 144 plate appearances this season and has an .877 OPS for the year. 

While this duo didn’t make the cut, let’s see what players had standout performances. 

4. Yovanny Duran, DSL Twins
.373/.506/.418 (.924), 3 2B, 18 R, 12 RBI, 14 SB, 16 BB, 7 K
Duran showed some growing pains in June during his first month of professional baseball as he hit .238 with more strikeouts (14) than walks (7). He completely flipped the script in July, starting the month with a 10-game hitting streak where he posted a 1.055 OPS. On July 3rd, he had a career day, going 4-for-5 with a double and a run scored. At 17 years old, he is one of the youngest players in the Dominican Summer League and has only faced younger pitchers in four at-bats for the entire season. Duran is an intriguing prospect, but he is a long way from Target Field. 

3. Ricardo Olivar, Wichita Wind Surge
.294/.388/.500 (.888), 3 HR, 5 2B, 12 R, 16 RBI, 11 BB, 18 K
For most of the month, Olivar sat near the top of the Texas League in OPS before finishing in fifth among players with at least 20 games. From July 1 to July 22, he went 17-for-46 (.370 BA) with eight extra-base hits and a 1.138 OPS in 13 games. He is a year younger than the average age of the competition in the Texas League, and 67% of his plate appearances have been versus older pitchers. He has split time between catcher and left field this season. His bat continues to carry his prospect status, and the Twins could have him finish the year at Triple-A. 

2. Caden Kendle, Cedar Rapids Kernels
.315/.358/.562 (.920), 3 HR, 5 2B, 2 3B, 13 R, 13 RBI, 5 BB, 12 K, 4 SB
Kendle struggled through his first three months in a Kernels uniform before finally putting it all together in July. He ended June with a .214 BA and .658 OPS for the season. He started the month with a 12-game hitting streak, including six multi-hit games. During that streak, he went 19-for-45 (.422 BA) with eight extra-base hits and three stolen bases. Kendle’s .920 OPS ranked fourth among players in the Midwest League who played a minimum of 20 games during July. He was drafted last year as a college senior, so it’s good to see him putting it all together at a level where he is slightly older than the competition. 

1. Edouard Julien, St. Paul Saints
.309/.423/.568 (.991), 5 HR, 34 2B, 1 3B, 13 R, 15 RBI, 15 BB, 29 K
Julien has slowly been rediscovering his approach at Triple-A and now should have a chance to prove to the Twins that he belongs at the big-league level. His OPS ranked in the top 15 in the International League, and he has a 133 wRC+ since being demoted to Triple-A. His lack of defensive versatility and propensity for strikeouts have always been his Achilles heel, but the Saints have continued to use him at second base, and he made nine appearances at first base. The Twins have been more hesitant to play him at first, but that could change over the season’s final two months. 

In July, he had eight multi-hit games, including four straight games where he had multi-hit efforts. From July 9 to July 29, he went 21-for-47 (.447 BA) with a .536 OBP and a .787 SLG. During that stretch, he drew eight walks and only struck out 12 times in 14 games. Julien can insert himself back into the team’s long-term plans if he can translate that performance back to the big-league level.  

How would your ballot look for the month? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[Bodie]

General question...

Where in the hierarchy of American baseball does the Dominican League slot in?  Good University level talent, or performance?  (Say, U of Ariz, USC, Rice, Vanderbilt etc.) Or is lower, say a select or All-State Legion ball team.  I understand that the players are very young (professionally speaking) and that can skew the perception of the quality.

But what level of team would be a "fair" matchup to give us an idea of the level of ball being played down there.

If anyone answers "below Rookie League" I'll not be surprised...

[DJL44]

54 minutes ago, Bodie said:

General question...

Where in the hierarchy of American baseball does the Dominican League slot in?  Good University level talent, or performance?  (Say, U of Ariz, USC, Rice, Vanderbilt etc.) Or is lower, say a select or All-State Legion ball team.  I understand that the players are very young (professionally speaking) and that can skew the perception of the quality.

But what level of team would be a "fair" matchup to give us an idea of the level of ball being played down there.

If anyone answers "below Rookie League" I'll not be surprised...

Perfect Game high school showcase tournament.

[Bodie]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Perfect Game high school showcase tournament.

Makes sense....

Had seen nothing of actual games,  only highlights, and well, that isn't a very good indication of the overall play.  

[Jeff K]

Julien got a nice double that should have been a triple yesterday, and the day before, he blew a double play ball.  I wish he had been traded so the Twins could stop wasting roster spots on the guy.   The best case scenario for Julien is he is an adequate hitter with no position.  The Twins already have plenty of those guys.  

[DJL44]

1 minute ago, Jeff K said:

Julien got a nice double that should have been a triple yesterday, and the day before, he blew a double play ball.  I wish he had been traded so the Twins could stop wasting roster spots on the guy.   The best case scenario for Julien is he is an adequate hitter with no position.  The Twins already have plenty of those guys.  

If another team had wanted Julien at the trade deadline, I'm pretty certain he would have been traded. You said yourself, he's an adequate hitter with no position. Are other teams looking to add adequate hitters with no position?

[Jeff K]

45 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

If another team had wanted Julien at the trade deadline, I'm pretty certain he would have been traded. You said yourself, he's an adequate hitter with no position. Are other teams looking to add adequate hitters with no position?

Of course no one wanted him.  It's wishful thinking on my part.  Bottom line, is that he is wasting a roster spot with the Twins.  DFA

[twinstalker]

Julien struck out 29 times in 97 PAs.  That doesn't matter all that much if you want to see who batted best in the minor leagues, which I suppose this is all about.  However, just like a pitcher who doesn't strike anybody out, my thought is he probably shouldn't be listed due to his K-rate.

At any rate, he's a mess, and it doesn't matter what luck he hits into at MLB.  I didn't really sign up to watch him take third strikes down the middle for two solid months.

[DocBauer]

Been saying a while to keep an eye on Jamie Ferrer. He started the year slowly...essentially his rookie professional season...but has been heating up the past couple of months. He was a top prep catching prospect who Fl State moved him to the OF. (They had a #1 C in place who was recently selected in the past draft). His bat has some nice potential. While he's been playing different spots, but had played mostly C in 2025.

As far as Julien goes, if there's even a chance he's really found his bat/approach again, you have to take a look at him. Some people act like 2023 never even happened. When his bat was working, his defense improved to average. There's room on this team for a productive LH bat that can DH, play some 2B, and maybe a little 1B. I think there's more talented options coming up in the system, but it's time to see if Julien really is a quality MLB player or not.

[rdehring]

3 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Been saying a while to keep an eye on Jamie Ferrer. He started the year slowly...essentially his rookie professional season...but has been heating up the past couple of months. He was a top prep catching prospect who Fl State moved him to the OF. (They had a #1 C in place who was recently selected in the past draft). His bat has some nice potential. While he's been playing different spots, but had played mostly C in 2025.

As far as Julien goes, if there's even a chance he's really found his bat/approach again, you have to take a look at him. Some people act like 2023 never even happened. When his bat was working, his defense improved to average. There's room on this team for a productive LH bat that can DH, play some 2B, and maybe a little 1B. I think there's more talented options coming up in the system, but it's time to see if Julien really is a quality MLB player or not.

Understand your position Doc.  Expect the Twins will give him a lot of at bats the next month.  And if he continues as is, hopefully, his playing time will lessen and he will be gone come winter.  At least that's what I think the front office should be considering.  

What I would be doing is leaving him in St. Paul before moving on come December.  Would much rather see Martin at second when Buxton returns this week.  Hopefully, Martin won't be on the bench with Julien at second every night.

[DocBauer]

57 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Understand your position Doc.  Expect the Twins will give him a lot of at bats the next month.  And if he continues as is, hopefully, his playing time will lessen and he will be gone come winter.  At least that's what I think the front office should be considering.  

What I would be doing is leaving him in St. Paul before moving on come December.  Would much rather see Martin at second when Buxton returns this week.  Hopefully, Martin won't be on the bench with Julien at second every night.

Right or wrong, the Twins seem to have moved on from Martin as anything but an emergency 2B. He's only appeared in 26 games there between 2024 and so far in 2025. To be fair, he's also missed a lot of this season due to injury. 

I've never been a Martin hater and still aren't. At 26yo, I'd still love to see him turn in to a viable, contributor as a utility player. And it looks like he's going to a chance to play a lot the next 2 months. 

But there are better RH OF and better 2B options arriving soon. So I'm not sure about a long term fit for either of them. Either could be on the roster next season, providing depth at AAA, or simply gone. I do think the next couple of months they're both going to get plenty of opportunity.

[bunsen82]

On 8/3/2025 at 12:22 PM, DocBauer said:

Been saying a while to keep an eye on Jamie Ferrer. He started the year slowly...essentially his rookie professional season...but has been heating up the past couple of months. He was a top prep catching prospect who Fl State moved him to the OF. (They had a #1 C in place who was recently selected in the past draft). His bat has some nice potential. While he's been playing different spots, but had played mostly C in 2025.

Didn't see this earlier.  Dang has Ferrer made really good progress, and the power is finally starting to show up.  His July was great.   I am sure its a challenge managing his type 1 diabetes and the minor leagues.   I still remember getting corrected by @tampatwins on calling him a pop up draft pick LOL.  He sounds like a heck of kid and heck of a baseball player. I have been rooting for him since reading up on him after the draft.  If you want a good synopsis on Ferrer look no further than than day 2 draft thread page 2 post by @tampatwins.  My guess is he is finally getting comfortable regularly being behind the plate and adjusting to the better pitching.  He should be moving up the prospect list.  

 

[bunsen82]

How did Gonzalez (.939 OPS for July) and Culpepper (1.064 OPS for July)  not get in the top 5 or even an honorable mention?   

[jkcarew]

On 8/3/2025 at 7:04 AM, DJL44 said:

Perfect Game high school showcase tournament.

Pretty good analogy, I think. I was actually going to say a half-notch lower. Maybe like watching the quarter finals of the high school state tournament (big schools) in Texas, Florida, or California. It’s very young talent obviously, and I actually think it gets spread pretty thin by the time you’ve filled 50 or so rosters.