Minnesota Twins FCL Minor League Hitter of the Year- 2025

[Cody Christie]

The Florida Complex League has long served as a launching pad for the youngest players in the Twins organization. It’s often the first stop stateside for international signees and recent draft picks, providing a short-season proving ground where flashes of talent can help a player’s stock rise in a hurry.

That said, not every prospect thrives here. With smaller sample sizes and limited opportunities, some players never get the chance to fully rebound from a slow start. Others show they’re simply a step ahead of the competition, forcing the organization to challenge them with a quick promotion.

This summer, several Twins hitters stood out in Fort Myers. Before we get into the top four, here are a few names that also received votes from the Twins Daily minor league writers.

Honorable Mentions

• OF Ricardo Paez: .242/.398/.295 (.693), 1 3B, 3 2B, 20 R, 10 RBI, 13 SB
• OF/1B Yandro Hernandez: .207/.368/.337 (.704), 2 HR, 6 2B, 16 R, 16 RBI, 7 SB
• IF Bryan Acuna : .254/.420/.365 (.785), 1 HR, 4 2B, 19 R, 8 RBI, 2 SB
• SS/CF Daiber De Los Santos: .167/.296/.333 (.629), 4 HR, 2 3B, 10 2B, 29 R, 17 RBI, 15 SB

4. OF Eduardo Beltre
2025 Stats: .206/.313/.370 (.683), 5 HR, 10 2B, 33 R, 32 RBI, 19 SB
Beltre exploded onto the scene in 2024, when he hit 11 home runs with a 1.071 OPS in the Dominican Summer League and earned Twins Daily’s Short-Season Hitter of the Year award. His first stateside season came with growing pains, including a .550 OPS in May.

But he adjusted quickly. Over his final 36 FCL games, Beltre hit .248/.321/.430 (.751) with five home runs and 13 extra-base hits before earning a promotion to Fort Myers. His 19 stolen bases led the roster, and it’s worth noting that he faced older pitchers in all but 13 plate appearances this season. Beltre didn’t quite replicate his monster 2024, but he showed important growth against tougher competition.

3. OF Jayson Bass
2025 Stats: .314/.419/.490 (.910), 1 HR, 4 2B, 12 RBI, 6 SB
Bass returned to the FCL for a second season after posting a .710 OPS in 2024, and he wasted little time showing improvement. He reached base 12 times in his first 10 games before a June injury sidelined him for over a month.

When he returned in July, he picked up right where he left off, hitting .286 with more walks (7) than strikeouts (6). By August, the Twins rewarded him with a promotion to Fort Myers. His season was limited to just 20 games, but his steady offensive profile made enough of an impression to draw multiple votes in this year’s race.

2. C Irvin Nunez
2025 Stats: .233/.408/.310 (.718), 1 HR, 4 2B, 25 R, 29 BB
Nunez made his professional debut last year in the DSL, where he posted a .961 OPS and flashed intriguing power. This season, the 19-year-old shifted his focus behind the plate in Fort Myers, catching 75 more innings than any other player on the roster. That extra work showed, as his caught-stealing rate jumped from 10% in 2024 to 27% this season.

Offensively, he started hot, putting up a .958 OPS in May. But as the innings piled up, his bat slowed, with just a .625 OPS over the final two months. Even so, Nunez continued to show strong plate discipline, drawing 29 walks to balance out 33 strikeouts. Catching is a demanding position, and his late-season fade might reflect fatigue more than a lack of offensive ability.

1. 2B Ramiro Dominguez – Twins FCL Hitter of the Year
2025 Stats: .248/.366/.414 (.780), 3 HR, 15 2B, 26 R, 24 RBI, 16 SB
One of the youngest players in the entire league, Domínguez never faced a younger pitcher all season and was more than 1.5 years below the league-average age. That didn’t stop him from leading the Twins in doubles (15) and ranking second in steals (16-for-18). Even more impressive: he walked more times (20) than he struck out (18).

Domínguez truly separated himself in June, hitting .286/.394/.554 (.948) with nine doubles and two home runs in 17 games. He reached base in all but two of those starts. Compared to 2024, he raised both his OBP and slugging percentage while cutting down on strikeouts, a sign of real growth at the plate.

In big moments, he also showed poise by posting a .796 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring position. For a player still years away from Minnesota, this was a breakout campaign that firmly puts him on the prospect radar.

The FCL is only the beginning of the journey, but strong performances here can serve as an early indicator of future success. For Domínguez and the rest of this year’s standouts, 2025 was a critical step forward in the Twins’ developmental pipeline and a reminder that the next wave of talent is already on its way.

How would your ballot look for hitters in the FCL? Leave a comment and start the discussion

View full article

[Cory Engelhardt]

Could you add birthdays to the player names? I know you mentioned the winner being one of the youngest in the league. Just curious how old I will feel mostly when I see the birthdays listed. :)

[rdehring]

Interesting.

Don't recall if Dominguez was one of the bigger signees a year ago, was he?  Or was he signed in 2023?  Clicked on his name and see he is 18+ and from Mexico, which was a bit of a surprise.   

[old nurse]

5 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Could you add birthdays to the player names? I know you mentioned the winner being one of the youngest in the league. Just curious how old I will feel mostly when I see the birthdays listed. :)

2007 would be their birth year. 18 years old is 18 years old. There are a lot of 18 year olds in the FCL I would bet that some of them are pitchers. That they are a few days older really doesn’t matter the least bit. With the state of pitching it would be unlikely for pitching talent to be at the inappropriate skill level in the. Minors