Twins AFL Report, Week 6: Miguel Boadas Shines in AFL Championship Game

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Game Results:

• Monday, 11/10 | Peoria 2, Surprise 1 (7 innings)
• Tuesday, 11/11 | Peoria 3, Mesa 5 (7 innings)
• Wednesday, 11/12 - Division Series Playoff Game | Glendale 7, Peoria 8
• Thursday, 11/13 - AFL Play-in Semifinals | Peoria 9, Scottsdale 4
• Friday, 11/14 - AFL Championship | Peoria 4, Surprise 9

While Peoria finished the season with a 12-15 record that was good for fourth in the overall standings, with the changes to how the AFL playoffs function, they still had a chance—just like everybody else. They took advantage of it.

Peoria scored four runs late in Wednesday's playoff opener to steal the game from the Glendale Desert Dogs. On Thursday, against the league-leading Scottsdale Scorpions, they kept that momentum going, building a 4-0 lead early and pulling away in the middle frames to reach the AFL Championship. 

Twins farmhand Miguelangel Boadas took the mound for Peoria against Surprise on Friday, with the coveted AFL banner on the line. He did his part and then some over the first three innings. The team took a 4-2 lead into the eighth inning, but that’s where it fell apart for the rest of their pitching staff. Maybe one or two more of the Twins players should have gotten the ball.

The Saguaros stormed into the lead with a 7-run inning, and the title hopes of your Twins prospects were dashed.

(I will note that the “overall” numbers shown below do not include the Javelinas' three playoff games, but they are included in the weekly numbers.)

OF Hendry Mendez
Week (did not play)
Overall: .300/.391/.500
Outfielder Hendry Mendez had to leave the AFL to attend to a personal matter all the way back in week 2, and was not able to return. He had made the start in the outfield in five games for the Javelinas, and had at least one hit in all of them. He also hit the first home run in the league, all the way back on Opening Day.

While many speculated that Mendez would see time at first base during the AFL season, that opportunity never came up. He hit .299/.399/.439 in Double A with the Phillies and Twins organizations in 2025, and with 118 games under his belt at that level, he should debut with the St. Paul Saints to start 2026.

IF Brandon Winokur
Week (5 games): 5-for-18, 2 R, 3 2B, RBI, BB, 6 K
Overall (21 games): .192/.277/.315, 10 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 9 BB, 19 K, 2 SB
Winokur played in all five of Peoria's games in the final week, and did some damage with the balls he put in play. He played third base in every game, batting in the bottom third of the lineup. His lone RBI came on Tuesday, when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning that put the Javelinas up by one.

In their first-round playoff matchup, he finished 2-for-4 with a double and scored two runs. He added another double in their semifinal win on Thursday, helping them to jump out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. In the championship game, his single in the top of the sixth loaded the bases, and a groundout from the next batter put them ahead 4-0 at the time.

While Winokur’s overall numbers may not jump off the page in the AFL or at the lower levels of the minors thus far, I’ve been impressed by his abilities in big moments. He has every athletic tool imaginable as well, so I wouldn’t count out a breakout in 2026 with the Wind Surge.

IF Billy Amick
Week (1 game): 0-for-3, 2 K
Overall (11 games): .033/.293/.033, R, 8 BB, 20 K
Amick got his final action of the season in the Javelinas' final game of the regular season, batting ninth and playing first base on Tuesday. He was called out on strikes in his first at-bat and flew out to right in his second. After Winokur had drawn his bases-loaded walk to put Peoria in front, Amick had a chance to break the game open in the top of the sixth. Instead, he went down looking again.

While I’m sure Amick never wants to see the playing fields of Arizona again, his 2025 season was a very successful one with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. His WRC+ of 152 ranked fourth in the Midwest League among players with at least 240 plate appearances. You might also be surprised to learn that he sits right ahead of breakout shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper on that leaderboard, who finished at 147 with the Kernels.

RHP Miguel Boadas
Week (1 start): 3 IP, 2 H, 4 K
Overall (4 appearances): 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .158 BAA, 9 BB, 8 K (11 2/3 IP)
Boadas finished a very successful return to the mound in the AFL by making the start for the Javelinas in the AFL Championship game.

He delivered.

After Peoria had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Boadas took the mound and struck out the side in the bottom half, inducing seven swings and misses in the frame. With a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, he got the first two outs (including another strikeout) before allowing a pair of singles. He induced a grounder to escape that rally unscathed. In his final frame, he got all three hitters to ground out for another 1-2-3 inning. He breezed through the Saguaros on 45 pitches, with 30 going for strikes (67%) and 10 total whiffs. He topped out at 97.8 MPH with his fastball and had the Javelinas in great position for an upset after three frames.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. 

Boadas was definitely the star of the AFL when it comes to Twins prospects. While you might look at the strikeout-to-walk ratio and say “hold on,” these were stats from a guy who had not been on a mound in well over a year. Boadas showed excellent stuff, with a sinking fastball in the 95-98 MPH range, a cutter that got weak contact, and a slider that picked up whiffs at a good clip. He should be on everyone’s radar going into the 2026 season, and I’m sure he was on the short list of candidates to take home the Breakout Player of the Year award.

LHP Zander Sechrist
Week (1 appearance): 1/3 IP, H
Overall (7 appearances): 0-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .240 BAA, 4 BB, 6 K (7 1/3 IP)
Sechrist was given a hard assignment in his lone appearance during the week, coming in with runners on second and third base with two outs after the Solar Sox had just taken a 4-3 lead. Although they added one more run on the infield single he gave up, they also caught the other runner napping around third, so he got out of the inning by facing just one batter.

The undrafted lefty may not have the big fastball that gets pitching prospects noticed, but he is also a legend at the University of Tennessee. His dominant pitching throughout the College World Series helped propel them to the national title in 2024, and I love guys who succeed by throwing nothing but “junk” that gives hitters fits.

RHP Dylan Questad
Week (did not pitch)
Overall (5 appearances): 0-1, 15.19 ERA, 3.38 WHIP, .238 BAA, 13 BB, 5 K (5 1/3 IP)
The right-hander was not called upon to pitch during the season's final week, including during any of the Javelinas' playoff games. It’s a bit hard to be trusted while walking nearly three hitters per inning, which is something the Wisconsin native will have to work on. With the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels in 2025, Questad had a nice strikeout rate of 10.0 per nine innings, but paired that with 7.5 walks per nine.

RHP Jakob Hall
Week (1 appearance): 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 K
Overall (7 appearances): 0-2, 10.13 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, .400 BAA, BB, 6 K (8 IP)
While Sechrist was the pitcher who had to clean up a mess on Tuesday against the Solar Sox, it was Hall who had gotten them into it. He came into the game to begin the fifth inning with the score 2-2, and set Mesa down in order, needing just eight pitches to do so. Back out for the sixth, he gave up a leadoff single, but struck out the next two hitters to put himself back in control. But then a single, a single, and a double put the Solar Sox in front for good and ended his outing.

The Twins' 8th-round pick in the 2024 draft from Oral Roberts University, Hall also isn’t known for big velocity, but he does get some swings and misses on his breaking stuff and limits walks. He pitched 54 innings with the Mighty Mussels in 2025, but will need to put away more hitters while moving up, as that came with a 6.83 ERA.

RHP Hunter Hoopes
Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, 3 K
Overall (7 appearances): 0-2, 10.13 ERA, 2.13 WHIP, .273 BAA, 8 BB, 10 K (8 IP)
Hoopes’s one appearance during the final week was electric, as he came on to protect a 2-1 Javelinas lead in the bottom of the sixth inning of a seven-inning contest. He struck out all three hitters he faced swinging, inducing four swings and misses total among his 15 pitches (10 for strikes). All three of the knockout pitches were changeups.

After signing with the Twins midsummer in 2024, Hoopes pitched in relief at three different levels during the 2025 season. He was barely hittable with the Mighty Mussels (0.95 WHIP) and even less hittable with the Kernels (0.64 WHIP), before finally having some trouble in Double A with the Wind Surge (1.21 WHIP). He should be a big piece of the Wichita bullpen to begin the 2026 season.

---

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects playing in the AFL this week!

View full article

[rdehring]

Always find it enjoyable reading about the AFL and how our Twins prospects fare.  Thanks for keeping us informed this year, Steve.  It is appreciated.  A lot by some of us.

Exciting seeing the week Winokur had as the season ended.  Assume he was facing top pitching in the playoffs when he did very well.  Don't know what to think of Amick.  Guess we will have to wait and see how he performs in 2026.

Boadas was the surprise of the fall.  At least to me.  Should be exciting watching him next spring to see if what we just saw can be who he is.  As for the rest of the Twins pitchers?  Other than Seachrist, it hurt reading their numbers.

[LambchoP]

When almost all of our pitchers end up with more walks than strikeouts, it's hard to be excited about any of them. Winokur has potential but hope he can put it together this year. I'm more intrigued by Mendez. Seems like he could have a good bat, if he can play a decent first base he may have a clear shot at a roster spot. All he has to do is outplay Clemens at this point 

[FlyingFinn]

Boades AFL performance was the one player who increased his stock for the Twins in the league.

[jmlease1]

Glad to see Winokur playing 3B. I'm joining the party of people who can see that he's not going to have a future at SS (especially with multiple people ahead of him who are all better at actually playing SS) so time to move him off there and see where the right fit will be for him in the future. With his power, I can see 3B and her has the arm for it. With his speed, I could see him in the OF. With his size I could see him being great at 1B. Let's figure that out while he figures out how to hit.

Boadas did well. Good stretch for him getting back on the mound and letting his arm talent play. I'll be interested to see how his command plays in the minors in 2026 and what level he spends most of his time. He'll definitely have to bring down the free passes, but he's sown some intriguing talent.

Rough run for Billy Amick. I'm sure he was hoping to get back some of the rhythm he had before he got hurt in Cedar Rapids this season and impress, but he just didn't get going. Time to take some time off, get some rest, then get started on a good off-season program. Forget about the AFL, Billy.

I hoped to see Mendez play more and see how he looked at 1B, but looks like life got in the way. Hopefully everything is ok for him and his family and he can go kick butt in 2026. I think he starts in AAA, and I hope he shows enough to look like a real option at 1B in the future. He had a fine 2025 and didn't miss a beat after the trade, so here's hoping he keeps on raking.

[mikelink45]

I am not expecting Winokur and Amick in MLB.  Nice players, but I think their potential is low.  I saw them in person and their performance in Arizona does not surprise me. 

Nice to have one pitcher doing well since we did not send our best arms.

[DocBauer]

A nice last week for Winokur. Man, if the bat to ball skills takes a little jump, Winokur could really explode. Still wondering if he jumps to AA to begin 2026, or as young as he is does he spend the first month or so back at CR and then get promoted. 

From a personal perspective, it's a shame Mendez had a family issue. From a baseball perspective, it's a real shame he didn't get to play the rest of the AFL to build on what was a very nice 2025 season for him.

Amick...oh boy...I have no clue what happened. Was he tired? Was he trying something different? Considering his college career and a pretty solid 2025 despite missing time due to injury, I'm not going to use his horrendous AFL to dismiss him as a prospect.

Despite the BB issue...which you pretty much expect from someone who's been on the shelf for a year...Boadas really flashed. Does he go to CR to begin 2026 since he's already thrown there? The results weren't great, but he's coming off a really nice AFL, so that's what I'm predicting. The Kernals might have a hell of a staff this upcoming season!

It was really nice to see Hoopes have a great last appearance to end his AFL stint. While his late season promotion to AA wasn't so great, the 25yo "rookie" Independent Ball signee absolutely dominated at A and A+ this season. He'll begin 2026 at AA I'm sure, but he could be a fast riser. 

Just as a reminder, you have to take AFL results of some of the pitchers the Twins send to the AFL are more about just getting work in, and not so much number results. Kade Bragg was a LHP the Twins sent there last year after being hurt and missing a bunch of the 2024 season. He had really poor numbers. But like Boadas this AFL, it was just about getting in some IP. He went out and dominated A and A+ ball and was really solid at AA through 15 appearances. While he might begin 2026 there with Hoopes, a good offseason could see him jump to AAA immediately. 

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Hoopes has been very inconsistent in the Arizona Fall League, but I still think that their is something there to be excited about. Amick has struggled since the start of this season, and unless he turns it around next season, there are a lot of ready younger prospects there to take his spot. I'm not saying that he doesn't still have potential, but it has been a struggle for him lately.

[DocBauer]

27 minutes ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Hoopes has been very inconsistent in the Arizona Fall League, but I still think that their is something there to be excited about. Amick has struggled since the start of this season, and unless he turns it around next season, there are a lot of ready younger prospects there to take his spot. I'm not saying that he doesn't still have potential, but it has been a struggle for him lately.

Actually, to be fair, he showed better plate discipline and actually hit very well at A+ CR. His season was disrupted due to injury. But his quad slash line at CR was .310/ .418/ .455/ .873. 

This was only 244 PA and 200 AB. So his season was limited. And the pure POWER we expected to see was way down. But even a half season of A+ ball his quad slash line was damn impressive. 

So I don't think we should spend a lot of time looking at his AFL numbers.

[Doctor Wu]

18 hours ago, LambchoP said:

When almost all of our pitchers end up with more walks than strikeouts, it's hard to be excited about any of them.

Very true! Although, it was encouraging to see Boadas return from his injury and look like he COULD be someone we can use in another year or so. But as Flying Finn also noted, Boadas was really the only bright spot among the pitchers we sent to the AFL this year.