What the Twins’ International Signings from 2019 to 2022 Tell Us

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Photo of Yasser Mercedes)

For an organization operating without the financial muscle of baseball’s biggest spenders, the international market has always been a necessary avenue for the Minnesota Twins. It is also one where the returns have been frustratingly limited. Looking back at the international classes from 2019 through 2022 provides a snapshot of both promise and persistent questions about development, patience, and ceiling.

2019 International Class
The clear success story from this group is Emmanuel Rodriguez, currently ranked as a consensus top-100 prospect. At the time, he was MLB Pipeline’s 12th overall prospect in his international class.

At the time of his signing, MLB Pipeline wrote, “Athletic with a strong body and medium frame, Rodriguez has shown a solid hitting approach and advanced knowledge of the strike zone for a player his age. He has an efficient swing that creates lots of backspin and generates power to all fields.”

Rodriguez has become one of the most intriguing players in the system, even drawing internal comparisons that place him just behind Walker Jenkins. Injuries have slowed his rise, but the underlying profile remains rare. A walk rate north of 20 percent paired with a strikeout rate above 30 percent is unusual, yet Rodriguez has still produced a 135 wRC+ in 2025 thanks to his power and elite strike zone awareness. He played the entire season at Triple-A, putting him on track for a 2026 debut.

Rodriguez represents the best version of what the Twins hope to find internationally. Advanced plate discipline, projection, and a carrying tool that can survive modern pitching environments.

2021 International Class
There was no 2020 signing period as MLB combined two international classes because of the pandemic. Danny De Andrade has quietly built one of the more stable offensive resumes in the system. At the time of his signing, MLB Pipeline ranked him the 14th-best prospect in his class. At the time, MLB Pipeline wrote, “De Andrade has the ingredients to develop into an impact hitter. He shows off excellent bat speed from the right side of the plate and can drive the ball to all fields.”

Last season, De Andrade repeated High-A and posted a wRC+ above 100 for the fourth straight season. His .317 OBP and .387 slugging percentage do not jump off the page, but a career-best .158 ISO hints at gradual strength gains. Defensively, De Andrade has moved off shortstop, splitting time between second and third base, which puts more pressure on the bat to carry.

Fredy Michel shows the other side of the international equation. Once ranked 27th in his signing class, Michel never found consistency at the plate. Across parts of three seasons, he hit no higher than .163 and averaged a 77 wRC+. Despite early speed and double-digit steal totals, his bat stalled, and he has not appeared in affiliated ball since 2023.

2022 International Class
Yasser Mercedes entered 2025 looking like a potential breakout. After a strong 2024, he struggled in Fort Myers, slashing .199/.309/.331 with an 87 wRC+. The speed remains loud, with 36 steals, and he continues to log most of his innings in center field. The offensive inconsistency underscores how thin the margin can be for toolsy international prospects.

At the time of his signing, MLB Pipeline said, “The 17 year old Mercedes had some of the best raw tools in this international class…He has the chance to drive the ball from the right side of the plate and could end up having better than average power as he fills out that frame and physically matures.”

Yilber Herrera might be the most extreme example of modern plate discipline without contact. In 49 games between the Complex League and Low-A, he posted a .361 wOBA and a 114 wRC+ despite hitting below .160. A 25.9 walk rate carried the profile, but the lack of contact will be tested quickly as he climbs. Defensively, he has begun to see less time at shortstop.

When he signed, MLB Pipeline said, “The teen has a good feel for hitting and can spray the ball across the outfield. He’s a smart baserunner when he gets on base. Herrera has a chance to stay at shortstop because of his above-average defensive actions and plus arm potential.”

 

 

Bryan Acuna brings pedigree and projection, as both his brothers played in the big leagues last season (Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luisangel Acuna). Ranked just inside MLB Pipeline’s top-40 in his class, he reached Low-A in 2025 and posted a 96 wRC+ in 78 games. Strikeouts remain an issue, and power production has been minimal so far. The feel for the game is evident, but the bat needs to translate that feel into results.

At the time, MLB Pipeline said, “Bryan grew up around the game, and it shows. He’s been praised for his plus makeup and feel for hitting. He’s aggressive and a playmaker. What he lacks in now tools, he makes up for with his baseball IQ, feel for the game and overall awareness.”

Across these four classes, a pattern emerges. The Twins have found players with strong plate discipline, athleticism, and makeup, but turning those traits into consistent impact has been elusive. Rodriguez stands as the exception, not yet the rule. For a mid-market team, falling behind internationally is not an option. These signings show flashes of a coherent philosophy, but the next step is to translate that promise into big-league production.

Which of these international prospects do you believe still has the best chance to break through, and what changes would you like to see from the Twins in their approach to the international market? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Nashvilletwin]

Granted he’s consistently been a top 100 prospect for a while now, but if becoming a significant contributor at the major league level is ultimately the only goal that truly matters, it’s a bit premature to call ERod a “clear success story”. Let’s hope that soon becomes a verifiable statement.

However, there remains a lot of room between the cup and the lip on that - especially given our recent track record with prospects like ERod.  It’s very possible he becomes just another in a long list of recent top prospects who not only don’t produce in the bigs, but also aren’t traded for contributing assets.

Boy, it would be great to see him in RF for years at Target Field. Ideally he gets his chance this summer.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Why have the Twins only chosen position players? Why no pitchers? Are pitchers just to difficult to assess adequately at these young ages, since the emphasis appears to be on having tall pitchers and the ages at which international signees are signed means that many will grow taller and many will not? Isn't there a way to predict adult height in teens?

[miracleb]

What the heck....I am not seeing anything in the article about E-Rod's numbers or success........

[mikelink45]

Success in the international draft is elusive for everyone. Always hopeful, but 17 year olds have a long road and lots of changes - physical growth, mental challenges as they change nations and languages, and baseball challenges as their tools and abilities are torn apart in minute detail that allows the pitchers and teams to prepare for the player in ways that never used to happen.

Rodriguez SO rates worry me.  I do not have him rated as high as many do.  I am looking for Walker to emerge - not that he is international, but he might block Rodriguez.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

16 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Granted he’s consistently been a top 100 prospect for a while now, but if becoming a significant contributor at the major league level is ultimately the only goal that truly matters, it’s a bit premature to call ERod a “clear success story”. Let’s hope that soon becomes a verifiable statement.

However, there remains a lot of room between the cup and the lip on that - especially given our recent track record with prospects like ERod.  It’s very possible he becomes just another in a long list of recent top prospects who not only don’t prouduce in the bigs, but also aren’t traded for contributing assets.

Boy, it would be great to see him in RF for years at Target Field. Ideally he gets his chance this summer.

Two thoughts on your post: 1. Erod may not be a "clear success story", but he is head and shoulders above the other players who have been signed...but remember, he is also older than the other players who have been signed and the others have more room to grow and learn and improve by the time they are  Erod's age. 2. Maybe the Twins evaluators  and teachers really do know what they are doing, and the "under performance" which is claimed by some who post at TD, is due to inflated expectations which we hopeful fans have. We fans tend to look at prospects with rose colored glasses.

[arby58]

16 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Why have the Twins only chosen position players? Why no pitchers? Are pitchers just to difficult to assess adequately at these young ages, since the emphasis appears to be on having tall pitchers and the ages at which international signees are signed means that many will grow taller and many will not? Isn't there a way to predict adult height in teens?

I went through the list of international signings on Spotrac, and they list 17 pitchers in this year's Minnesota Twins class - although most of these were quite a ways down the list in terms of dollar amount.

[arby58]

11 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Rodriguez SO rates worry me.  I do not have him rated as high as many do.  I am looking for Walker to emerge - not that he is international, but he might block Rodriguez.

While K rate may be a concern, it's been pointed out by others that, among others that turned out all right, Aaron Judge had a high strikeout rate in the minor leagues as well.

[Nashvilletwin]

10 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Two thoughts on your post: 1. Erod may not be a "clear success story", but he is head and shoulders above the other players who have been signed...but remember, he is also older than the other players who have been signed and the others have more room to grow and learn and improve by the time they are  Erod's age. 2. Maybe the Twins evaluators  and teachers really do know what they are doing, and the "under performance" which is claimed by some who post at TD, is due to inflated expectations which we hopeful fans have. We fans tend to look at prospects with rose colored glasses.

Could be, but it’s not like there hasn’t been highly publicised and easy to access consensus among the professional evaluators on many Twins prospects, including ERod, which tends to drive much of the hopefulness of Twins fans.

At the end of the day, “clear success” for many Twins fans, including me, comes down to meaningful, consistent contributions over some period of time, ideally several years, at the big league level.  Earning a top 100 prospect ranking from multiple evaluators means nothing at the end of the day without majors production.

So, yes, maybe there is a bit too much over optimism among us fans.  On the other hand, maybe we just rightfully expect some actual results in exchange for our hard earned cash and time.

Maybe the solution with respect to articles like this one and prospects like ERod et al is we should limit our interest and instead just say call me when the hype becomes reality. 

[LastOnePicked]

44 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Maybe the Twins evaluators  and teachers really do know what they are doing

That's an awfully low bar. Fans should be able to expect that, at a bare minimum, evaluators and coaches for a major league baseball team "know what they're doing." The question raised by this article is whether or not they know what they're doing better than the competition. It'd be helpful to see what other teams with similar international draft pool money have been able to do. The Twins are not going to make themselves winners through free agency, so they will have to find a way to maximize the production from drafted players.

[bunsen82]

53 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Why have the Twins only chosen position players? Why no pitchers? Are pitchers just to difficult to assess adequately at these young ages, since the emphasis appears to be on having tall pitchers and the ages at which international signees are signed means that many will grow taller and many will not? Isn't there a way to predict adult height in teens?

They have we just haven't gotten much out of them recently.  Brusdar Graterol 2014.  

Most recently  Jose Olivares in 2021 for 100k, and Bohorquez  for 10k in 2023 as an 18 year old.   

Regarding Bohorquez who we signed as an 18 year old,  I think him being more physically ready has allowed him progress through the system better.  Its why I am intrigued with Angel Ozuna.  Scandal or not.    

[Linus]

5 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Could be, but it’s not like there hasn’t been highly publicised and easy to access consensus among the professional evaluators on many Twins prospects, including ERod, which tends to drive much of the hopefulness of Twins fans.

At the end of the day, “clear success” for many Twins fans, including me, comes down to meaningful, consistent contributions over some period of time, ideally several years, at the big league level.  Earning a top 100 prospect ranking from multiple evaluators means nothing at the end of the day without majors production.

So, yes, maybe there is a bit too much over optimism among us fans.  On the other hand, maybe we just rightfully expect some actual results in exchange for our hard earned cash and time.

Maybe the solution with respect to articles like this one and prospects like ERod et al is we should limit our interest and instead just say call me when the hype becomes reality. 

This is an important point. Permit me to expand on it a little further. Many fans get excited about rankings, projections, etc. which is fun and fine. The only true measuring stick is how many bona fide big leaguers did you get out of the farm system or international draft, etc?  It’s remindful of the older college pitchers the Twins draft. A bunch of them get to A+ and AA with decent numbers and everyone gets excited. Yet it terms of actual big league production it hasn’t been great yet if you focus on minor league numbers things would appear rosy. Specifically considering ERod, I think the bust potential is substantial. I hope he is the next Willie Mays but I will be cautious in my hopes. People cite Judge and a few others as guys with high strike out rates in the minors but are great in the bigs. True enough. Now take all the guys that had high strike out rates in the minors and see what percentage thrived in the bigs. Citing future HOF players as the norm is a fools errand. I hope E Rod thrives in St Paul and gets the chance to play every day for the Twins this summer sometime so we can all find out for sure. 

[bean5302]

Most recent contributors coming to mind...

Luis Arraez (Terry Ryan) came out of Venezuela. 
Jhoan Duran (Arizona) came out of the Dominican Republic.
Jorge Alcala (Houston) came out of the Dominican Republic.

Falvey's had no success at signing an international player and having them produce at the MLB level yet. At least for the Twins.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Why have the Twins only chosen position players? Why no pitchers? Are pitchers just to difficult to assess adequately at these young ages, since the emphasis appears to be on having tall pitchers and the ages at which international signees are signed means that many will grow taller and many will not? Isn't there a way to predict adult height in teens?

Pitchers are more difficult to assess but the Twins are especially bad at acquiring pitching through international free agency.

[bunsen82]

5 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Most recent contributors coming to mind...

Luis Arraez (Terry Ryan) came out of Venezuela. 
Jhoan Duran (Arizona) came out of the Dominican Republic.
Jorge Alcala (Houston) came out of the Dominican Republic.

Falvey's had no success at signing an international player and having them produce at the MLB level yet. At least for the Twins.

The 17-18 class no.  There wasn't a 2020 class.  The issue with international classes is it can take 5-6 years to get something.  Now this isn't strictly a Twins issue.  Rodriguez is a top 5 prospect and from 2019.   So we cant say he has had no success.  He is just a level away from the MLB level and will likely get his chance this year.  As a whole though we haven't kept up with the averages.  So its something that needs to be fixed.  Now they did make an adjustment we will see if it results in better outcomes.  

[nicksaviking]

4 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Most recent contributors coming to mind...

Luis Arraez (Terry Ryan) came out of Venezuela. 
Jhoan Duran (Arizona) came out of the Dominican Republic.
Jorge Alcala (Houston) came out of the Dominican Republic.

Falvey's had no success at signing an international player and having them produce at the MLB level yet. At least for the Twins.

Nope, it's been bad. Zero international players signed by the Twins under this regime have made the majors as far as I can tell. NINE years, that's not acceptable.

But they clearly knew that. They hired Kevin Goldstein away from the Astros (and away from Fangraphs) three years ago and then put him in charge of the international operations just in 2024.

So, we probably shouldn't be looking at the signings from 2019-22, we should probably be looking at 2023-2025. Of course those players are still teenagers and mostly too young to evaluate, which sucks, but hopefully we at least start seeing SOME progress on this front in the coming years.

[FlyingFinn]

De Andrade - formerly in my personal top 10 prospects for the Twins as he was a great glove SS. Instead, he repeated High A last year and played more in other positions than at SS. If he's not a SS, he's not playing MLB. His bat has always been questionable. Thus, everyone else is passing him by (Culpepper, Houston, DeBarge, etc.) and I don't have him in my top 30 prospects.

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

While K rate may be a concern, it's been pointed out by others that, among others that turned out all right, Aaron Judge had a high strikeout rate in the minor leagues as well.

I hope that is the case, but many times players are rated too high.  I need a prove it and I am happy to let him try MLB to do that.  Just my opinion that he is overrated.  I hope I am wrong and he is a star.  However he has a little Sano in his profile. 

[Dman]

59 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

De Andrade - formerly in my personal top 10 prospects for the Twins as he was a great glove SS. Instead, he repeated High A last year and played more in other positions than at SS. If he's not a SS, he's not playing MLB. His bat has always been questionable. Thus, everyone else is passing him by (Culpepper, Houston, DeBarge, etc.) and I don't have him in my top 30 prospects.

I tend to agree.  I was plenty high on DeAndrade, but he repeated high A with a similar OPS of .700 which isn't that great.  I get he has been young for levels but he has never had an OPS over 750 yet.  There's still time for improvement and I am not writing him off, but it looks like utility player is his ceiling and the bat has a long way to go.

Still only 21 but for what he has shown so so far I don't see him making it.  Even MLB.com has him as their number 30 prospect so he is just hanging on. This year is gonna be a big year for him.  The bat has to get better or as you mentioned he will be irrelevant given the other options the Twins will have.

[bean5302]

28 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I hope that is the case, but many times players are rated too high.  I need a prove it and I am happy to let him try MLB to do that.  Just my opinion that he is overrated.  I hope I am wrong and he is a star.  However he has a little Sano in his profile. 

I hate the way people throw Aaron Judge out there as if he's comparable. Utterly nothing like Emma. Judge owned a 23.5% K rate in AAA in his second go-round... and with good power. Even in his first exposure to AAA, Judge only struck out 28.5% of the time. Wallner's AAA K rate is 28.8%.

I couldn't find a single instance of an International League player who's been successful with a K rate higher than Emma's in AAA, who currently owns the a bottom 6% of all AAA hitters (#50/836) between 2021-2025 with 200 PA. The list reads of a bunch of fringe AAAA and MiLB depth guys in their mid 20s to early 30s... and then Emma.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Falvey's had no success at signing an international player and having them produce at the MLB level yet. At least for the Twins.

Sad that Bill Smith reigns supreme in acquiring international free agent talent.

[arby58]

49 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I hope that is the case, but many times players are rated too high.  I need a prove it and I am happy to let him try MLB to do that.  Just my opinion that he is overrated.  I hope I am wrong and he is a star.  However he has a little Sano in his profile. 

Other than the strikeouts being high, I don't see the resemblance. Emma's strikeouts are attributed to taking too many strikes, while I don't recall that being Sano's MO at the plate. Other than the Ks, they don't really look much like each other. Emma has speed (usually double digits in stolen bases), where Sano's high in the majors in a year was two. 

[Sampson5]

Kinda sad that e rod is the only somewhat successful signing so far i say successful because he ended up a top 100 prospect twins gotta figure out how to get more out of one of their biggest rebuilding tools . I think e rod will be at minimum a quality regular outfielder in the mlb but the reality is 1 mlb player out of multiple classes is a bad stretch of international classes I mean seems like the Dodgers have a new top 100 prospect from this same system every year or 2 so really no excuse to not have more success 

[jkcarew]

Rodriguez…”A walk rate north of 20% paired with a strikeout rate above 30% is unusual, but Rodriguez still produced a 135 wRC+ in 2025 thanks to his power and elite strike zone awareness.”

 

So unusual that it has zero chance of existing at the major league level, unless the power shows up in a massive way. However…

…the 2025 135 wRC+ is NOT a product of power…his AAA power numbers are pedestrian…rather, almost exclusively a product of the freakishly high walk rate. Sustainable? The power better start showing up in a big, big way.

[nicksaviking]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

De Andrade - formerly in my personal top 10 prospects for the Twins as he was a great glove SS. Instead, he repeated High A last year and played more in other positions than at SS. If he's not a SS, he's not playing MLB. His bat has always been questionable. Thus, everyone else is passing him by (Culpepper, Houston, DeBarge, etc.) and I don't have him in my top 30 prospects.

For me it's the guys like De Andrade or Noah Miller that drive me absolutely nuts when it comes to prospect rankings. The Twins JUST signed a shortstop who's defense would probably equal these guys and nobody is happy. They just DFA'd a shortstop these guys may aspire to and nobody noticed. Even if one was higher on the defense of these prospects, they'd still be guys who need to hit or they won't be more than AAAA waiver fodder. And if they had a career long enough to be free agents, if there's no offense, even the Twins can afford to pay the very minimal salary these guys would command. 

Prospects should be coveted for what they can bring that the Twins can't afford on the free agent market. Namely top end starting pitching and hitters in the center of a venn diagram of plus power/good on base skills/decent strikeout rate/AND good defense. Three of those areas still work. Two, maybe. Only defense? Never. 

[Greggory Masterson]

5 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Why have the Twins only chosen position players? Why no pitchers? Are pitchers just to difficult to assess adequately at these young ages, since the emphasis appears to be on having tall pitchers and the ages at which international signees are signed means that many will grow taller and many will not? Isn't there a way to predict adult height in teens?

To provide league-wide context here: in 2025, only 4 of the top 50 international amateur players ranked by MLB were pitchers. Roki Sasaki was #1, and the other 3 were ranked 39, 40, and 46. In 2026, there are 3 in their top 50: ranked 25, 45, and 46.

No international amateur free agents aged 16 or 17 are easy to predict, but league-wide, there's far more confidence in hitters developing than pitchers.

[mikelink45]

3 hours ago, arby58 said:

Other than the strikeouts being high, I don't see the resemblance. Emma's strikeouts are attributed to taking too many strikes, while I don't recall that being Sano's MO at the plate. Other than the Ks, they don't really look much like each other. Emma has speed (usually double digits in stolen bases), where Sano's high in the majors in a year was two. 

Sano did not start out as a large guy - he was a SS when we drafted him.  I won't argue with your premise but it does not change my apprehension.  

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Sad that Bill Smith reigns supreme in acquiring international free agent talent.

Bill Smith is highly underrated through revisionist history where Wilson Ramos turned into a perennial All Star catcher. The return for Johan Santana was Carlos Gomez, who generated 15.3 bWAR through his 2013 team controlled years. Smith botched the following trades, but I often wonder how much Gardy was pushing for the moves. Still nowhere near as bad as Falvey's Rooker fail.

Smith's later drafts were rough, but he drafted/signed a ton of talent, pushed the Pohlad's into spending big dollars through extensions of players like no other GM has ever done in Twins history (Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer). He made some shrewd signings too.

I don't think Smith was a terrible GM in retrospect, but I also don't necessarily think was a great one, either. In the end, Smith got canned after the first bad year. Meanwhile Ryan and Falvey had leashes for days.

[shimrod]

43 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Smith got canned after the first bad year. Meanwhile Ryan and Falvey had leashes for days.

Perhaps ownership decided canning Smith so soon was a mistake. One they didn't want to make again. 

If so it appears they overcorrected. 

[NJM]

I really hope ERod can stay healthy cause if he does and if he gets time in the big leagues I could see him winning Rookie of The Year. Also hope Acuna can take a jump in hitting this year and start making his way to higher levels.