Twins Daily 2026 Top Prospects: #10 Charlee Soto, RHP

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of David Malamut

There's a lot of risk involved using high draft picks on prep pitchers, which is why it's not something the Minnesota Twins often do. They made an exception in 2023 with Charlee Soto, selecting him as a 17-year-old out of Reborn Christian Academy in Florida with the 34th overall pick and signing him to a $2.48 million bonus.

We've seen some of that risk play out since. In his first season (2024), Soto struggled to a 5.23 ERA in 21 appearances for Low-A Ft. Myers while having his workload heavily managed, and in his second season (2025) he was limited to just 13 innings by arm issues.

A triceps strain sidelined Soto after just three starts in Cedar Rapids, and in August he had a procedure to remove a partially detached bone spur in his elbow. The good news is that there was no structural damage, and this spring Soto is healthy and back in action. His extraordinary potential earns him a spot on the back end of Twins Daily's top 10 despite the unignorable question marks.

Charlee Soto
Age: 20 (DOB: 8/31/05)
2025 Stats (A+): 13 IP, 1.38 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.00 WHIP
ETA: 2028
2025 Ranking: 4

National Top 100 Rankings
BA: NR | MLB: NR | ATH: NR | BP: NR | ESPN: 94

What's To Like
While the Twins realized the risks of investing in young pitching talent, they've already also witnessed some of the upside. Soto, well built at 6-foot-3, is a stellar athlete with a premium arm. He was reaching the upper-90s by the end of his first full season in 2024, and was touching triple-digits early last year before going down with the triceps injury. 

His 1-7 record and 5.23 ERA from 2024 don't cast an accurate portrayal of Soto's first season in the minors. He more than held his own as an 18-year-old at Fort Myers, striking out 87 in 74 innings and allowing just six home runs. Last year Soto appeared well on his way to taking the next step, throwing absolute gas through his first three starts at High-A Cedar Rapids with a 15-to-4 K/BB ratio and just two runs allowed in 13 innings.

The velocity on Soto's fastball is eye-catching, and he's got a solid slider as well, but the signature offering is his changeup. Buzzing in at up to 90 MPH with a ton of arm-side drop, it's viewed as one of the best changeups in all of the minors, and should help him suppress left-handed hitters if he can spot it. 

There's sort of an "out of sight, out of mind" dynamic at play with Soto since we didn't see him pitch after April last year. As such, he's a trendy breakout pick among prospect heads and he'll be one of the most exciting players in the Twins system to follow in 2026.

What's Left To Work On
Velocity isn't everything for a fastball. Even a 100 MPH heater will be punished by advanced hitters if it lacks shape and movement. That's been one of the knocks on Soto, whose fastball tended to come in pretty straight and has been susceptible to hard contact when not placed with precision. The righty started working in a sinker variant to supplement his four-seamer, and that could give his overall arsenal a significant boost, but it remains a work in progress.

Generally speaking, the quality of stuff is not in question here. Soto has struck out 102 hitters through 87 pro innings as a teenager, and still feels like he's revving up and settling in. Health is going to be the big hurdle to overcome. Missing almost an entire season due to arm issues before turning 20 is far from ideal, but hardly damning. 

It does leave Soto with some work to do in order to build up as a starter and establish a stamina baseline. If all goes well for him this year it wouldn't be a shock to see Soto reach Double-A by September, but it will likely take some time for him to develop physically and emerge as a factor in the big-league plans.  

What's Next
Hopefully, a fully healthy season to showcase what he can do. Soto's mission will be to keep on refining while reliably taking the mound each turn and hopefully surpassing 100 innings. The crew from Destination The Show recently remarked on Soto's wide range of outcomes, which spans from frontline starter to volatile reliever to injury flameout. We should get a much better idea this year of where the 20-year-old will land. 

Catch Up on the Rest of Twins Daily's Top 20 Prospects

(Part 1)

20. James Ellwanger, RHP
19. Khadim Diaw, C/CF
18. C.J. Culpepper, RHP
17. Kyle DeBarge, 2B/SS/CF
16. Hendry Mendez, OF

(Part 2)

15. Marco Raya, RHP
14. Quentin Young, SS
13. Brandon Winokur, SS/CF
12. Andrew Morris, RHP
11. Riley Quick, RHP

10. Charlee Soto, RHP

View full article

[bean5302]

Soto needs a healthy season pretty badly at this point. The Twins didn't have him throw a single inning in 2023, then he missed pretty much all of 2025 with various issues. Soto has as much upside as anybody in the system, but if he doesn't pitch, it won't matter.

[mikelink45]

Too high.  Let's see some minor league success before we raise him to the top ten.  I would have Culpepper higher than him as well as Mendez. 

[jmlease1]

I'm excited about Soto. The TINSTAAPP Rule still applies, but the upside and talent are tantalizing. It sounds like he's recovered well from the surgery, so hopefully he'll be able to go up to Cedar Rapids (it wouldn't shock me if they keep him in extended Spring Training for a couple of weeks, just to watch his elbow a little and wait for it to warm up a little) and we'll see how he does in refining his pitches and improving his command.

It'll be interesting to see if they work on improving the shape of his fastball more or if they focus more on development of the sinker? I am excited to see him throw that change, though. I looooove a starter with a good changeup. Twins have had some awesome ones in their history and it would be very fun if we can add Soto to the list.

[Bodie]

If the Twins' 10th best prospect has a pro resume of 1) injury, no season 2) great "stuff" and pisspoor results and 3) season innings total that can be counted on your fingers and one foot, we aren't looking at a lost season for them, we're looking at years of floundering. 

An interesting player, but some results are needed.  Wish him the best of luck and hope that a matured body holds up better than the growing one has.

[rdehring]

Had been wondering who would be ranked the highest, Soto or Hill.  Since we have yet to see Hill's name, guess I have my answer.  Although Quick is older than this duo, he will make a trio of exciting young arms to follow this year and beyond.  Maybe this pipeline is finally getting fully built with the results coming year-after-year.  Hopefully!

[DataNerd]

Big year for Soto.  His 2024 numbers besides the ERA weren't that bad, FIP was basically league-average.  Only 60% of runners LOB, .365 BABIP aren't numbers you would expect to repeat.  He was significantly better his 3 starts in CR last year, and if he shows he can do that for a full season he could easily be the top pitching prospect.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Soto seems like a very interesting prospect with a lot to prove.  On paper he looks like the real deal, but he hasn't really had the results so far in his career with the Twins, nor has he had the health to actually be on the field.  I'm hoping he puts it all together, but I think it's going to take awhile before that happens.  

[jmlease1]

5 hours ago, Bodie said:

If the Twins' 10th best prospect has a pro resume of 1) injury, no season 2) great "stuff" and pisspoor results and 3) season innings total that can be counted on your fingers and one foot, we aren't looking at a lost season for them, we're looking at years of floundering. 

An interesting player, but some results are needed.  Wish him the best of luck and hope that a matured body holds up better than the growing one has.

Except, of course, you're kinda wrong about everything here? Last season he was injured and barely pitched, but 1) he did have a rookie season, 2) his results weren't "piss poor" for a pitcher 4 years younger than his competition coming straight out of HS and already up at High A, and 3) he threw 74 innings in 2024 to go with the 13 in 2025, so if you can count that on your fingers and 1 foot you're definitely some kind of mutant.

I might be worried if he was sitting at #5 on the prospect list, but it's hardly unusual for a team to have a guy sitting in the 8-12 range who has big upside but lost a developmental year to injury. Dooming the twins to flounder for years because Charlee Soto was injured last year but everyone but you still thinks he's got a ton of potential is...a take.

[DocBauer]

I absolutely love this kid! He's big, strongly built, has a nig time arm, and from interviews I've seen he's just a quality young man.

HS kids seldom debut the year they are drafted. The Twins did have a couple position kids get a week in after they signed, but that's it. Even college arms seldom do anything but work at the complex initially and debut the next season.

His ERA was high in his debut rookie season of 2024, but his BABIP was crazy, and his K numbers were very good. And then to be promoted as a 19yo to A+ in 2025 was indicative of his potential, but also the improvement he obviously made during the offseason and instructional league. And while it was only 3 starts, he really flashed. 

If he can change the shape of his 4 seamer a bit and work in a solid 2 seamer, all he has to do is just be healthy and a late promotion to AA as a 20yo wouldn't be out of question. 

If he hadn't already thrown and shown some good stuff/results, I could understand objections as to being ranked this high. But prospect lists are about talent, potential and projection. And he's already shown enough of that to not be dismissed despite the bone spur that messed up his season. For me, personally, he's never been out of sight out of mind. He is absolutely one of the best arm talents in the system. Any setback due to injury or poor performance could see him slide this season. But good health and even solid, not great, development would keep him in the top 10. 

Absolutely one of my favorite prospects to watch and root for in 2026.

[Bodie]

5 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Except, of course, you're kinda wrong about everything here? Last season he was injured and barely pitched, but 1) he did have a rookie season, 2) his results weren't "piss poor" for a pitcher 4 years younger than his competition coming straight out of HS and already up at High A, and 3) he threw 74 innings in 2024 to go with the 13 in 2025, so if you can count that on your fingers and 1 foot you're definitely some kind of mutant.

I might be worried if he was sitting at #5 on the prospect list, but it's hardly unusual for a team to have a guy sitting in the 8-12 range who has big upside but lost a developmental year to injury. Dooming the twins to flounder for years because Charlee Soto was injured last year but everyone but you still thinks he's got a ton of potential is...a take.

10 fingers and 5 toes... MUTANT ALERT!!!

And "everyone but you" isn't even worth a thought!  "Everyone" knew Kirilloff was a lock to hit in the majors. Good for exactly zero at bats/hits.

A "prospect" going into his 4th professional season without a full season in total falls into the "project" bucket. A very interesting project to be sure.

 

[Mike Sixel]

Way too high for me. 

[Alex Wilde]

48 minutes ago, Bodie said:

10 fingers and 5 toes... MUTANT ALERT!!!

And "everyone but you" isn't even worth a thought!  "Everyone" knew Kirilloff was a lock to hit in the majors. Good for exactly zero at bats/hits.

A "prospect" going into his 4th professional season without a full season in total falls into the "project" bucket. A very interesting project to be sure.

 

You must be fun at parties.

[jmlease1]

9 hours ago, Bodie said:

10 fingers and 5 toes... MUTANT ALERT!!!

And "everyone but you" isn't even worth a thought!  "Everyone" knew Kirilloff was a lock to hit in the majors. Good for exactly zero at bats/hits.

A "prospect" going into his 4th professional season without a full season in total falls into the "project" bucket. A very interesting project to be sure.

 

He's going into his THIRD professional season. Not 4th. 

Kirilloff had 799 ABs and 198 hits in MLB. Not "exactly zero". (I'm still bummed that we rarely got to see healthy Kirilloff, and certainly don't hold injuries against a guy who was forced into retirement at 26 over them against him as some kind of moral failing) wtf?

I get that you don't think Soto is anything more than a lottery ticket, and you might even be right. A lot of high school pitchers never work out. But can we use actual facts?

[bunsen82]

On 3/2/2026 at 7:59 AM, bean5302 said:

Soto needs a healthy season pretty badly at this point. The Twins didn't have him throw a single inning in 2023, then he missed pretty much all of 2025 with various issues. Soto has as much upside as anybody in the system, but if he doesn't pitch, it won't matter.

He did throw in 2023 just not in a game like the Twins have done with the majority of the pitchers they draft each year.   He has had 1 year of injury.  1 . . .   let me say that again 1 year of injury.  This isn't a Priellip situation.  

Personally I think Soto has the most upside of any pitcher in the system.  As to 2024 - yes he did start off a bit slow,  but in the 2nd half he had an ERA of 3.69.   Last year he came out and appeared to have complete command of his pitches before he was shut down.    

With being off for the majority of the year,  the 10 slot appears to be the right spot for his immense talent.     

[Bodie]

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

He's going into his THIRD professional season. Not 4th. 

Kirilloff had 799 ABs and 198 hits in MLB. Not "exactly zero". (I'm still bummed that we rarely got to see healthy Kirilloff, and certainly don't hold injuries against a guy who was forced into retirement at 26 over them against him as some kind of moral failing) wtf?

I get that you don't think Soto is anything more than a lottery ticket, and you might even be right. A lot of high school pitchers never work out. But can we use actual facts?

Kirilloff gained zero at bats or hits from his prospect status.  The status that "everyone" agreed with.

Sorry you need a step by babystep explanation to follow what is apretty obvious statement.  He obviously played for the Twins. He obviously got at bats and hits.  His elite prospect status gained him nothing statistically. Understand now?

[Cris E]

He looks higher effort than Preilip in that clip above, much more arm and less lower body in his delivery. I don't want to say that never works, but to me that kind of says reliever more than 100+ pitch outings. Whatever, it'll be fun to watch him move up. I looooove a good changeup.

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

He's going into his THIRD professional season. Not 4th...

Putting aside the Kirilloff stuff. Soto is going into his 4th pro season.
1. 2023 - Drafted by Twins, did not pitch in MiLB competitive games. He got a $2.5MM contract. He's a pro.
2. 2024 - Pitched full MiLB season
3. 2025 - Injured almost entire season.
4. 2026 - 4th pro season.

I suppose you can make some sort of active service time argument, but he's over 3 years EoY this year no matter how you slice it.

[bunsen82]

20 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Putting aside the Kirilloff stuff. Soto is going into his 4th pro season.
1. 2023 - Drafted by Twins, did not pitch in MiLB competitive games. He got a $2.5MM contract. He's a pro.
2. 2024 - Pitched full MiLB season
3. 2025 - Injured almost entire season.
4. 2026 - 4th pro season.

I suppose you can make some sort of active service time argument, but he's over 3 years EoY this year no matter how you slice it.

Potentially pitching a handful of games is meaningless Bean.  He pitched 1 full season,  he was injured most of last season,  and this his is 3rd FULL season with the Twins.  

[Cris E]

Eeyore wants to see clouds so he's counting it his way. Logic can just go back to hotel while gritty realism is in the room.