Minnesota Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Month: April 2026

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography

It was a solid month for pitching in the Twins minor leagues, in general. As you'll see below, there are some pitchers who have pitched well in Triple-A and have been able to make their major-league debuts. You will also find several pitchers making their professional debuts in Fort Myers, mostly 2025 draft picks. 

One other thing you'll notice is that our minor-league writing core made the decision to only have a Pitcher of the Month. In the past, we have always had separate awards for Relief Pitcher and Starting Pitcher of the month. However, at this stage of baseball, what is the difference between a starting pitcher and a reliever? That is especially true with the Twins who have gone to having starters and relievers being able to work three or four innings at a time with more frequency. This isn't the "olden days" of two-to-three years ago where starters would hope to work five or six innings and top relievers would get an inning at a time. 

We will attempt to make sure that we recognize the variety of roles pitchers can have in the minor leagues in our Pitcher of the Month articles. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• LHP Kendry Rojas - St. Paul Saints - 10 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .229 BAA, 30.0 K%, 10.0 BB%, 4.18 xFIP. 
• LHP Connor Prielipp - St. Paul Saints - 13 IP, 2.30 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .200 BAA, 34.9 K%, 7.7 BB%, 2.96 xFIP. 
• RHP Michael Hilker - Fort Myers Might Mussels - 12 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .100 BAA, 30.2 K%, 22.6 BB%, 5.39 xFIP.
• LHP Aaron Rozek - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints - 13 IP, 1.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .264 BAA, 15.5 K%, 5.2 BB%, 4.65 xFIP.
• RHP Matt Bowman - St. Paul Saints - 16 1/3 IP, 1.65 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .246 BAA, 24.6 K%, 8.7 BB%, 4.15 xFIP. 
• RHP Merit Jones - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 18 2/3 IP, 1.93 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, .188 BAA, 23.4 K%, 11.7 BB%, 5.05 xFIP. 
• RHP Jacob Wosinski - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 12 1/3 IP, 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, .178 BAA, 34.0 K%, 4.3 BB%, 3.14 xFIP. 
• RHP C.J. Culpepper - Wichita Wind Surge - 19 2/3 IP, 2.75 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, .213 BAA, 28.2 K%, 10.5 BB%, 4.20 xFIP. 
• RHP Eli Jones - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4.70 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, .246 BAA, 24.2 K%, 3.1 BB%, 3.92 xFIP
• RHP Darren Bowen - Wichita Wind Surge - 11 1/3 IP, 3.18 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, .122 BAA, 26.7 K%, 8.9 BB%, 4.62 xFIP
• RHP Kolten Smith - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 11 IP, 3.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, .171 BAA, 43.2 K%, 6.8 BB%, 1.89 xFIP.   

THE TOP FOUR PITCHERS

Number 4
RHP Reed Moring (21) - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 
3 G, 2 GS, 13 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .229 BAA, 34.5 K%, 7.7 BB%, 2.96 xFIP.
Moring was the Twins 15th round draft pick in 2025 out of UC-Santa Barbara. Like other 2025 drafted pitchers (other than Jonathan Stevens), Moring didn’t pitch at all in 2025. He began the 2026 season with Fort Myers. 

In his pro debut, he came out of the bullpen and worked four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and had seven strikeouts. Six days later, he made his first start and again threw four scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked three, and had five strikeouts. Five days later, he made another start. He gave up six hits and one walk over five shutout innings. He struck out six batters. That was his final start of April. He returned to the mound about 2 1/2 weeks later with two perfect relief innings. 

Moring uses a four-seam fastball that averages 93 mph and tops out around 95 mph. He also has a slow curveball between 79 and 82 mph. He also throws a slider, a cutter and a changeup in the 83-87 mph range. 

 

Number 3
RHP James Ellwanger (22) - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
3 G, 3 GS, 11 2/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, .077 BAA, 34.1 K%, 11.4 BB%, 2.96 xFIP.
The Twins have done a job in the past decade of drafting college pitchers and working with them to add velocity. In 2025, they drafted a couple of college pitchers with Top 100 picks, guys that already threw hard, so it’ll be interesting to see how they develop. The Twins drafted James Ellwanger in their third round pick out of Dallas Baptist. 

He signed and this spring made his official professional debut with the Mighty Mussels. As you might expect, he dominated in his three starts. In his first game, he gave up two hits and a walk while striking out four batters in three innings. His second game was in Jupiter. He tossed four shutout innings and gave up one hit and one walk. He struck out five. His third start was in Fort Myers. He walked three and struck out six batters in 4 2/3 scoreless innings. 

Ellwanger has really good stuff. In his first game, he topped out at 98.7 mph and averaged 96.2 mph. He also throws cutters in the upper 80s and low 90s. He has a slow curveball that sits in the low 80s, which is nice for giving him a pitch that alters a batter’s timing. He throws a low-90s changeup which he’ll want to work on to slow down a few ticks. 

Unfortunately, he came out of the game and soon after it was announced that he was placed on the 60-Day Injured List with a right elbow sprain. We can certainly hold out hope that he can be back on the mound this season.

Number 2
RHP Cole Peschl (23) - Cedar Rapids Kernels
7 G, 0 GS, 10 2/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.09 WHIP, .030 BAA, 27.3 K%, 0.00 BB%, 3.61 xFIP.  
If you want to tell me that Cole Peschl should be the pitcher of the month for April, you’re not going to get much of an argument from me. The 23-year-old was the Twins 15th round pick in 2024 out of Campbell University. 

He began the 2025 season with six games in Fort Myers, but he moved up to Cedar Rapids fairly quickly. With the Kernels, he made nine starts. He went 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA. However, his season came to an end before August. 

 

He is back in Iowa this season and working out of the bullpen. Just look at those numbers. He faced 33 batters during the month and gave up just one hit. No walks. No hit batters. I’ve never seen a WHIP of 0.09. Could a promotion to Double-A Wichita be in the near future?

And the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April 2026 is:

RHP Riley Quick - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 
5 G, 5 GS. 12 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.42 WHIP, .054 BAA, 45.0 K%, 7.5 BB%, 2.33 xFIP
Riley Quick grew up in Trussville, Alabama. He attended Hewitt-Trussville High School, the same school that fellow 2025 first round draft pick Steele Hall (Reds, ninth overall pick). When Quick was in high school, he was the top-ranked right-handed pitcher and the number six overall prospect in Alabama according to Perfect Game. He ranked #2 according to Prep Baseball Report. He was also a four-star recruit, one of the top offensive line prospects in the country. His brother Pierce played football at Georgia Tech and Alabama. 

Quick signed pretty quickly following the draft last July. He spent the summer and much of the offseason in Fort Myers continuing to work, getting himself in better shape and working on pitching. When the 2026 season began, he was assigned to Low-A Fort Myers. As expected, his time there was very short. He made three starts and worked a total of eight innings for the Mussels. He gave up zero runs, one hit, walked three and had 13 strikeouts. 

The 6-6 righty was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he made one more start in April. He tossed four shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none, and had five strikeouts. 

 

Using an upper-90s (four-seamer and sinker), Quick can be dominant. His highest velocity in a game this season is 98.7 mph. However, when you add in a cutter in the low 90s, a slider in the low-to-mid 80s slider, he’s got four or five above average pitches that can get swings and misses. 

Literally and figuratively, Quick is one of the biggest pitching prospects that the Twins have selected in a long time. 

 

We want to congratulate Riley Quick, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April of 2026. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. How would you rank the top pitchers in the Twins organization in April? 

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[jmlease1]

I was really excited by Ellwanger, so it was a huge bummer to see him get hurt. Do we have real structural damage there or is it a sprain than can reasonably be expected to recover without surgery? I'd hate for him to lose a full development year (or 2 if it ends up being TJ) but I'd much rather know early than august.

Quick deserves the pick, and he's having as good a debut as you could possibly hope for. He's pitched so little in college/pros that I'll be curious to see how much they let him go. But the stuff is for real.

Culpepper needs to get moved up, if healthy.

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

I was really excited by Ellwanger, so it was a huge bummer to see him get hurt. Do we have real structural damage there or is it a sprain than can reasonably be expected to recover without surgery? I'd hate for him to lose a full development year (or 2 if it ends up being TJ) but I'd much rather know early than august.

Quick deserves the pick, and he's having as good a debut as you could possibly hope for. He's pitched so little in college/pros that I'll be curious to see how much they let him go. But the stuff is for real.

Culpepper needs to get moved up, if healthy.

check the transactions later today... 

[rdehring]

Add me to the list of those who were more than bummed when Ellwanger went on the IL.  Only time I saw him was in that prospects game versus the Phillies.  Thought, WOW!

Also was scratching my head when I saw the 0.09 WHIP.  Assumed it was a typo.  Agree that kid needs to be packing his bags for a car trip down I-35 to Kansas.  Guessing by Seth's comment that Quick is on the move, maybe they could rideshare. 

[4twinsJA]

Great article Seth, love reading this type of information. 

[Dman]

I was really impressed with what Moring did to start the season.  He looked better in that first game than Ellwanger IMO, but things evened out from there.  Do we know why Moring was out those two weeks?  Shoulder, elbow, knee?  The movement he was getting seemed to stifle hitters though as time went on they made more contact.  Looks promising but time will tell.

I had my eye on Peschl after last year.  I like his stuff and thought they might keep him as a starter.  Was surprised by the pen move, but he has dared batters to hit his stuff and it hasn't happened much yet.  Nice to see some of the lower picks establishing themselves.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Why was Rojas not in the top 4? This is what I wrote before I read the incredible stats for the top 4 pitchers in this ranking for minor league pitcher of the month.  0.09 Whip? 45% strikeout rate? What the heck is going on? Amazing. I think I understand why the Twins don't put these top 4 in the major league bullpen right now (except for the injured player), but can you please explain why the Twins don't just promote Quick and Peschi tonight? Tell me the down side. Instead of one of the following: Banda, Orze, Rogers, Garcia, Topa? 

[Dman]

5 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Why was Rojas not in the top 4? This is what I wrote before I read the incredible stats for the top 4 pitchers in this ranking for minor league pitcher of the month.  0.09 Whip? 45% strikeout rate? What the heck is going on? Amazing. I think I understand why the Twins don't put these top 4 in the major league bullpen right now (except for the injured player), but can you please explain why the Twins don't just promote Quick and Peschi tonight? Tell me the down side. Instead of one of the following: Banda, Orze, Rogers, Garcia, Topa? 

I think you could make a case for Rojas in the top 4.  I think the walk rate is high, but so is Ellwanger's.  He's at a much tougher level and is very young for the level.  He could be in there, but this seemed more focused on the first year pro's.

They won't move Quick or Peschl to the majors because they would need to be added to the 40 man and their options clock would start and if they can't handle that level you would be wasting 40 man spots waiting for them to be ready. I mean there's a chance Quick could make it, but honestly there is no reason to hurry these guys as they face a significant challenge at AA and then AAA before the ultimate challenge at the MLB level.  Just no reason to force a sink or swim approach with young arms.  They both could be moved to AA and there are pitchers from last years draft that skipped A and High A and started in AA.  They could promote faster if they want to, but given the Twins are not a likely playoff team they can afford to be patient.  I think if you get to AA your first year that's a very good pace. If you perform well at AA like Gallagher you can move to AAA pretty fast and then get called up if you look good there. 

[twinstalker]

Big A+ debut for Quick, which was necessary to see before we started drooling.  Let's see him dominate the level in May and move up to AA!

I would mostly restrict relievers to the honorable mention portion, since they rarely ever become MLBers.  Not to mention that among all the relievers pitching as they do, you'll get great stats from a couple of them just by chance.  It doesn't mean much.