An Updated Look at the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects

[Cory Moen]

Image courtesy of Kason Huckaby, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Ryan Gallagher)

There are a few bigger changes to take a look at: specifically, who is moving up the rankings, who is moving down, and why that may be.

The top three prospects, Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez, remain unchanged. The first change in the rankings is that Connor Prielipp and Eduardo Tait flipped spots from the first ranking of the season. Prielipp was previously ranked #5 and is now ranked #4, and Tait was previously #4 and is now ranked #5.

This change is slight, and might mostly be because Prielipp has made his major league debut, and looked pretty good doing it. This does not mean Tait is not as good a prospect. He still has a very high ceiling, but is still a couple of years away from being seen at Target Field.

There are some other changes to the top 20 list, but let’s take a look at the biggest risers, who may have dropped in the rankings, and who is on the outskirts of the list, but could make an appearance by years end, due to one of the guys losing their prospect status, or because they play their way into being ranked higher based on their performance.

Biggest Risers

The first riser that someone will notice on the list is 2025 first round pick Marek Houston. Houston has played this year at High-A Cedar Rapids and hit .306/.371/.441 so far this year. The biggest question about Houston as a prospect was whether his offense would be good enough since he is said to be ready for the majors defensively. If he can continue to develop offensively, he will continue to rise on these lists until he makes his major league debut.

Another riser on the list is the other first-round pick from 2025, pitcher Riley Quick. At 22 years old, Quick started the year at Single-A and was called up to High-A after having three starts and giving up no runs. He threw eight innings and had 13 strikeouts at Single-A and was deemed ready to be called up to High-A Cedar Rapids. Quick has thrown  eight more innings and struck out 11 hitters, so he has continued to look the part. Because of this strong start, Quick rose from the #11-ranked prospect to #8. He has the potential to continue moving up the minor league ladder, and moving up quickly, no pun intended.

The last riser to highlight is pitcher Ryan Gallagher, who was not ranked in the top 20 when the year started and is now ranked #16. Gallagher was one of two prospects that came from the Cubs in the Willi Castro trade at last year’s trade deadline. Gallagher is currently with Double-A Wichita and has had a solid start to the season. He threw 18 innings over four starts, with a 3.50 ERA and 20 strikeouts, which earned him a call-up to Triple-A, where he has made two starts so far. He’s an intriguing arm and someone who fans could see at Target Field in the next year or so.

Biggest Falls

With Gallagher previously not being ranked, that means someone had to drop out. The unlucky prospect to drop off the list was Marco Raya. Previously a top pitching prospect in the system, Raya has struggled mightily in his transition to the bullpen this year. He has thrown 19.1 innings and struck out 20 hitters, but has an ERA of 7.91, with a decently high walk rate (12.6%), and has also given up five home runs.

Another prospect that has slid on this list is outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez. As you may or may not remember, Gonzalez was acquired along with Justin Topa in the trade that sent Jorge Polanco to Seattle. Gonzalez has a slash line of .183/.255/.380 to start the year, which is not what he, or the Twins, hoped for. Still just 22 years old, Gonzalez is playing at Triple-A, so there is no reason to give up on him yet, but he will have to turn around offensively to not continue sliding on this list.

The third player who slid on the list is second baseman Kyle DeBarge. Playing at Double-A, DeBarge has four home runs on the year, but his overall offensive numbers have been underwhelming, with a .593 OPS. Soon to be 23, DeBarge will look to turn his year around. One promising aspect of DeBarge’s season thus far is his 11 stolen bases over his first 29 games, so that’s something to keep an eye on if he is able to get on base at a higher clip.

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[jkcarew]

Most of the moves make sense to me.

Soto still too high for me. 12-15 range makes more sense to me until he’s actually able to pitch at least semi-regularly…and exhibiting health and the assumed upside. Can always move up from there if those things happen. IMO.