Minnesota Twins Prospect Retrospective: Mike Paredes

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

When the Twins announced that Mike Paredes would join the major league roster following Bailey Ober's placement on the injured list with elbow inflammation, many fans were left asking the same question: Who is Mike Paredes?

Unlike many of Minnesota's recent pitching call-ups, Paredes never appeared near the top of national prospect rankings. He wasn't a highly touted draft pick, nor was he a pitcher who generated buzz with triple-digit velocity. Instead, he has steadily climbed through the organization by doing something the Twins value highly: throwing strikes, limiting damage, and finding ways to get outs. Now, after nearly five years in the organization, Paredes is set to make his big-league debut.

The Twins selected Paredes in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of San Diego State University. His college numbers hardly suggested a future major leaguer. Across 35 appearances, including 20 starts, he posted a 5.28 ERA and 1.38 WHIP while recording fewer than one strikeout per inning.

Minnesota nevertheless saw something worth developing. After signing, Paredes made just two appearances for the FCL Twins, offering little insight into his long-term projection. His first full professional season arrived in 2022 at Low-A Fort Myers, where he worked in both starting and relief roles.

Over 24 appearances, including 13 starts, he posted a 3.27 ERA while pairing an 18.6% strikeout rate with an impressive 4.7% walk rate. The strikeout totals weren't eye-popping, but the command immediately stood out.

That trend continued in 2023 at High-A Cedar Rapids. His strikeout rate increased by nearly four percentage points, though it came with a slight rise in walks. Even so, he finished the year with a 3.14 ERA and a respectable 3.54 FIP, continuing to establish himself as a dependable arm in the system.

Paredes split the 2024 season between High-A and Double-A. His first exposure to Wichita produced some growing pains as he surrendered 12 earned runs in fewer than 19 innings. Still, there were encouraging signs beneath the surface. With an improved sweeper, his strikeout rate jumped to 23.2% while his walk rate fell below five percent. The Twins saw a pitcher beginning to miss more bats without sacrificing the command that had become his calling card.

Everything came together in 2025. Spending nearly the entire season at Double-A Wichita, Paredes emerged as one of the organization's biggest pitching surprises. Across 103 2/3 innings, he posted a 2.43 ERA and 1.01 WHIP while holding opponents to a .202 batting average. The Wind Surge primarily used him as a multi-inning reliever, averaging roughly three innings per appearance, and he thrived in the role. That success elevated him from organizational depth piece to legitimate major league consideration.

The 2026 season didn't begin particularly well. Assigned back to Double-A Wichita, Paredes struggled through four starts, posting a 7.07 ERA and allowing opponents to hit .298 against him. However, even during those rough outings, there was one encouraging development. He struck out 21 batters while issuing just one walk in 14 innings. The command never disappeared.

Minnesota promoted him to Triple-A St. Paul on April 21, and his results quickly improved. Across nine appearances with the Saints, he posted a 3.38 ERA while limiting opponents to a .237 batting average. He also maintained strong underlying metrics with a 23.4% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. The performance suggested that his early struggles in Wichita may have been more small-sample noise than a sign of regression.

One of Paredes' most impressive outings came Wednesday afternoon in Louisville. Entering the game, he had thrown his sweeper just 9.0% of the time this season. Against the Louisville Bats, however, he dramatically altered his approach, leaning heavily on the pitch. The results were overwhelming. Of his 63 pitches, 31 were sweepers, and 22 landed for strikes. Louisville hitters swung 19 times against the offering and missed on 12 of them, generating a remarkable 63% whiff rate.

After allowing a run in the opening inning, Paredes settled in and retired the final seven batters he faced. He completed five innings, allowed four hits and one run, and matched a career-high with seven strikeouts. The outing showcased another important aspect of his development: adaptability.

The "Travis Adams Plan"
Like several Twins pitching prospects this season, Paredes has operated under a developmental plan designed to gradually build workload while maximizing effectiveness. After working primarily as a long reliever in 2025, he has shifted into a role where he's regularly throwing around four innings and approximately 65 pitches every four days. The transition has gone smoothly.

Paredes isn't going to light up radar guns. His fastball averages 93.5 mph, while his cutter sits around 89.9 mph. Those velocities are solid but far from elite by today's standards. What makes him effective is the way his arsenal works together.

Alongside the fastball and cutter, Paredes mixes a slider, sweeper, curveball, and changeup. His ability to command multiple pitches, change eye levels, and keep hitters guessing has allowed him to succeed despite lacking a premium fastball. The Twins have consistently shown a willingness to develop pitchers who excel through pitch-ability and command rather than pure velocity, and Paredes fits that mold perfectly.

What Role Can He Fill in Minnesota?
Paredes arrives in Minnesota at an interesting time. With Ober sidelined, the Twins need innings. While Paredes is technically making his debut as a starter replacement, his long-term value may come in a more versatile role.

His recent development path has prepared him well for multi-inning appearances, spot starts, bulk relief outings, and emergency rotation coverage. That flexibility could make him an important piece of the pitching staff throughout the summer.

The Twins don't need Paredes to become an ace. They simply need him to continue doing what he's done throughout his professional career: throw strikes, avoid free passes, and keep the team competitive every time he takes the mound.

Few 18th-round picks ever reach the major leagues. Fewer still carve out meaningful careers. Paredes has already beaten the odds by making it to Minnesota. Now comes the opportunity to prove that his steady climb through the organization was only the beginning.

What stands out about Paredes so far in his professional career? How will the Twins use him? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Dman]

Paredes has always been a solid arm, The main knock has been his fastball velocity and K rate.  He never had an ERA much over 3.00 his entire minor league career. They kept him at levels far longer than they needed to and used him as a stopper out of the pen in several leagues.  When starters went down they would use him as a starter.  He's just been perhaps an unspectacular arm, but very reliable arm.  Because of that and being an 18th round pick he has never received any top 30 love despite his really good performance since becoming pro.

I feel like I have been high man on him for a while.  Not sure that he will be a great player, but certainly more reliable than a lot of other arms I've seen.  Call me crazy but I really think he could be a mid rotation arm in the Big leagues.  I think he'll be an equal or better arm than SWR and he can come out of the pen as well.

It makes me wonder if his recent performance was one reason they were willing to move on from SWR,  They are the same age. About the same level ceiling and yet Paredes has three option years left and  more versatility. Personally I still think they could have kept Sim so it feels like something else might be going on as well, but all things being equal Paredes should be a good replacement even if he never made a top 30.

[4twinsJA]

Hope Paredes the best, but agree does not have a very high ceiling. But, can see a role for him with Twins, spot starter/long relief.  Would rather see Twins give young players opportunities rather than signing another 35+  year old. I think that makes 5 pitchers to make their MLB debut for Twins this year-Morris, Rojas, Prielipp, Klein. Hope to see more debuts for position players soon.

[Road trip]

I'm mildly hopeful.  I remain unimpressed with developing pitchers under "the Travis Adams plan".  Paredes hasn't been built up to provide much length as a starter, and while a 3-inning reliever sounds appealing in theory, opportunities for such a beast are few, and usually occur in blowouts.  With a low-90s fastball he probably won't become a 1-inning bullpen guy.  So....  I hope he can develop a meaningful role, but I can barely speculate what it will be.  A guy accustomed to throwing 65 pitches has really limited usefulness in MLB.

[Kenny Powers]

I'm sure he will struggle his first round at the MLB level.  But I'm totally fine moving on from SWR and going forward with similar talent that still has options.

On a side note, that was a heck of a draft for us.  I count 7 out of the 21 that already made it to MLB (Chase Petty, Cade Povich, CES, Travis Adams, David Festa, Pierson Ohl, Mike Parades).  And there are probably several more who will probably make it at some point like:  Noah Miller, Christian McCloud, Kyler Fedko, Jaylin Nowlin, Noah Cardenas.  No big stars unless Petty lives up to hype.  But that's still a lot of guys who will at least get to the top.

[Jim H]

4 hours ago, Road trip said:

I'm mildly hopeful.  I remain unimpressed with developing pitchers under "the Travis Adams plan".  Paredes hasn't been built up to provide much length as a starter, and while a 3-inning reliever sounds appealing in theory, opportunities for such a beast are few, and usually occur in blowouts.  With a low-90s fastball he probably won't become a 1-inning bullpen guy.  So....  I hope he can develop a meaningful role, but I can barely speculate what it will be.  A guy accustomed to throwing 65 pitches has really limited usefulness in MLB.

This is what I think as well. It is sort a thankless job. He is there to protect what is perceived to be more valuable arms, maybe keep the game close enough to make a come back possible. If he does well in a particular appearance, often he will be sent back to the minors for a different bulk pitcher, because he will be unavailable for 3 days. Maybe he will eventually get a chance to carve out a more valuable role, maybe not. At least he gets a chance to pitch in the majors.

[mrguy]

I think of the guys under this "Travis Adams" plan, he was absolutely the guy who benefitted the most out of this system change. It led to him getting the most innings in his professional career while demonstrating the best control out of most of the guys under that system. Last year, he was one of only 6 pitchers in the twins' minor league system to go over 100 innings and among those 6, he had the lowest WHIP as well as the lowest ERA being an entire point lower than the next person with the second best K/BB rate.

Now entering this year, even though strikeouts are still a concern, he still had more strikeouts than innings this last month in St. Paul and an interesting note was that exactly half the runs he's given up in AAA all came in his first game up there while since that game he's had a 2.02 ERA. That I think is what made them decide he might be useful to the org in the future, quick adaptability to higher levels, which is always the biggest hurdle across player development when someone moves through the system.

I think he would work as a middle of a rotation starter or a bulk reliever depending on the route they go with him if they do eventually plan on keeping him around, he definitely has the control to handle that kind of work even if right now he's more a temporary option to cover injuries. All the while, it's still commendable that he's been able to steadily rise through the system in the background while having comparable to sometimes better performances than some of the top prospects in the org and it's nice to see him get rewarded for that.

[purplesoldier4u]

Good grief, don't we have a single "top prospect" ready to go ... at any position?

[Road trip]

23 minutes ago, mrguy said:

I think of the guys under this "Travis Adams" plan, he was absolutely the guy who benefitted the most out of this system change. It led to him getting the most innings in his professional career while demonstrating the best control out of most of the guys under that system. Last year, he was one of only 6 pitchers in the twins' minor league system to go over 100 innings and among those 6, he had the lowest WHIP as well as the lowest ERA being an entire point lower than the next person with the second best K/BB rate.

 

Good grief.  Seriously?  Only 6?  I did not know that.

Trying to be innovative is important for a small-ish market franchise, I get it.  But only 6 guys threw over 100 innings?  So Paredes was actually a work horse by Twins minor league standards?

Every good MLB starting pitcher threw more innings than that in the minors and/or college.  I'm not just talking about the Johan Santanas and Brad Radkes from years ago.  Pablo Lopez had years well over 100 innings in the minors.  Same with Joe Ryan.  It really seems like the Twins are now risking entire development cycles on this theory that pitchers shouldn't throw too many innings or they will get hurt.  I guess we can look forward to a whole lot of guys who are only able to throw 65 pitches per game, or who have to be shut down for the year in August.

I don't like being "grumpy old guy", but I'm kinda feeling that right now.

[mrguy]

25 minutes ago, Road trip said:

It really seems like the Twins are now risking entire development cycles on this theory that pitchers shouldn't throw too many innings or they will get hurt. 

I don't think it's that, it may for some guys like CJ Culpepper or Raya or Prielipp, but generally I think the idea was to give more options by having more guys get as many innings as possible and seeing who actually works rather than only having a few guys throw a lot of innings with a bunch of 1 inning relievers that don't go anywhere. It's probably easier to get someone who can throw 70 pitches to stretch out to 90 pitches or scale them back to 20 than it would be to only have 5 guys in a level than can throw 100 pitches with not many other choices if something happens or they don't pan out and having a bunch of guys in a level that can do that gives more options and flexibility.