Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Month: May 2026

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Welcome to the May edition of our minor league pitcher of the month series. Things are a little different this year: as an acknowledgement of patterns in minor league pitcher usage, we’ve collapsed the “reliever” into the “starter” one. Because teams are in a constant struggle to get players work, they often become “out-getters,” entering whenever the manager deems the situation acceptable, regardless of the typical roles accepted in our shared baseball understanding. This puts short-inning hurlers at a disadvantage for a list like this, but if one was especially efficient in a month, they’ll receive consideration.

This author has been writing these pieces for years, and this month was one of the weakest he can remember. The list of candidates was slim. Most of the best pitching talent in the system is on the major-league squad, incapacitated, or underperforming. Of the top seven hurlers on MLB.com’s prospect list for the Twins, four are on the IL, and one—Charlee Soto—hasn’t pitched since Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, and everyone else was moved during the Great Firesale of 2025. So, times are strange.

Anyway, here’s the list, starting with the honorable mentions:

Dasan Hill - A+ Cedar Rapids - 3.18 ERA, 11 ⅓ IP, 3.18 FIP, 34 K%
Hill was well on his way to making the list proper, before he blew up in spectacular fashion on May 28, walking six while recording just two outs. Command has proved to be a bugaboo for the prep lefty in 2026: he’s walked 24 across 27 ⅓ frames. If he can tighten that up even a little bit, he’ll be back to doing great things.

Yehizon Sanchez, A+ Cedar Rapids - 1.50 ERA, 12 IP, 2.77 FIP, 27.7 K%
The efficiency comment from before was aimed squarely at Sanchez, who dominated hitters in May with impressive acumen. Only twice did he allow a run. Both times were limited to just one score. That’s a nearly impossible rate of consistency from a position so often given to the swells of blow-ups and meltdowns—but he also only pitched 12 innings. 

Darren Bowen, AA Wichita - 3.00 ERA, 15 IP, 4.18 FIP, 19.7 K%
The days of Darren Bowen as a starter are over, but as a bullpen arm, he could carve out a longer future in the organization. He has struck out batters at a higher rate while walking fewer of them in his second go-around at AA. That’ll play.

John Klein, AAA St. Paul - 3.65 ERA, 12 ⅓ IP, 3.20 FIP, 34 K%
A standard solid pitching month. John Klein allowed just six hits for the Saints in May, but his run-suppressing ability was a touch too weak.

Hendry Chivilli, FCL Twins - 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 3.09 FIP, 23.5 K%
Hendry Chivilli? The position player? Yes, the former big international player saw some success after moving to the mound last year; he’s off to a great start in 2026.

5. Garrett Horn, FCL Twins/A+ Cedar Rapids - 0.75 ERA, 12 IP, 3.27 FIP, 28.6 K%
The lefty from Liberty starts us off. Acquired from the Rangers last year for Danny Coulombe, Horn was cromulent (if a bit walk-happy) in his initial foray with the Kernels. In a new year, Horn put forth one of the finest pitching months in the Twins system, allowing one run and three hits across 12 innings equally split between Cedar Rapids and the FCL. 

“He’s a vertically-oriented lefty who was 92-95 in his most recent ACL outing prior to list publication,” wrote Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan in their 2025 writeup of the Rangers system. Indeed, Horn’s exaggerated slot helps generate unique ride on his fastball, turning the offering into a vertical-breaking monster coveted by major-league teams these days. Self-evidently, hitters have a difficult time hitting his heat. Early results are promising for Horn. Now let’s see him sustain it at A+ ball. 

4. Michael Hilker, A Fort Myers - 2.51 ERA, 14 ⅓ IP, 1.97 FIP, 27.9 K%
An honorable mention last month, Hilker improved his play enough to make the list proper in May. A 2025 20th-round draftee, Hilker left his college in Tucson, Ariz. for some Florida waves; he moonlighted for two innings last year with the Mighty Mussels before returning for a full go-around in 2026.

Once again, we’re dealing with a fastball known to grow wings and take off when it reaches the plate; Hilker’s heater averaged 22.6 inches of induced vertical break, which would be the highest in MLB this year by almost a full inch (Alex Vesia is at 21.7). (We should note, in the interest of fairness, that IVB is higher in Florida than just about anywhere else, due to a combination of humidity and low elevation. Still, he's at the top end of the scale.) Armed with that special heater, Hilker made fools of A-ball hitters in May, whiffing them at an elite rate while keeping the walks at bay, offering just three free passes. He could be an under-the-radar relief arm to keep tabs on. 

3. Paulshawn Pasqualotto, A+ Cedar Rapids - 2.19 ERA, 12 ⅓ IP, 2.56 FIP, 42.9 K%
Paulshawn Pasqualotto just casually had one of the most efficient relief months you’ll ever see. The Cal, Berkeley product decided to become Goose Gossage, gobbling batters—often in multi-inning outings—with outstanding strikeout ability. In four appearances, he struck out at least four hitters. That’s simply electric no matter the level of play.

A twin himself, Pasqualotto has already almost matched his strikeout total over 51 ⅓ innings with the Kernels last season, an impossible task given he’s totaled just 18 frames so far this year. His fastball/changeup combination drives his profile; the cambio remains his favored off-speed offering, though he continues to refine his breaking stuff. The 25-year-old saw a cup of coffee with Wichita at the end of April; he’ll probably return to Kansas soon if he continues to pitch like this.

2. Mike Paredes, AAA St. Paul - 2.70 ERA, 23 ⅓ IP, 3.39 FIP, 26.9 K%
The newest Twin, Mike Paredes flourished at AAA in the month of May before earning his call to the majors. The righty never allowed more than two earned runs in an outing all month. He swept, and swept, and swept some more, as his arching breaking ball came into sharp focus in May, helping usher Paredes to the big leagues—and hitters back to the dugout.

Cody Christie penned a full piece on Paredes and his story. It’s worth emphasizing: Paredes is a former 18th-round pick with a 5.28 ERA coming out of San Diego State in 2021. And now he’s a big leaguer. What an outcome for Paredes (and the Twins organization). With the rash of pitching injuries cursing the team, there’s a real chance Paredes gets an extended look on the Target Field mound. That probably doesn’t happen without his excellent month of May with the Saints.

1. Justin Mitrovich, A Fort Myers - 1.15 ERA, 15 ⅔ IP, 2.05 FIP, 35.5 K%
Fun fact: before taking Ryan Sprock in the 8th round in the 2025 draft, the last Elon product the Twins drafted was catcher Alex Swim in 2013. They then drafted Justin Mitrovich one round later. Go figure.

What a pick it may be. Mitrovich debuted in the Twins system on May 3rd and has been awesome, striking out 22 batters across 15 ⅔ frames, while allowing two earned runs. Two. 

Clearly, there’s some deception in his “oops, all ligaments” delivery, which flings arms and legs in various directions before sending the ball hurling at the hitter upwards of 95 MPH. Mitrovich could soon become the latest in the line of Twins college hurlers who shot through the minors and became top prospects and/or big leaguers. So far, though, he’ll have to settle for being the Twins Daily minor league pitcher of the month for May.

View full article

[AceWrigley]

It will be interesting to see how Hilker's fastball plays as he moves up in the system.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Nice write up, especially for guys like me that don't know a lot about the guys in the lower minors. It's unfortunate we don't have more guys at the AAA or even AA level that are worthy of being in this article., Also, excellent use of the word "cromulent". It is a truly underrated word that simply does not get enough exposure.

[DataNerd]

The early returns for the 2025 late-round pitchers have been great, probably rivaling that of the 2022 class after year 1 (Zebby, Culpepper, Lewis).  Mitrovich/Hilker/Moring/Smith all have shown some positive traits that with future development could lead to being good MLB pitchers. 

Need to remember that of the 2022 trio, Zebby was the least-regarded of them after their first full year, and that the hit rate of the four will probably be low.  But it is a lot better than previous years have been, and a return to form for the biggest strength of the FO.

[bean5302]

Not sure what the Twins have Dasan Hill working on, but regularly walking 20-30%+ of hitters in A+ suggests he'll be absolutely annihilated at AA and AAA. 

There are 290 pitchers in A+ this year with 20.0+ innings pitched. He would be, literally, the WORST walk rate pitcher in the entire Northwest League.

Dasan Hill's walk rate is the 13th worst at that level (bottom 5%).

[Mike Sixel]

I'd move Horn to late relief and promote him quickly.... How old is he?

[Dman]

25 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Not sure what the Twins have Dasan Hill working on, but regularly walking 20-30%+ of hitters in A+ suggests he'll be absolutely annihilated at AA and AAA. 

There are 290 pitchers in A+ this year with 20.0+ innings pitched. He would be, literally, the WORST walk rate pitcher in the entire Northwest League.

Dasan Hill's walk rate is the 13th worst at that level (bottom 5%).

I am with you on that walk rate.  It's a killer and I thought it would be better this year not worse.  I'll blame some of it on that cold Cedar Rapids April spring where he couldn't find the plate at all, but even with giving him that the numbers are still concerning.

Still he is only 20 and still growing into his body.  He has three potential plus pitches and BA just gave him spot 98 in their top 100 so I probably need to chill on my angst.  I think some of it is psychological.  Once teams start getting hits he seems to have a harder time finding the plate.  Also getting behind in the count is a killer as just like Raya he has to come over the middle or walk the guy.  There is work to be done but the stuff is there.

[Jim H]

What i noticed from this list is that except for Paredes, every pitcher averaged less than 4 innings a week. Doesn't seem to matter age or level. Development is sure different from when I started following the Twins minor league teams years ago.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

I am with you on that walk rate.  It's a killer and I thought it would be better this year not worse.  I'll blame some of it on that cold Cedar Rapids April spring where he couldn't find the plate at all, but even with giving him that the numbers are still concerning.

Still he is only 20 and still growing into his body.  He has three potential plus pitches and BA just gave him spot 98 in their top 100 so I probably need to chill on my angst.  I think some of it is psychological.  Once teams start getting hits he seems to have a harder time finding the plate.  Also getting behind in the count is a killer as just like Raya he has to come over the middle or walk the guy.  There is work to be done but the stuff is there.

My biggest issue is he may very well not have the stuff. Lower minors hitters will chase 45 grade MLB stuff. Upper 90s velo alone is often good enough to get a pitcher through A+. AA sees an adjustment to that, and AAA hitters spit on a lot of bad pitches more aggressive, less experienced players try to force into play.

It's hard to tell if a pitcher actually has "stuff" or if the hitters just aren't polished enough at the level so they're too aggressive chasing pitches which are easy for high end talent to lay off.

[bean5302]

12 minutes ago, Jim H said:

What i noticed from this list is that except for Paredes, every pitcher averaged less than 4 innings a week. Doesn't seem to matter age or level. Development is sure different from when I started following the Twins minor league teams years ago.

Lots of changes in the minors in recent seasons.

40 MiLB teams eliminated
MLB full organizational roster down from 180 to 165
Different effort levels for pitchers
More veteran/journeyman who are good in MiLB due to wage/living situation changes and increased signing bonuses.

[DataNerd]

6 hours ago, bean5302 said:

My biggest issue is he may very well not have the stuff. Lower minors hitters will chase 45 grade MLB stuff. Upper 90s velo alone is often good enough to get a pitcher through A+. AA sees an adjustment to that, and AAA hitters spit on a lot of bad pitches more aggressive, less experienced players try to force into play.

It's hard to tell if a pitcher actually has "stuff" or if the hitters just aren't polished enough at the level so they're too aggressive chasing pitches which are easy for high end talent to lay off.

That's a big issue at the lower levels, but the guys who that applies to tend to be college pitchers who are able to locate poor stuff fairly well.  Hill hasn't done that, and has better velo/spin than anyone else in the system in A/A+ other than Quick.  He has the stuff to succeed in the majors, but not the stuff to be wild and succeed.

[bean5302]

8 hours ago, DataNerd said:

That's a big issue at the lower levels, but the guys who that applies to tend to be college pitchers who are able to locate poor stuff fairly well.  Hill hasn't done that, and has better velo/spin than anyone else in the system in A/A+ other than Quick.  He has the stuff to succeed in the majors, but not the stuff to be wild and succeed.

If guys are able to locate well, they aren't going to have high walk levels. It's the opposite for Hill who appears to have no command or even control. Hill feels like he's following a pattern. No idea where his stuff is going and low minors hitters will swing at junk. He's literally one of the elite worst pitchers in all of the minor leagues when it comes to walks.

Spin rate is worthless if the mechanics used to generate that spin aren't repeatable and the pitcher has no idea where the pitches are going. Low minors hitters are already exposing his issues. Best case scenario, Hill seems a long way off.