Twins Daily Top Prospect Update: June 2026

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

It’s nearly the end of the month, making this the perfect time to reveal our updated prospect rankings for the site. No, you’re a little late.

As a reminder, our list can be found here, and it currently reflects the voting from the early days of May. Updating on a monthly basis is our way of remaining on the pulse; players will improve or recede in play, suffer injuries that cause them to stagnate, or exhaust their prospect eligibility due to major league playing time (which is what happened to Connor Prielipp and Andrew Morris who are no longer “prospects,” under this technical definition). With that out of the way, let’s get to the list proper:

1. Walker Jenkins OF, AAA (Previously #1)
2. Kaelen Culpepper SS, AAA (Previously #2)
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez OF, AAA (Previously #3)
4. Eduardo Tait C, A+ (Previously #5)
5. Marek Houston SS, A+ (Previously #7)
6. Riley Quick RHP, A+ (Previously #8)
7. Kendry Rojas LHP, MLB (Previously #9)
8. Hendry Mendez OF, AAA (Previously #13)
9. Dasan Hill LHP, A+ (Previously #6)
10. Gabriel Gonzalez OF, AAA (Previously #10)
11. Charlee Soto RHP, A+ (Previously #11)
12. Brandon Winokur INF/OF, A+ (Previously #15)
13. Khadim Diaw OF/C, AA (Previously #19)
14. Quentin Young INF, A (Previously #14)
15. Ryan Gallagher RHP, AAA (Previously #16)
16. James Ellwanger RHP, A (Previously #18)
17. C.J. Culpepper RHP, AAA (Previously #17)
18. Yasser Mercedes OF, A+ (Previously Unranked)
19. Billy Amick INF, AA (Previously Unranked)
20. Kyle DeBarge INF, AA (Previously #20)

An Unchanged Top 3
Voters kept the Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez triumvirate intact, despite all three players hitting the IL since our last update (Jenkins has since started a rehab assignment). Clearly, their talent remains triumphant—and no one has yet usurped any of them, even as health frustrations remain a nuisance for the two outfielders in the group. 

Two Hitting Hot Streaks
Marek Houston entered June with a merely solid hitting season, and launched into supernova territory, terrorizing A+ ball pitchers with a .408/.545/.592 slashline with 16 walks to seven strikeouts. He’s reached base in every game he’s played in the month. Paired with his already adroit defense at shortstop, Houston—Minnesota’s first-round pick in 2025—appears an obvious candidate to break through and become the next name that populates one of the top three spots on this list.

We knew Hendry Mendez could hit, but did anyone know he could hit like this? The young outfielder nabbed as part of the Harrison Bader return from last year's deadline is something of a throwback hitter; someone who could walk more than they strike out while hovering around that coveted “.300” batting average mark. He hit a relative rough patch in June, and is now on the IL, but was so dominant in May that he jumped five spots and cracked our top 10.

A Talented Lefty Drops
There’s no way to supercoat it: Dasan Hill has been dreadful this year. He made waves with an impressive teenage showing in 2025, and has struggled mightily with control this season, walking nearly a batter an inning on average. Unsurprisingly, his ERA is near 7. Voters opted not to be too harsh on the 20-year-old, as his stuff remains incredible, and his lankiness may, more so than most hurlers his age, make command difficult as he matures into his body. 

Hello There, Khadim Diaw
All he does is hit. The Senegalese super utility man holds an .850 OPS during his time in the Twins system, as his prescient sense of the strike zone, and hit by pitch abilities, has buoyed an OBP above .420. It appears he may have to Daulton Varsho it, and discard the tools of ignorance behind the plate in favor of letting his athleticism fly in center field, which is a perfectly fine outcome: the system is light on healthy and adept center fielders. 

Two Newcomers 
A pair of graduations necessitates a pair of elevations, and the lucky two this month were Yasser Mercedes and Billy Amick. Mercedes, a one-time big-time international get, has been famous for years now, even as his pro career has rollercoaster-ed between brilliance and struggles. This year, he pummeled A-ball but cooled off in Cedar Rapids. Billy Amick is here to hit home runs and strike out. He has 17 bombs in 61 games at AA, and is punching out at a 30% rate. He’s one of the bigger “boom or bust” candidates on this list, but the tantalizing power of a potential boom keeps him as a back-end name.

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

I voted for Houston to be #1.  Because: 1) He is the best infielder defensively in the Twins system, including  all the minors and the major league players. 2) He plays the position which is usually ranked the  most valuable fielding position. His defense should count for more than it does in this ranking. 3) In addition, now we see he can hit and steal bases  too.  I am so ready for Houston to start playing SS for the Minnesota Twins.

[twinstalker]

I've been doing a lot of prospecting, and this list looks very weak compared to other teams'.

Foremost, Milwaukee's prospects are absolutely sick.  All throughout.  Surprisingly, though, the Pirates have started to get their sh-- together.  If I were the Twins, I'd trade Joe Ryan to the Pirates for Johan De Los Santos and Esmerlyn Valdez.  The former is a name you'll all soon know, he's 17 until next month and is crushing the FCL and now is at low A Bradenton.

[mikelink45]

I find myself agreeing with Twinstalker - this is not as impressive as past lists.

Jenkins and Rodriguez have had too many injuries and just lose their luster - still in the rankings, but not as exciting as they were.

The pitchers on the list don't make be excited to see them promoted and that is not good.  We need pitching.  I would have Hill much lower, too soon for Quick to be up this high, Soto has stagnated. And Raya is not on the list.

I am higher on Diaw that the rankings.  But overall this is not a group that makes me confident about the near future.

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, twinstalker said:

I've been doing a lot of prospecting, and this list looks very weak compared to other teams'.

Foremost, Milwaukee's prospects are absolutely sick.  All throughout.  Surprisingly, though, the Pirates have started to get their sh-- together.  If I were the Twins, I'd trade Joe Ryan to the Pirates for Johan De Los Santos and Esmerlyn Valdez.  The former is a name you'll all soon know, he's 17 until next month and is crushing the FCL and now is at low A Bradenton.

I am glad you are not running the Twins. That's a disgustingly low trade package for an all-star pitcher with another year of team control pending. 

Valdez might end up being good (struggling so far in his time in MLB) but far from a sure thing. and De Los Santos might be great, but teenagers are big risk. I'd think we could do much better for Ryan, not that the Pirates are likely to trade for a guy who will cost a ton in arbitration next season and will not be a guarantee of staying at all...

[TopGunn#22]

MAYBE Walker Jenkins should keep his #1 status.  But with the way Marek Houston has hit the ball, and with a Platinum Gold Glove at SS in his his future, He's #2 for me right now.  It's time to move him up a level and challenge him.  We might really have something here.  

[Jeff K]

I had Marek Houston above Tait who is starting to make me nervous.

[LambchoP]

We sure are weak on pitching prospects. Hopefully we can get some high end AAA/MLB ready arms at the deadline.

[Linus]

Agree with the comments about the list being underwhelming, especially pitching. I had EmRod fourth or fifth. Hindsight I wish I would have moved Houston above him. 

[arby58]

23 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

MAYBE Walker Jenkins should keep his #1 status.  But with the way Marek Houston has hit the ball, and with a Platinum Gold Glove at SS in his his future, He's #2 for me right now.  It's time to move him up a level and challenge him.  We might really have something here.  

Jenkins is 21 and at AAA, Houston is 22 and at high A. Houston is playing against players his own age, Jenkins is still among the younger players in AAA.