Twins Prospect Hot Sheet: It’s Time for an Eduardo Tait Promotion

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photo of Eduardo Tait) ​

The summer months are when organizations begin to learn which teams are legitimate contenders and which clubs are already shifting focus toward the future. While the Minnesota Twins continue to navigate the major-league season, several prospects throughout the system are making strong cases for bigger opportunities. None of the players featured this week is likely to impact the 2026 Twins, but each could play a meaningful role in the organization's long-term plans.

From a catcher forcing his way back into the conversation, to one of the system's youngest stars pushing for another promotion, to a reliever quietly climbing toward the big leagues, this week's hot sheet highlights three players trending in the right direction.

C Andrew Cossetti – Wichita Wind Surge

How He Got Here: The Twins selected Cossetti in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Saint Joseph's University and quickly challenged him with aggressive assignments. After reaching Double-A to begin the 2024 season, the jump proved difficult. He managed just a .643 OPS across 87 games.

Rather than moving on, Minnesota allowed Cossetti to regroup at the same level. The decision paid off. He returned to Wichita and put together one of the better offensive seasons of his professional career, posting a .226/.366/.432 line with a 123 wRC+ while continuing to handle regular catching duties. His performance earned another opportunity with the Wind Surge to begin 2026.

Hitting the Hot Button: Few hitters in the organization have experienced a bigger turnaround than Cossetti this season. April was a struggle, as he limped to a .440 OPS, but the veteran backstop has steadily regained his footing. He followed that rough opening month with an .852 OPS in May and has taken things to another level in June. Through the first few weeks of the month, Cossetti has launched six home runs, added a triple, and posted a 1.033 OPS.

His latest week was especially impressive. Cossetti went 8-for-23 with four home runs, 12 RBIs and six walks across six games. He also drove in multiple runs in four consecutive contests from Sunday through Wednesday. At 26 years old, he is unlikely to rank among the organization's top prospects, but his offensive production is becoming impossible to ignore.

C Eduardo Tait – Cedar Rapids Kernels

How He Got Here: Tait's rise has been one of the more fascinating stories in professional baseball. Signed by the Phillies out of Panama for just $90,000 during the 2023 international signing period, he immediately exceeded expectations. He posted a .917 OPS in the Dominican Summer League and followed that performance by hitting .302 with an .842 OPS while advancing to full-season baseball in 2024.

The teenage catcher continued to accelerate through Philadelphia's system. By age 18, he had reached High-A, earned a selection to the Futures Game, and established himself as one of the game's fastest-rising catching prospects. Minnesota acquired Tait as part of last summer's Jhoan Duran trade package, and he finished the season helping Cedar Rapids during its playoff run. The Twins have challenged him aggressively ever since.

Hitting the Hot Button: This is where the argument for a promotion begins. Tait, still only 19 years old, went 8-for-24 with three home runs and 11 RBI during the week. He drove in five runs on Tuesday and followed that performance with six more RBIs on Thursday against Beloit.

His overall .728 OPS may not immediately jump off the page, but context matters. Tait has spent virtually the entire season facing older and more experienced competition. Despite that challenge, he has begun to find another gear.

Since June 1, Tait owns an .860 OPS, with seven home runs and three doubles in just 15 games. The combination of youth, power, and improving offensive consistency is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. Minnesota has not been afraid to push him, and neither were his previous employers in Philadelphia. His recent production suggests another move up the ladder may soon be warranted.

RHP C.J. Culpepper – St. Paul Saints

How He Got Here: Culpepper is another successful late-round pitching find for Minnesota's player development staff. Selected in the 13th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of California Baptist University, he has steadily worked his way through the system despite several obstacles.

His professional career has featured flashes of promise at every stop. He advanced through both levels of A ball before reaching Double A in 2024 and spending much of 2025 with Wichita. Injuries have slowed his momentum at times, including a forearm strain in 2024 and a finger nerve issue that cost him significant time last season. This year has brought a different challenge. The Twins shifted Culpepper into a full-time relief role, hoping his arsenal could play up in shorter outings.

Hitting the Hot Button: The early returns have been encouraging. Culpepper made three appearances for St. Paul this week and allowed just one unearned run on two hits across 3 1/3 innings. More importantly, he struck out six hitters and did not issue a walk. Since arriving in Triple A, he has posted a 26.3% strikeout rate while limiting walks to 10.0% of opposing hitters. Those numbers suggest his transition to relief is maximizing his strengths.

Minnesota's bullpen depth remains one of the organization's growth areas, but Culpepper is beginning to position himself as a potential option if opportunities arise during the second half. The Twins may want to see a larger sample size before making that decision, but he is clearly moving in the right direction.

The first half standings may be grabbing most of the attention, but development season is heating up across the Twins' farm system. Cossetti has transformed a difficult start into one of the hottest stretches of his career. Culpepper is showing signs that his conversion from the bullpen could unlock another level. And Tait continues to look like one of the most exciting young catching prospects in baseball.

For now, the spotlight belongs to the teenager in Cedar Rapids. If Tait keeps producing at this pace against older competition, the Twins may soon have little choice but to find him a new challenge.

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What stands out about this trio of prospects? Can Cossetti and Tait help the organization’s long-term catching depth? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Cory Engelhardt]

Still love Tait's bat, and it is crazy to think he doesn't turn 20 until the very end of August. I do question quite a bit if he can be a catcher, but the power production is very exciting.

[arby58]

48 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Still love Tait's bat, and it is crazy to think he doesn't turn 20 until the very end of August. I do question quite a bit if he can be a catcher, but the power production is very exciting.

Lots of catchers transition to 1B, where their ‘catch the ball’ skills are useful. Pretty impressive power for an 18 year old, and the Twins don’t have much in front of him at 1B.

 

[thelanges5]

Not the guys in this article, but there were a couple of promotions today per Theo Tollefson:

Twins minor league promotions after they passed the first half of their seasons: 

*SS Marek Houston, first-round pick last year, is moving up to Class AA. 

*OF Kala’i Rosario is headed to AAA. 

*OF Walker Jenkins was activated from his rehab assignment and returned to St. Paul too.

[Cory Engelhardt]

3 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Not the guys in this article, but there were a couple of promotions today per Theo Tollefson:

Twins minor league promotions after they passed the first half of their seasons: 

*SS Marek Houston, first-round pick last year, is moving up to Class AA. 

*OF Kala’i Rosario is headed to AAA. 

*OF Walker Jenkins was activated from his rehab assignment and returned to St. Paul too.

Houston's bat really has been good for Cedar Rapids. Very similar in terms of output to what Culpepper did in his time there. The real test can start now in AA, but he is going to be very exciting to follow because we know that his glove should translate too.

And Jenkins getting back and getting going will be awesome.

[DataNerd]

Not ready on Tait yet, and while you have to take his age in account for his prospect status, I don't see why you would take it into account for a promotion.  He's gotten the K% down to 16% for June, but he only has a 4 BB%.  To me he's not in consideration for a promotion.

[mikelink45]

I know I am in the minority but I really don't care if the pitcher is older than the batter.  When they get to the majors no one says that.  Talent is not restricted to age. 

[tony&rodney]

Tait is not ready for a promotion.

[Brandon]

His average is low and so is his walk count.  We are not trying to develop the next David Kingman.  or Gallo with half his walk total.  but I do think he should be challenged at AA if he can continue to get his average up.  Lets see if he can hold his .860 OPS for another month and then lets talk about a promotion.  

[arby58]

28 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I know I am in the minority but I really don't care if the pitcher is older than the batter.  When they get to the majors no one says that.  Talent is not restricted to age. 

By the time players get to MLB, they’ve pretty much all physically matured. An MLB 28 year old pitcher against a 23 year old hitter? Doesn’t matter. A 23 year old pitcher against an 18 year old batter? Yeah, that matters.

[Dman]

I'm in the camp of not ready to promote Tait just yet.  He has been pretty streaky as a hitter this year.  I'd like to see him continue to hit this well into July.  If he can't then he is not ready.  No reason to rush him and he needs to work on his defense and walk rate\chase rate. I'd keep him right where he is for now.

Culpepper is on the Rule V list for the end of this year so if they think he can contribute at the MLB level adding him a little early would allow for him to get some MLB experience.  I'd want to see a bit more before adding him, but if he keeps this up he'll be in the conversation.

 

[DocBauer]

I haven't totally given up on Cossetti as a backup catcher who can also play some 1B and bring some power. But his initial production at AA hit a wall. It was better in 2025. Recently his bat has taken off. At his age, I don't have a problem with him going to AAA. After all, Cardenas has been a bit bummer with his bat this season. But I'd wait 2-3 more weeks to make sure this isn't just a hit streak and he can maintain his production. But I'd really like to know how his game calling and defense are doing.

Tait will be 20yo in a matter.of days. Still very, very young. But there's more to being a catcher than his bat. He still needs to refine his defense. And similar to Cossetti, is he just on a hit streak? Or can he maintain his offense another 2-3 weeks? I'd like to see a few more BB, while maintaining what his bat has been doing. If that happens, I have no problem with a mid July promotion. That would allow even more time behind the plate for Jiminez. But if his OVERALL game at ONLY 20yo means he needs more time at A+, I'm OK with that too.

CJ Culpepper reminds me a bit of Jax in that I believe he's still using the majority of his 6 offerings, mixing them between LH and RH batters. Can anyone clarify that? He's got good velocity and seems to maintain it better in a couple of IP vs 5 IP. Now, Jax continued to hone and add pitches as he went along. CJ seems to be throwing harder and still mixing in his repertoire. I have no problem with that as long as those other offerings are WORKING and 1 or 2 aren't needing to be eliminated or tweaked to something else.

I think CJ will get a shot some time in the 2nd half. While not finished products to BANK on for 2027 and beyond, I think he and Morris and could provide some solid 7th-9th inning power and good K results. Mix them in with Banda and Rojas, the BASE for a solid bullpen is starting to take shape. (MAN would I like a healthy Festa before the season is done getting some pen time)!

Don't look now, but we might see Raya sometime in the 2nd half as well. I've still got some doubts, but since the end of May/first of June he's been really, really good. Is the light starting to turn on?

I also think Winokur is ready, or just about ready for a promotion as well. He's really responded since a really poor start.

I think Houston was ready for his promotion.

I still wonder if Rosario begining the year at AA due to the initial AAA logjam didn't do a number on his head? Regardless, he's fully reestablished himself again and is ready for his promotion as well.

Awesome to see Jenkins back at St Paul. Now the question is much time is enough time to get back in a good groove? He was really heating up before his injury.

HOWEVER, I believe Roden is next in line for the Twins. And he should be. He should have broken camp with the Twins over Outman, and I think everyone OTHER than the Twins recognized this. I'm sure he will need a couple weeks to get in a good flow, but his first couple games back have been excellent.

The problem is, currently, the position portion of the Twins roster FINALLY has some good balance to it. It's even better if Fedko gets a legitimate shot to play...not exclusively against LHP...and shows he has a CHANCE to be a solid RH 4th/5th OF. But you aren't going to just replace Larnach, Clemens, or Bell right now. 

I don't want non 2027 and beyond players to block anyone. And the deadline may change some things. Injuries also provide opportunities. But for the next few weeks, it looks like Roden and Jenkins just need to keep hitting and waiting.

[bjorks]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

By the time players get to MLB, they’ve pretty much all physically matured. An MLB 28 year old pitcher against a 23 year old hitter? Doesn’t matter. A 23 year old pitcher against an 18 year old batter? Yeah, that matters.

To that point as well, I ask this question frequently "How much of a difference is there between a 4 year old and a 2 year old"?

What I ponder about Tait is if the convo is already about if he'll stick behind the plate. Regardless if it's ability or he's too talented offensively, why not move him now and be done with it especially if Lackey is the favorite to come home in 3rd place.   

[tarheeltwinsfan]

10 hours ago, arby58 said:

Lots of catchers transition to 1B, where their ‘catch the ball’ skills are useful. Pretty impressive power for an 18 year old, and the Twins don’t have much in front of him at 1B.

 

Nor do the Twins have anyone in front of him at catcher.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

10 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

Not the guys in this article, but there were a couple of promotions today per Theo Tollefson:

Twins minor league promotions after they passed the first half of their seasons: 

*SS Marek Houston, first-round pick last year, is moving up to Class AA. 

*OF Kala’i Rosario is headed to AAA. 

*OF Walker Jenkins was activated from his rehab assignment and returned to St. Paul too.

All 3 of these promotions were well deserved. Let's see how quickly Houston adjusts to AA pitching. He is a baseball player.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

10 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Houston's bat really has been good for Cedar Rapids. Very similar in terms of output to what Culpepper did in his time there. The real test can start now in AA, but he is going to be very exciting to follow because we know that his glove should translate too.

And Jenkins getting back and getting going will be awesome.

You have focused on the two most exciting prospects in the Twins organization. I like the way you think.

[HrbieFan]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Nor do the Twins have anyone in front of him at catcher.

I would be satisfied heading into 2027 with Caratini and Jackson as our C tandem. 

Anyone familiar with Culpepper's repertoire? Hard thrower? What is his out pitch? 

[Ricky Vaughn]

How exactly have the twins aggressively challenged Tait. He was in A+ ball when acquired and the Twins placed him in A+ ball where he still is. He is doing worse overall this year, so far. Which tells me the Twins are probably screwing him up like they seem to do so often.  

[jmlease1]

I'm a big fan of Tait, but I don't think it will be a problem for is development to stay in A-ball longer. I like seeing the hot bat, but would like to see more consistency and control of the strike zone. The upside is high, and at his age it'll be a perfectly fine result for him to have an excellent season in Cedar Rapids and start next year in Wichita. Whether he gets an early push to AA isn't that important to me.

Cossetti is interesting; he really hit the AA wall hard, but seems to have pushed through it. If there's a position where development really isn';t linear it's probably catcher, so who knows. Happy to have him in AAA, but I think he's more organizational depth than a real contender to make it to MLB.

CJ Culpepper is more interesting. He's struggled to stay on the field the last couple of years and hasn't cleared 60 innings in either of the last 2 despite still starting. I think the move to relief in AAA makes sense, and hopefully that keeps him on the field and throwing. He's got some arm talent and could be a real option for the twins bullpen in the future. Would rather see them take a look at him later this season than churn any more castoffs; that was the mistake of last season after the sell-off, IMHO. They grabbed up guys with no future with the club off the street rather than try younger players in bullpen roles at the end of the season to set up the next year. (I'm fine with churning some vets early in the season because even dumpster diving you have a lot more to choose from; by august finding the diamond in the rough is much less likely)