Why Marek Houston is the Twins’ Most Underrated Prospect

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Marek Houston)

When prospect rankings are released, the conversation usually centers around the flashiest tools. The biggest power. The fastest fastball. The loudest stat lines. That's why Marek Houston continues to fly under the radar.

The Twins' 2025 first-round pick has quietly transformed himself from a player viewed as an elite defensive shortstop with offensive question marks into one of the most complete prospects in baseball. National outlets are finally starting to reward that growth by placing Houston on Top 100 prospect lists, but even those rankings may not fully reflect how much his stock has risen over the last year.

Houston isn't just exceeding expectations. He's changing the narrative that followed him into professional baseball.

The Bat Was Always the Question

When Minnesota selected Houston with the 16th overall pick out of Wake Forest, there was little debate about his defensive future. Scouts viewed him as a polished shortstop with outstanding instincts, range and arm strength. His glove projected as an above-average major league tool from day one, making him one of the safest defensive players in the 2025 draft. The uncertainty centered around his offense.

Houston earned Wake Forest's starting shortstop job as a freshman largely because of his defense, hitting .220 while helping the Demon Deacons reach the College World Series. He took a significant step forward as a sophomore, batting .326 with eight home runs before completely reshaping his offensive profile during his junior season. 

After refining his approach, Houston slugged 15 home runs while posting a 1.055 OPS, showing enough improvement for Minnesota to invest a first-round pick. Even then, evaluators wondered whether that newfound power would survive against professional pitching, especially given Wake Forest's relatively homer-friendly ballpark.

Houston's professional debut offered both encouragement and skepticism. He hit .370 over his first 12 games with Single-A Fort Myers, earning an immediate promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids. The jump proved challenging, however, as he struggled through the final weeks of the season and finished his first professional campaign with a .270/.330/.350 slash line and just one home run.

For many evaluators, those struggles reinforced pre-draft concerns that Houston's bat would ultimately cap his ceiling. Instead, they became the starting point for another adjustment.

A Revamped Swing Has Changed Everything,

Houston spent the offseason working with the Twins to improve his swing path, creating more line-drive carry while maintaining the elite contact skills that had always been part of his game. The goal wasn't to turn him into a slugger. It was to produce harder contact without sacrificing the disciplined approach that already made him difficult to pitch against.

As Houston told MLB.com, the focus was simple: "Being a contact-oriented guy, just trying to hit the ball with more authority."

The results have been impossible to ignore. Across High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita, the 22-year-old is slashing .325/.405/.479 (.884) with nine home runs, 21 doubles and 38 stolen bases. Since earning his promotion to Double-A on June 22, he's been even better, with a .921 OPS including four home runs in the Texas League where he is two years younger than the average age of the competition.

Just 27 games into his Double-A career, Houston owns a 138 wRC+, a remarkable number for a player once viewed as a defense-first prospect.

More Than Just a Good Hitter

Houston's offensive improvements go beyond the traditional numbers. Standing 6-foot-3 with smooth athleticism, he has become one of the organization's best baserunners, stealing 38 bases while being caught only four times.

His approach at the plate is equally impressive. Houston combines above-average walk rates (11.7 BB%) with an exceptionally low chase rate, consistently forcing pitchers into the strike zone. He simplifies everything with two strikes, allowing him to put together mature at-bats while limiting strikeouts. With two outs and runners in scoring position (70 PA), he has a .500 OBP with more walks (13) than strikeouts (10). 

The raw power may never reach the level of other top prospects like Walker Jenkins or Emmanuel Rodriguez, but it doesn't need to. Houston is proving he can impact games by controlling the strike zone, putting the ball in play, creating pressure on the bases, and playing premium defense at the game's most valuable infield position.

The Ceiling May Be Higher Than People Think

Houston still isn't a finished product. Just under 30 games in Double-A don't guarantee he'll become an impact offensive player in the majors, and there is still room for more power to emerge if he continues elevating the baseball consistently. But the biggest concern surrounding his profile has largely disappeared.

At this point, there is little reason to question whether Houston has a major league-caliber bat. Even if his power settles around average, his combination of contact ability, patience, speed and elite defense gives him one of the highest floors in the Twins' farm system. That is a valuable offensive skill set even without 25-home run power. Pair it with plus defense at shortstop, and the overall package becomes significantly more valuable.

That's especially meaningful for a Twins organization searching for a long-term answer at shortstop after trading Carlos Correa. Houston may never become the face of the franchise or headline prospect rankings alongside Jenkins, but he is quickly becoming one of the safest bets in the system to develop into a productive everyday major leaguer.

The labels attached to him coming out of college weren't wrong. They were simply incomplete. One year into his professional career, Houston has evolved into much more than an elite defensive shortstop. He's one of the fastest-rising prospects in baseball, and perhaps the most underrated player in the Twins organization.

---

Is Houston the most underrated player in the Twins organization? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

View full article

[Coach]

Can't wait for Culpepper to get his call up so we can see how Houston handles AAA.

[FlyingFinn]

Answer this question - would we be happy if Houston got to AAA and hit .250 with 10 HR's in 373 AB's? Interesting question because that's what Noah Miller is doing with the Dodgers AAA team (for some who don't know, we traded Miller for Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon - both out of the Twins organization).

[TJSweens]

10 minutes ago, Coach said:

Can't wait for Culpepper to get his call up so we can see how Houston handles AAA.

I'll second this. I'm very confident that Culpepper can give us everything Kreidler does at SS and more right now. Promote Houston to AAA and put him in position to compete for a major league job next spring.

[TL]

It feels like prospect rankings undervalue defense or they just don’t believe in the bat yet, which is understandable. But if he keeps this up the combination of defense and offense starts to look like a top 25 prospect. Is Cooper Pratt a crazy comp?

[HrbieFan]

20 minutes ago, Coach said:

Can't wait for Culpepper to get his call up so we can see how Houston handles AAA.

Hope Pepper starts working on his 3B skills. Houston is so much much better with the glove. He is the reason why the FO should have used Pepper as trade bait for a quality, controllable SP 

[bean5302]

45 minutes ago, Coach said:

Can't wait for Culpepper to get his call up so we can see how Houston handles AAA.

 

22 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

Hope Pepper starts working on his 3B skills. Houston is so much much better with the glove. He is the reason why the FO should have used Pepper as trade bait for a quality, controllable SP 

The Twins have already been having Culpepper play more 3B recently. I don't think Culpepper being called up is a requirement for Houston to move to AAA (or MLB). Culpepper has been ice cold since his return from injury so he's got some rust to work out.

Houston is on his own path right now. There isn't a lot for him left to prove at AA, but getting to 200 PA would be meaningful for sample size. Not sure if the Twins will wait or not.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

I have 1. Vahn Lackey  2A -Walker Jenkins  2B - Houston 4 - Culpepper

Houston ceiling is a better hitting Greg Gagne.  Thats a borderline hall of fame player.  The defense is elite - the hit tool is very very good - he controls his at bats well, the power is improving and he is a menace on the base paths.   His floor was already high.  So yes I think he is a top 25 prospect in my opinion  with a really high floor, and a very high ceiling.  

Now as I have been reminded - prospects are suspects and things change as you go up levels but I have a lot of confidence in all 4 of these players.  

As to Culpepper - there are 9 positions on the baseball field and 3rd base was always going to be a possibility for him.    He can be the shortstop until Houston comes up.  

[killercarewoliva]

51 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

I'll second this. I'm very confident that Culpepper can give us everything Kreidler does at SS and more right now. Promote Houston to AAA and put him in position to compete for a major league job next spring.

I second this. thought. I would add sometimes we see a guy doing so well in AAA for example Fedko and then they come up and don't do much of anything. I think this is why the organizations don't want to bring people up too fast, but we just want them to go ahead and do it don't we? and for me that person is Houston. I even say give him a few swings in September if we are out of it.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

48 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Answer this question - would we be happy if Houston got to AAA and hit .250 with 10 HR's in 373 AB's? Interesting question because that's what Noah Miller is doing with the Dodgers AAA team (for some who don't know, we traded Miller for Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon - both out of the Twins organization).

Noah Miller is doing that in a league and stadium that inflates stats drastically.  Noah Miller was rule 5 draft eligible this year and no one picked him up.  He still isn't on the 40 man.  Miller will be a career .600 OPS defensive replacement player and thats it.   Houston is 2+ years younger.  Houston is the type of player we were hoping Miller could be.   

Millers minor league career slashline   .237/.319/..408

Houston (college and Minors)                .311/.388/.459

Witchita                                                    .318/.396/.538

[Andy MacPhail]

Prospect A, who has poor defense, poor baserunning, strikes out a lot but has high potential power; that prospect will have a high prospect rating. & is in high demand. Prospect B, who is pretty good in defense, gets on base & takes extra ones but lacks power, that prospect has a much lower prospect rating & is ignored. Twins & most of the league buy into that player evaluation, so they draft, hold on to players they should trade & trade players they should hold on to, One tool prospect A is expensive, 4 tools prospect B normally is not. IMO, Twins are trying to change, but the old system is too much in their DNA, When OBP analytics came around, it totally revolutionized the league. Those who didn't change fast enough were left behind.

But HR geeks have taken over completely analytics & warped the outcome. HRs are everything & defense, baserunning, fundamentals, hitters striking out & intangibles like heart are not important. Those who wake up & rightfully balance their player evaluations will, IMO, will have a leg up on those who don't & those who don't will be left behind.

Some like to read into what I write, so let me make this clear; I highly rate Culpepper & wouldn't want to trade him. But what Houston brings to the table, I'd rate him over Culpepper. IMO, Houston is untouchable but if a team bowls me over with an offer I can't refuse for Culpepper, I'll bite. I agree Houston is very underrated. Thanks for the article.

[TopGunn#22]

I completely agree with your rankings Hawkeye.  Jenkins should be getting promoted very soon and Lackey at #1 makes sense.  But rankings really seem to downplay defense and for SS or CF this is crucial.

Houston will always have a positive impact on a game with his defense.  But with a revamped swing that is bearing much fruit, he's absolutely an MLB Top 25 prospect.  I would be happy with a promotion to St. Paul for him once Culpepper is promoted, but I wouldn't be disappointed if they left him in AA.  He has time to keep polishing his game.  An August callup next year would be fine with me if he finishes the year at AA and continues his progress for a good portion of next year at St. Paul.

And some of this might come down to how well Culpepper does at SS and with the bat once he gets called up.   

[TJSweens]

41 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

Hope Pepper starts working on his 3B skills. Houston is so much much better with the glove. He is the reason why the FO should have used Pepper as trade bait for a quality, controllable SP 

It would have taken a lot more than Culpepper to get the kind of pitcher you are describing. The Twins need a whole new infield. Lee is not the answer at 3B, Culpepper could be. 

[TJSweens]

11 minutes ago, killercarewoliva said:

I second this. thought. I would add sometimes we see a guy doing so well in AAA for example Fedko and then they come up and don't do much of anything. I think this is why the organizations don't want to bring people up too fast, but we just want them to go ahead and do it don't we? and for me that person is Houston. I even say give him a few swings in September if we are out of it.

I'm pretty lukewarm on Fedko, but in his defense, he came up basically sat.

[killercarewoliva]

3 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

I'm pretty lukewarm on Fedko, but in his defense, he came up basically sat.

yes

[Coach Wheels]

1 hour ago, TJSweens said:

I'll second this. I'm very confident that Culpepper can give us everything Kreidler does at SS and more right now. Promote Houston to AAA and put him in position to compete for a major league job next spring.

Then put Kriedler in CF, move Keaschall to LF, Larnach to 1st base and Royce can DH.

No bigger disappointment defensively than Royce on this team, in my opinion.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

10 minutes ago, Andy MacPhail said:

But HR geeks have taken over completely analytics & warped the outcome. HRs are everything & defense, baserunning, fundamentals, hitters striking out & intangibles like heart are not important. Those who wake up & rightfully balance their player evaluations will, IMO, will have a leg up those who don't will be left behind.

I would take a team full of really solid hitters.   I would love to find a way to sign Arraez to bat on this team on a 3/4 year contract.   The issue is  finding a defensive fit.  Whether plays some at 2nd, 1st or DH   I would Make it work.  

We still seems to try to find these type of players.  Gonzalez and Mendez are both defensively challenged bat first contact hitters.  Mendez is my boy and has had a really good year in AAA.   He is likely the closest thing we will have to an Arraez like player with a little more power.  

 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

26 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

I'm pretty lukewarm on Fedko, but in his defense, he came up basically sat.

Fedko's career may be done or at least sidelined for likely all of 2027.  Tore his MCL/ACL/LCL the other day.  

[Trov]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Answer this question - would we be happy if Houston got to AAA and hit .250 with 10 HR's in 373 AB's? Interesting question because that's what Noah Miller is doing with the Dodgers AAA team (for some who don't know, we traded Miller for Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon - both out of the Twins organization).

To answer this question, no I would not be happy if Houston made it up to AAA and hit like Noah Miller.  Miller also only has OBP of .319 with an OPS of .727. Also, Miller has 2 stolen bases. So if Houston gets promoted to AAA next year, same age as Miller, and puts up same offense, then no I would not be happy, as that would be a huge regression from his AA stats. Miller has seen a jump in his stats at AAA, than his AA stats.  So maybe he is progressing as he gets older.  

[killercarewoliva]

26 minutes ago, Andy MacPhail said:

Prospect A, who has poor defense, poor baserunning, strikes out a lot but has high potential power; that prospect will have a high prospect rating. & is in high demand. Prospect B, who is pretty good in defense, gets on base & takes extra ones but lacks power, that prospect has a much lower prospect rating & is ignored. Twins & most of the league buy into that player evaluation, so they draft, hold on to players they should trade & trade players they should hold on to, One tool prospect A is expensive, 4 tools prospect B normally is not. IMO, Twins are trying to change, but the old system is too much in their DNA, When OBP analytics came around, it totally revolutionized the league. Those who didn't change fast enough were left behind.

But HR geeks have taken over completely analytics & warped the outcome. HRs are everything & defense, baserunning, fundamentals, hitters striking out & intangibles like heart are not important. Those who wake up & rightfully balance their player evaluations will, IMO, will have a leg up on those who don't & those who don't will be left behind.

Some like to read into what I write, so let me make this clear; I highly rate Culpepper & wouldn't want to trade him. But what Houston brings to the table, I'd rate him over Culpepper. IMO, Houston is untouchable but if a team bowls me over with an offer I can't refuse for Culpepper, I'll bite. I agree Houston is very underrated. Thanks for the article.

thanks for the lessons but for sure we agree on Houston. What is your idea of advancing Houston?

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Answer this question - would we be happy if Houston got to AAA and hit .250 with 10 HR's in 373 AB's? Interesting question because that's what Noah Miller is doing with the Dodgers AAA team (for some who don't know, we traded Miller for Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon - both out of the Twins organization).

Would you be happy with a .727 OPS in a hitter friendly league.?  

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Answer this question - would we be happy if Houston got to AAA and hit .250 with 10 HR's in 373 AB's?

No, that would be quite disappointing.

[DJL44]

21 minutes ago, Coach Wheels said:

Then put Kriedler in CF, move Keaschall to LF, Larnach to 1st base and Royce can DH.

No bigger disappointment defensively than Royce on this team, in my opinion.

If you really want disappointment, play Larnach at first base.

[Trov]

28 minutes ago, Andy MacPhail said:

Prospect A, who has poor defense, poor baserunning, strikes out a lot but has high potential power; that prospect will have a high prospect rating. & is in high demand. Prospect B, who is pretty good in defense, gets on base & takes extra ones but lacks power, that prospect has a much lower prospect rating & is ignored. Twins & most of the league buy into that player evaluation, so they draft, hold on to players they should trade & trade players they should hold on to, One tool prospect A is expensive, 4 tools prospect B normally is not. IMO, Twins are trying to change, but the old system is too much in their DNA, When OBP analytics came around, it totally revolutionized the league. Those who didn't change fast enough were left behind.

But HR geeks have taken over completely analytics & warped the outcome. HRs are everything & defense, baserunning, fundamentals, hitters striking out & intangibles like heart are not important. Those who wake up & rightfully balance their player evaluations will, IMO, will have a leg up on those who don't & those who don't will be left behind.

Some like to read into what I write, so let me make this clear; I highly rate Culpepper & wouldn't want to trade him. But what Houston brings to the table, I'd rate him over Culpepper. IMO, Houston is untouchable but if a team bowls me over with an offer I can't refuse for Culpepper, I'll bite. I agree Houston is very underrated. Thanks for the article.

Power is considered one of the top tools teams are looking for, generally because it is the easiest way to generate offense.  I agree that teams seem to have gone a little overboard on that though.  However, I would disagree that teams do not rate defense up there as well.  For example, you see the top draft picks generally go to SS and CF type guys.  Then as the draft goes on you see 3rd basemen and other OF guys.  Mix in a few 2nd basemen and then finally first basemen.  Catchers are a whole world of their own, if they can hit, they go high, if they cannot hit they go lower, and really just get mixed in throughout.  However, what it shows is teams are looking for guys that can be considered good defenders, combined with top hitting. 

Now, will teams maybe pick the better bat out of the SS over the slightly better defender, sure, but that is in part with a plan of moving them off SS to 3rd or 2nd, but then they will be hopefully a better defending at that position.  Take Culepper for example, his scouting was that he would be a poor defender at SS and move to 3rd, but his bat was good.  Turns out his defense is doing fine, but he will still most likely move to 3rd because Houston will be better defender. 

To follow your proposed premise, teams would take the best power bat, regardless of position every time, and that just does not bare out.  It is always about balancing and weighing the tools.  If you have a high power grade, but no contact skills or defense, that will not grade out over someone with medium power, good hit tool and good defense.   

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Cody Christie said:

The raw power may never reach the level of other top prospects like Walker Jenkins

Houston has 11 HR this season. Jenkins has 6.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

12 minutes ago, old nurse said:

Would you be happy with a .727 OPS in a hitter friendly league.?  

They say in that league to take .100 off the OPS for a realistic number.   So he is .627 hitter in AAA which is affectively his career norms.  

[old nurse]

The notion that the 5th ranked prospect in the system is underrated  is an odd one. Given that these rankings are not an up to the minute thing  the question  probably should be how much higher will he go. 

[Nashvilletwin]

1. Houston is exactly the type of player who can become the face of specifically this franchise.  He does not need to hit 25 plus HRs per season to do that.  We are not the Yankees.

2. Would everyone just cool it on calling up Jenkins and/or Culpepper.  With the lockout looming there is no chance that even this front office would risk them not playing team baseball for much of next year.  ERod is the one who must get healthy and be called up.  Wallner too.  Those are the most realistic call up offensive options.

[TL]

11 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Would everyone just cool it on calling up Jenkins and/or Culpepper.  With the lockout looming there is no chance that even this front office would risk them not playing team baseball for much of next year.

My head agrees with this… but I still irrationally want to see them this year! 

[bean5302]

51 minutes ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Noah Miller is doing that in a league and stadium that inflates stats drastically.  Noah Miller was rule 5 draft eligible this year and no one picked him up.  He still isn't on the 40 man.  Miller will be a career .600 OPS defensive replacement player and thats it.   Houston is 2+ years younger.  Houston is the type of player we were hoping Miller could be.   

Millers minor league career slashline   .237/.319/..408

Houston (college and Minors)                .311/.388/.459

Witchita                                                    .318/.396/.538

Miller is in the middle of major approach changes. He's trying to generate more game power (same thing Houston is doing currently) while simultaneously increasing contact outside the zone, but Miller's having a much harder time with the consistency. Miller needs to be more aggressive at the plate with balls in the zone, and I think he might make it.

Houston is having tremendous success with his adaptations, and he's clearly got a better eye than Miller. Beyond both of them being defensive wizards at SS, there's not a lot to compare or contrast. I still root for Miller, but his ceiling looks far lower than Houston's.