Twins Minor League Report (8/20): Saints Bats Power Another Sweep

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Charisma Jones (photo of Brandon WInokur)

TRANSACTIONS   
With the DSL season now complete, the Twins have released infielder Luis Suarez and RHPs Failin Placencio and Wisarly Reinoso. 

The Twins signed RHP Jui-Chieh Lin out of Taiwan about six weeks ago. On Thursday, he was placed on the Fort Myers roster. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 10, Iowa 2 (Completion of Suspended Game)
Box Score
On Wednesday night, the game began a bit late due to rain. When they started, Walker Jenkins drilled a leadoff home run beyond the wall in center field. 

An inning later, Tristan Gray launched a home run to make it 2–0.

Ricky Castro started the game and when the rains came, he had tossed 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. The good? He had five strikeouts. The less-than good? He also walked four batters. 

Then in the bottom of the third, the rains came again, and the game was suspended. That’s where the game started on Thursday. 

When the game resumed on Thursday, Trent Baker took the mound. He gave up two solo homers, but he struck out eight batters over 4 1/3 innings. Eric Orze and Marco Raya combined for the final seven outs without allowing a base runner. They combined for three strikeouts, and Raya had three strikeouts. 

The Saints batters just kept adding on. They scored two runs in four of their final five innings to take a commanding lead and the win. All eight additional runs came on homers as well.  

In the fifth inning, David Banuelos knocked a two-out single. Jenkins followed with his second home run of the game.   

The top of the sixth inning began with homers by Gabriel Gonzalez and Tristan Gray, his second of the game. 

In the top of the eighth, Emmanuel Rodriguez walked, and Gonzalez knocked his second homer of the day.

In the top of the ninth inning, Kala’i Rosario was hit by a pitch. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with another two-run homer to give them a 10-2 lead. 

Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a walk and his 14th and 15th home runs. Jenkins was 2-for-4 with a walk and his eighth and ninth home runs. Gray went 2-for-5 with his first two Saints home runs. Rodriguez hit his seventh home run and had a walk. Matt Wallner hit his 11th double and had a walk.  

Game 2: St. Paul 8, Columbus 6 (Regularly Scheduled Game)
Box Score
The Saints completed the sweep thanks to a big, four-run sixth inning to put themselves 20-games over .500. 

With two outs in the top of the second, Tanner Schobel walked. Noah Cardenas kept the day’s theme going by launching a two-run homer to give the Saints the first runs of the game. 

In the top of the third inning, Matt Wallner hit his franchise-record 23rd home run of the season. 

The shortened game was basically a bullpen game for the Saints. Jack Anderson started and went three innings. He gave up five runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Garrett Acton came on and gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. He also struck out three batters. 

In the top of the fifth inning, the Saints did something unusual. With two outs, Gabriel Gonzalez walked. He then scored on a Matt Wallner double. After 11 runs scored on home runs, the team finally found another way to score. 

Down 5-4 going to the sixth inning, Kala’i Rosario led off with a game-tying home run. 

Tanner Schobel singled and Ben Ross walked before Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a three-run homer that gave the Saints an 8-5 lead. 

Julian Merryweather gave up one run on two hits over the final two innings to record his fifth save since coming back from injury. He had five strikeouts. 

Wallner went 2-for-3 with a walk, his 12th double and 23rd homer. Rosario went 2-for-4 with his first AAA double and his third Saints homer.  Rodriguez’s homer was his eight with the Saints. He also walked. Cardenas homered for the 11th time this season. Ross walked twice, and Schobel had a single and a walk. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Frisco 4
Box Score
The Wind Surge had the opportunity to face a rehabbing-Jack Leiter on Thursday night. 

The Surge grabbed a four-run lead in the top of the third. With one out, Jaime Ferrer reached on an error. Marek Houston walked. Jake Rucker hit his ninth double to drive in two runs. Brandon Winokur followed with a homer to make it 4-0. 

In the fourth inning, Andrew Cossetti walked before Leiter was removed from the game. Kyle DeBarge and Jay Thomason singled to load the baseball. Houston came up and drove in two runs with a single to make it 6-1. 

Preston Johnson started and gave up two runs on two hits (both solo homers) over four innings. He walked one and had five strikeouts. Hunter Gregory gave up two runs on two walks in his inning. 

Through five innings, the Surge lead was down to 6-4. In the top of the sixth, Cossetti led off with a single. DeBarge walked. Jay Thomason singled to drive in Cossetti with the team’s seventh run. DeBarge scored on a double play to make it 8-4. 

Cory Lewis came in and shut the door. He gave up three hits over four shutout innings. He walked none and had four strikeouts. 

Brandon Winokur went 2-for-5 with his second triple and seventh Wichita home run. Cossettie, DeBarge and Thomason each went 2-for-3 with a walk. Marek Houston was 1-for-3 with two walks. He also stole his 24th and 25th bases. 

KERNEL NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 2
Box Score
The Kernels grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third? How? Well, with one out Danny De Andrade was one third base, and Byron Chourio was on second base. Yasser Mercedes flew out to right field, deep enough that De Andrade scored. But it was close because a strong throw from right field was cut off by the first baseman who threw across the diamond to third base where a sliding Chourio was called out. However, De Andrade scored before the tag at third, so the team had a 1-0 lead. 

Adrian Bohorquez is on a roll!! The righty gave up one run on one hit (a solo home run) over five innings. He walked two and had seven strikeouts. 

Merit Jones came on and gave up one run on four hits over three runs. He struck out two batters. 

The Kernels had four hits and five walks. They were 0-for-5 with five runners left in scoring position. There were no multi-hit games or extra base hits. De Andrade had a single and a walk. JP Smith walked twice. Yasser Mercedes stole his 35th base with the Kernels. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, Palm Beach 1
Box Score
Cristian Hernandez gave up one run on one hit over four innings. He hit two batters and had three strikeouts. Jake Covey struck out five batters over three shutout innings. He gave up one hit and walked one batter. Hendry Chivilli struck out two over two scoreless, one-hit innings. 

In the top of the second inning, Isaiah Lane (who, along with Colby Turner have been the top performers among the Twins 2026 draft picks) went to the opposite field for his first professional home run. 

In the fifth inning, Bryce Fowler and Hideki Prather reached base. Murphy Hernandez drilled his fourth home run of the season to give the Mussels a 4-1 lead. 

With two outs in the sixth, Jimmy Keenan and Bryce Fowler singled before Hideki Prather was hit by a pitch to lead the bases. That brought Hernandez to the plate. He lined a single to center to drive in two more runs and give his team a 6-1 lead.   

The Mussels added two more in the top of the ninth, Ramiro Dominguez and Yovanny Duran walked. Lane singled to drive in Dominguez, and then Lane stole second base. A throwing error allowed Duran to score the eighth run. 

Hernandez went 2-for-5 with his fourth homer and five RBI. Lane was 2-for-5 with his first pro homer and his third stolen base. Fowler was 2-for-2 with two walks.  The Mussels combined for 16 strikeouts in the game. You don’t want to look at Quentin Young’s performance on Thursday. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 3-for-4. BB, 2-HR(15), 2 R, 3 RBI;
Brandon Winokur (Wichita): 2-for-5, 3B(2), HR(7), R, 2 RBI.
Merphy Hernandez (Fort Myers): 2-for-5, HR(4), R, 5 RBI. 

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Cory Lewis (Wichita): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Adrian Bohorquez (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today.

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - Game 1: 2-for-4, BB, 2 HR(9), 2 R, 3 RBI, K (batted first, played CF).
#4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB(25) (batted first, played SS)
#6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-4, BB, HR(7), 2 R, 3 RBI (batted fifth, DHd); Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, HR(8), R, 3 RBI, 2 K (batted second, played CF)
#7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - Game 2: 0-for-4 (batted fifth, played LF)
#8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K (batted second, played Catcher)
#9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 3-for-4, BB, 2 HR(15), 2 R, 3 RBI (batted sixth, played LF/1B); Game 2: 0-for-3, BB, R
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 3B(2), HR(7), R, 2 RBI (batted third, played CF)
#18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-5, 5 K (batted sixth, played DH)
#19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, SF RBI, 2 K (batted first, played CF)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Friday, August 21
St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 pm CT) - LHP Kendry Rojas (2-0, 3.27 ERA) 
Wichita @ Frisco (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (1-4, 3.64 ERA)
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (2-1, 2.38 ERA)
Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 pm CT) - TBD

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 63-65
St. Paul Saints: 71-51
Wichita Wind Surge: 48-67
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-71
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 63-52
FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete)
DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete)

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 

View full article

[DJL44]

Good to see Emmanuel Rodriguez heating up 

[Jeff K]

It's pretty difficult to not be excited about how well the top prospects are performing.  

[arby58]

14 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

It's pretty difficult to not be excited about how well the top prospects are performing.  

And how poorly Quentin Young is performing. 5 Ks last night - now struck out in 45% of his plate appearances. He also has 30 errors in 278 chances. By contrast, Culpepper had 4 in 229 chances at St. Paul. He certainly looks like a DH, in the field at least.

[Jeff K]

Just now, arby58 said:

And how poorly Quentin Young is performing. 5 Ks last night - now struck out in 45% of his plate appearances. He also has 30 errors in 278 chances. By contrast, Culpepper had 4 in 229 chances at St. Paul. He certainly looks like a DH, in the field at least.

With our last fan rankings, I left Quentin Young off...and it was an easy call.  He is not a legit prospect.

[Mike Sixel]

I've given up reading these, given all the links to x. Too bad. It's what first brought me here. If only the minors had the highlights on their pages........oh, wait, they do. 

But I do read the end and people's comments. 

[Yoke]

Wichita has seemed to really take off once Houston and Winkour came up. Ideally both start in AAA next year, and we can see  where it goes from there.

 

Young…oofda.

[Althebum82]

Nice idea trying a short Jack Anderson start, but not with promising results.  Sigh.

The Saints are hitting so many home runs that apparently starting pitching is irrelevant.

Rojas is an obvious pitching call-up twelve days from now.  Jenkins the hitter?  It's too bad that we can't find a way to trade some of this offensive talent (Wallner, Sabato) for a pitcher with even a modest future.

Lastly, sure would like to see Acton and Merryweather brought up in the bullpen some day.

[mikelink45]

At this point I think many of us have read enough about the power and bats in St Paul and consider it time for trades and call ups and DFAs to create some clarity and paths for the next round of prospects.  It seems as if prospects are good currency so let's use them for what we really need. 

[bean5302]

Zoll failed to address the major roster construction problem at the deadline which is consistent with the lack of awareness of this front office's history. Now, Jenkins' breakout is starting to extend too far to ignore. A couple weeks ago, it was a random couple of good games. As the games go by and Jenkins just keeps raking, the confirmation of him breaking out vs. having a little hot streak is being established.

There are 26 (soon 28) roster spots, but only 9 spots in the lineup.

Roden is easy to option to make room for Jenkins, but Roden doesn't play a lot. I think it makes the most sense to replace Keaschall (as probably the absolute worst defensive player in MLB) with Jenkins in the outfield, but there's no room at DH because the Twins have Bell there, and Larnach should be a DH. I don't think Keaschall is a huge downgrade over Larnach in LF.

I guess move Keaschall to LF where his speed can play and he doesn't have to hold runners from advancing as often? Larnach gets starts at DH vs. righties and Bell against lefties.

 

[jmlease1]

Houston is having a nice week; starting to look like he's pulling out of that slump he had when he hit the wall in August. Hopefully he finishes the season strong. Lot to like there and his overall numbers are excellent. It's getting easier to envision an infield with Culpepper at 2B or 3B and Houston at SS.

I like having Houston at the same level as Winokur; it should keep Winokur from playing SS, lol. But I'm pretty pleased with what we've seen from Winokur this season: there's real improvement at the plate and the improvement we saw in Cedar Rapids seems to have carried over to Wichita. He still got some things to work on, but it's getting easier to project him at CF (my preference, i think) or 3B (not unreasonable either) as being someone who could be plus player on both sides, offense and defense.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

At this point I think many of us have read enough about the power and bats in St Paul and consider it time for trades and call ups and DFAs to create some clarity and paths for the next round of prospects.  It seems as if prospects are good currency so let's use them for what we really need. 

Since nobody who is or has been on the 40 man roster can be traded, the only trades worth potentially making are for swapping prospects. Prospects who are not and have not been on the 40 man this year. Meaning guys like Emma cannot be traded for MLB ready pitching, for example. That said, teams who would potentially trade MLB ready pitchers who are not on the 40 man are the same teams who wouldn't trade for a prospect.

So basically, trades are out.

DFA's of players who haven't established themselves as quality players? We don't have any of those who are regularly receiving playing time so it doesn't help.

[bean5302]

Nice to see Houston starting to come out of what was a pretty rough stretch. Looks like he's changing his approach to find out where the sweet spot of power vs. strike outs is for himself.

[rdehring]

2 hours ago, Althebum82 said:

Nice idea trying a short Jack Anderson start, but not with promising results.  Sigh.

The Saints are hitting so many home runs that apparently starting pitching is irrelevant.

Rojas is an obvious pitching call-up twelve days from now.  Jenkins the hitter?  It's too bad that we can't find a way to trade some of this offensive talent (Wallner, Sabato) for a pitcher with even a modest future.

Lastly, sure would like to see Acton and Merryweather brought up in the bullpen some day.

Don't forget that Ryan will be coming off IL.  For Rojas to be called up, someone will need to go down.  I would love to see him, just don't know what's going to happen.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, rdehring said:

Don't forget that Ryan will be coming off IL.  For Rojas to be called up, someone will need to go down.  I would love to see him, just don't know what's going to happen.

Ryan is expected to be weeks away. Just threw a small bullpen session recently.

[LyleCole]

The time to call Emmanual Rodriguez up to the majors is NOW.   His main problem has been injuries, so instead of being injured at the minor league level, lets get over our fear and let him get injured at the major league level.  At least we can get him some plate appearances and see if his approach can carry over to the highest level of ball.

[DocBauer]

A really good day on the farm!

AAA:

I appreciate what Zoll recently said about Jenkins not coming up yet and why. The team is still trying for the playoffs and they don't want to mess with what's working, more or less. But Jenkins isn't an ordinary prospect. He's potentially a future cornerstone of a strong lineup. You MAKE ROOM for a player like that. No offense to Roden, or what Larnach has done this season, but it's time for Jenkins to replace Roden and play almost daily. It's up to Shelton to make it happen. 

Is Rodriguez heating up? Sure looks like it. And speaking of young OF that need to play....

I sorta get the Twins bringing Jackson back up to replace the injured Martin, allowing Jeffers to DH or PH, etc, when he's not behind the dish. But still, even with an uneven season, I would given Gonzalez a shot. I mean, he's already on the 40 man.

While a SSS, I liked what I saw of Anderson when with the Twins. I thought he flashed a really nice breaking ball. I think he might have a future in the pen.

Speaking of the pen, Raya has looked better his last few appearances. And again, SSS, I didn't think Acton looked bad earlier in the season before his injury. Merryweather hasn't had a great ML career, but not a poor one either. But he's also 34yo. Still, he's having a very good season for the Saints. A possible call up if someone gets hurt??

On the negative side, I've seen Cardenas flash a little the past couple of months and think he's turning a corner. And then I look at his season stats and realize he's still having a poor year with the bat even with his power output. Definitely one of the "most disappointing" on my list. But I think he's still back in 2027 to see if he can right the ship. He's got the defensive chops to be a good ML backup.

AA:

Houston once again hot after a mini slump. I'm serious when I ask if he should be considered a possible Opening Day option at SS for 2027? I'm OK with him begining next season at St Paul. It makes sense. But it's also not unprecedented for the Twins to move a Top Prospect straight from AA, although that was with a different FO in charge. I think, at the least, he deserves more than just a cursory look in ST next year.

Is Winokur's development this season the biggest and most fun/interesting MILB story that we aren't talking enough about? In a couple of years, I'm serious when I say he might be the Twins best young CF currently in the system. He'd also make a hell of a good 3B! And IF the team in place is so set...wouldn't that be a nice problem to have?...he could be a tremendous 1B with a collection of power and speed that you just hardly ever see. 

Cory Lewis began his AA appearances a little shaky. Since his first couple of starts, he's only had 1 bad appearance in his last 5 or 6. That's really nice to see. I'm still not sure that his future isn't in the bullpen as a 2 IP arm that can baffle opposing lineups mid game. But it sure is nice to see him healthy again and throwing well.

A+:

If we could ever get and keep Bohorquez healthy and consistent, he could sky rocket up the prospect charts! 

Keep your eye on Merit Jones as the Twins really like him. Despite a relatively poor college career, they drafted him late in 2024, didn't sign him, and then drafted him earlier in the 2025 draft despite not having a good senior season. But he tore up Ft Myers opponents in his debut this season before his promotion to CR a couple weeks ago. 

It's been a rough season for CR, unusually so. Injuries to pitchers who were supposed to be there hasn't helped, and a couple of their best players received deserving promotions to AA. But there's a handful of talented International kids who are finishing the season strong.

A-:

I think it's really fun to look at the daily box scores here and see the lineup covered almost entirely by player selections from the recent draft. A couple guys are off to great starts, a couple are off to OK starts. Of course, in the long run, it doesn't really matter. These are kids who played, then sat waiting for the draft, then went to Ft Myers for brief instructs, then were assigned to go play ball again daily and finish the season. But it's still fun to see all of these names. 

The A level seasons will be over fairly soon. I don't think anything Vahn Lackey is doing, or not doing, with his bat matters. He's had enough time at Ft Myers for his initial "professional adjustment" time. He should finish the season at CR as a springboard for 2027.

For those already giving up on Quentin Young, just STOP. He's a SUPER TALENTED kid who is in his 1st professional season after a handful of games late in 2025. While he might not match him in speed, he's a virtual clone of Winokur. He's a low floor, but extremely high ceiling prospect that you take chances on once in a while. In fact, if you draft smart, you try to take one of those types of prospects in every draft. It takes time to develop those teenage picks. And you might only hit on 1 of every 3 or 4 to actually make it, but the payoff is worth it when you do!

He's played mostly SS so far because that's what he's used to. Also, right or wrong, the Twins believe more time, more chances at SS, will only make an INF better at 3B. And that's probably where he slides down to next season. And he has the arm and speed to become a powerful corner OF as well. And at WORST, he'd be an athletic 1B with power, decent speed, and a strong arm.

But can we just STOP with the idea of a 19yo kid at A- ball being a non prospect with a mediocre season? Honestly, it's just ridiculous. 

[Obsvr]

3 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Zoll failed to address the major roster construction problem at the deadline which is consistent with the lack of awareness of this front office's history.

 

 

Its cute that you think these guys who spend their entire working lives managing an organization have a "lack of awareness".

[DJL44]

54 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

For those already giving up on Quentin Young, just STOP. He's a SUPER TALENTED kid who is in his 1st professional season after a handful of games late in 2025. While he might not match him in speed, he's a virtual clone of Winokur. He's a low floor, but extremely high ceiling prospect that you take chances on once in a while. In fact, if you draft smart, you try to take one of those types of prospects in every draft. It takes time to develop those teenage picks. And you might only hit on 1 of every 3 or 4 to actually make it, but the payoff is worth it when you do!

He's played mostly SS so far because that's what he's used to. Also, right or wrong, the Twins believe more time, more chances at SS, will only make an INF better at 3B. And that's probably where he slides down to next season. And he has the arm and speed to become a powerful corner OF as well. And at WORST, he'd be an athletic 1B with power, decent speed, and a strong arm.

But can we just STOP with the idea of a 19yo kid at A- ball being a non prospect with a mediocre season? Honestly, it's just ridiculous. 

He’s not having a mediocre season. He’s having a terrible season. Can you find even one player who struck out 45% of the time in low A, figured it out and had a career?

[bean5302]

25 minutes ago, Obsvr said:

 

Its cute that you think these guys who spend their entire working lives managing an organization have a "lack of awareness".

It's cute you think all front offices perform well when compared to their peers. Welcome to my ignore list.

[bean5302]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

He’s not having a mediocre season. He’s having a terrible season. Can you find even one player who struck out 45% of the time in low A, figured it out and had a career?

Yep. Young could be released today and I'd have no complaints. He's a total non-prospect. If he was striking out 35% of the time, it'd be dicey enough. Even worse is Young knows the zone well enough, he's just completely overwhelmed by A-ball pitchers.

He knows a strike is coming, but can't hit it.

[chpettit19]

23 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Yep. Young could be released today and I'd have no complaints. He's a total non-prospect. If he was striking out 35% of the time, it'd be dicey enough. Even worse is Young knows the zone well enough, he's just completely overwhelmed by A-ball pitchers.

He knows a strike is coming, but can't hit it.

Hey, that's a 13% jump in zone contact rate! At this rate, he'll be at 100% in 3 more seasons.

He won't be long for professional baseball if he doesn't make some pretty crazy strides in that department.

[DocBauer]

36 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

He’s not having a mediocre season. He’s having a terrible season. Can you find even one player who struck out 45% of the time in low A, figured it out and had a career?

First of all, I think this is a silly argument for a 19yo kid in his first professional season. But perhaps you are just bored and want to bang on someone.

At the same 19yo age he's behind Winokur except in HR totals. And he's got a LONG WAY to reach MLB. But he's got real power and real athleticism, and a powerful arm for 3B or the OF. But you've already decided he isn't a ML ballplayer at 19 yo? I wonder what you thought of Polanco and Arraez when they were coming up? 

We can agree to disagree, but I have a really hard dismissing Young as a 19yo kid still feeling his way as a professional in his  rookie year. 

Do you have an agenda against prospects this young with talent and projection after ONE professional season in which they don't dominate? 

This argument is just ridiculous until we see what transpires in 2027. Period.

[Brock Beauchamp]

8 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I've given up reading these, given all the links to x. Too bad. It's what first brought me here. If only the minors had the highlights on their pages........oh, wait, they do. 

But I do read the end and people's comments. 

We get it, you don't like X. Neither do we, but it's the only place a lot of original content is posted. Go harangue the creators who are using that instead of Bluesky or Threads or whatever, and please stop commenting this in recaps.

[DJL44]

22 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

First of all, I think this is a silly argument for a 19yo kid in his first professional season. But perhaps you are just bored and want to bang on someone.

At the same 19yo age he's behind Winokur except in HR totals. And he's got a LONG WAY to reach MLB. But he's got real power and real athleticism, and a powerful arm for 3B or the OF. But you've already decided he isn't a ML ballplayer at 19 yo? I wonder what you thought of Polanco and Arraez when they were coming up? 

We can agree to disagree, but I have a really hard dismissing Young as a 19yo kid still feeling his way as a professional in his  rookie year. 

Do you have an agenda against prospects this young with talent and projection after ONE professional season in which they don't dominate? 

This argument is just ridiculous until we see what transpires in 2027. Period.

He has had access to the best prep coaching available and played at the highest levels including the 18U national team. This is not his first exposure to pitchers who throw 90+. He can’t hit balls pitched in the strike zone. He isn’t getting any better, even though they overhauled his swing during the offseason. It has been a full year and he hasn’t adjusted at all.

Winokur is an okay prospect. He struck out 28% at the same age and level. Polanco struck out 11% of the time at the same age and level. Arraez struck out 10% at the same age and level. Young strikes out 45% of the time. He is leading the Florida State League in strikeouts by 32 over the next closest batter. Nobody else in the entire league is striking out more than 40% of the time. Are you seeing the difference now?

He is #2 in strikeouts in all of minor league baseball and the #1 player (Elijah Green) strikes out 43% of the time. Green was the Nationals #3 prospect in 2023 after the draft, dropped to #6 a year later, 25th in 2025 and is now off the list. That is the best comp for Quentin Young.

If Young had gone to LSU instead of the draft and put up this batting line in college he would be undrafted. That doesn’t even factor in his struggles on defense. He’s even been caught stealing 9 times against 7 stolen bases. This season has been a complete disaster for him.