Twins Daily 2024 Top Prospects: #16-20

Last night, we began the 2024 Twins Daily Top Prospects series with a way-too-deep dive into the deeper end of the Minnesota Twins system. The honorable mentions are broken into several categories of players who fell just outside the Top 20. There are certainly players in that group who will play in the big leagues.

With that said, the odds of an MLB future increase as we jump into the Top 20 of our list. In today’s group of five players, we find an intriguing group that includes players whose careers have been affected by injury. 

20. Zebby Matthews, RHP 
Age: 23
2023 Stats (Low-A/High-A): 105 1/3 IP, 3.84 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 1.3 BB/9 
Matthews was the Twins' eighth-round pick in 2022 out of Western Carolina. In his final year there, he had 122 strikeouts and just 21 walks over 95 2/3 innings. Matthews is a strike-throwing machine. In his 105 1/3 innings, he had 112 strikeouts and just 15 walks. 

Matthews sits in the low 90s. He reworked his slider and made it break much more, which made it much more of a weapon for him. He began the season with eight appearances in Fort Myers, where he went 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA. In 38 2/3 innings, he had 53 strikeouts and just five walks. He moved up to Cedar Rapids and made 14 appearances, 13 of them starts. He went 4-2 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. 

He will need to continue to work and develop, like any prospect in A-ball. He will work to add some velocity and hone a third pitch.

19. Simeon Woods Richardson
Age: 23
2023 Stats (AAA): 113 2/3 IP, 4.91 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 
2023 Stats (MLB): 4 2/3 IP, 9.64 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 5.8 BB/9 
It was a tale of two seasons for Woods Richardson. He had a rough first half of his 2023 season, and a much-improved second half didn’t make the overall numbers look pretty. However, the Sugar Land native was very good over the season's final three months. 

2023 Stats (April - June): 51 2/3 IP, 0-5, 7.66 ERA, 1.90 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 5.4 BB/9 
2023 Stats (July - Sept)): 66 2/3 IP, 7-1, 3.11 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 

I may be wrong, but to me this speaks to Woods Richardson's character, mental fortitude, and willingness to work and make adjustments. He will need to continue working on his control and command, but the second-half numbers should give reason for some optimism. What is also important to note is that he will spend the entire 2024 season at age 23. His velocity was down slightly in 2023, usually sitting 89-90 and touching 92. But he worked on some mechanical things this offseason to get that number back up. He’s young and talented. 

18. Ricardo Olivar, C/OF
Age: 21
2023 Stats (Rookie/A): 449 PA, .285/.403/.452, 28 2B, 10 HR, 58 RBI
Olivar signed with the Twins in 2019, out of Venezuela. Because of Covid, his pro career did not begin until 2021. He started in the FCL and hit .204 in 34 games and 59 plate appearances. He returned to the FCL in 2022 and was much improved. In 40 games and 154 plate appearances, he hit .349/.442/.605, with 12 doubles, three triples, and five home runs. He played 100 games for the Mighty Mussels in 2023 and hit well throughout the season. He struck out in 21% of his plate appearances. He walked 13% of the time, and was hit by a pitch 16 times. 

Olivar is intriguing because he is young and has a couple of plus tools. He isn’t tall, but he is built quite strong. He’s got work to do behind the plate. He hasn’t thrown out many base stealers in his career. He also has the speed and athleticism to play in the outfield. He had played quite a bit of center field, but spent more time in left field in 2023. He also played 22 games at DH, which tells us that they really wanted his bat in the lineup, and rightfully so. Our Jamie Cameron wrote about what makes Olivar such a fun enigma earlier today.

17. Connor Prielipp, LHP 
Age: 23
2023 Stats (Hi-A/FCL): 6 2/3 IP, 6.75 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 5.4 BB/9 
Last year had to be an incredibly frustrating one for Prielipp. The Tomah, Wis. native went to the University of Alabama. He was terrific in four starts before the 2020 Covid season ended. In 2021, he made three starts for the Crimson Tide before his elbow blew up. He had Tommy John surgery and rehabbed through the rest of the 2021 year and well into 2022. Nevertheless, the Twins love his upside, talent, and stuff and used their second-round pick on the southpaw.

In 2023, he was the talk of Fort Myers. The hitters and pitchers were talking about how good he looked. He was throwing hard, consistently in the mid-90s. And his slider was lights out, getting a ton of swings and misses. He started the season with High-A Cedar Rapids. He made one start and gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out three batters. But then he didn’t pitch, and soon afterward, we found out he was back in Fort Myers with elbow pain. Two months after his first start, he made a start in the FCL. He went 2 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. And that was it. 

Soon after, we learned that he was having another elbow surgery (not Tommy John). His season was over. His talent and ceiling remain very high. However, since graduating from high school in 2019, he has thrown a total of 34 2/3 innings. He has already been in Fort Myers this spring and hopes that 2024 is the season that everything comes together.  

16. Matt Canterino, RHP
Age: 26
2023 Stats (AA): Did Not Pitch
Canterino was the Twins' second-round pick in 2019, out of Rice University. Since then, he has worked a total of 85 innings. When minor-league ball returned in 2021, Canterino went to Cedar Rapids. He completely dominated the level for five starts. He had 43 strikeouts and four walks in 21 innings. Unfortunately, he hurt his elbow and spent the rest of the season rehabbing, hoping to return. In 2022, he started the season at Wichita. He threw three innings most times out, and again, he had a 1.83 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 37 innings. Unfortunately, his elbow just never got right. Following the season, he had Tommy John surgery and spent all of 2023 rehabbing. 

By season’s end, Canterino threw some live batting practice. He was hitting 97 mph. He felt good about his breaking pitches and his changeup. He has had a reasonably normal offseason and will head to spring training ready to compete for a big-league job. He is training to be a starter but is certainly open to a role in the bullpen if that is earned. 

Canterino is tough to rank. Assuming health, he has as much talent and stuff and potential to dominate as any other pitcher on the Twins farm. However, he has pitched so little over the past four years that we can’t be entirely confident about how much he can do. While I typically don’t think that injury should push a prospect very far down rankings, I also acknowledge that 'age to level of competition' is a factor in prospect rankings. However, as a Twins fan, his prospect ranking doesn’t matter as much as him simply getting right. The Twins control his rights until he completes six years of service.

Feel free to discuss these prospects and ask as many questions as you like in the COMMENTS below. I will try to get to as many of them as possible.

For more Twins Daily content on these five Twins prospects, click on the link with their name here: Matt Canterino, Connor Prielipp, Ricardo Olivar, Simeon Wood Richardson, and Zebby Matthews. 

Previous Installments
Honorable Mention 
Prospects 16-20 
Prospects 11-15 - Coming Soon!

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!