Twins Video
At one point in time, it looked like Twins pitching prospect Marco Raya was on his way to becoming a key piece of the organization’s pitching staff. After being selected in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of high school, he had to wait a little longer than expected to begin his professional career. A shoulder strain wiped out his entire 2021 season, but he came back in 2022 and showed why the Twins had been so intrigued by him.
Raya posted a 3.05 ERA with 76 strikeouts over 65 innings in Low-A that season, giving him a strong foundation to build on. He followed that with another impressive year at High-A in 2023, which earned him a promotion to Double-A at just 20 years old. Just one year later, he was knocking on the door of Triple-A. He only made one start at that level in 2024, but it was an impressive one: he tossed five scoreless innings. At that point, it felt like the Twins had found a potential frontline starter who was flying through the organization.
But from there, things started to unravel. Raya has been pretty much stuck in St. Paul for the last couple of years, and some of the issues that have plagued him have become increasingly difficult to overlook. Too many barrels have hurt him, and the Twins have now transitioned him into a relief role. Suddenly, the frontline starter upside that once made Raya one of the more intriguing arms in the system seems to have disappeared. But that doesn’t necessarily mean his future with the Twins has disappeared with it.
Despite a couple of rough years in St. Paul, Raya finally made his major-league debut in 2026. He only appeared in three games before being optioned back to Triple-A, but he allowed just two earned runs over six innings. Obviously, six innings is nowhere near enough to draw any definitive conclusions. The underlying numbers from such a small sample need to be taken with a grain of salt, but there were still some encouraging signs. His secondary pitches generated whiffs; he did a good job limiting hard contact, and most importantly, the overall arsenal looked like something that can work at the major-league level.
His fastball has been sitting around 96 miles per hour in St. Paul, giving him a solid foundation to build the rest of his arsenal around. Both his sweeper and curveball have strong movement profiles, and the sweeper generated plenty of whiffs during his brief time in the majors. The increased usage of that pitch has also been one of the more interesting developments for Raya this season. He has leaned on the sweeper substantially more than he did before, and he's also increased his usage of the changeup. That change is a little firmer than normal, coming in around 90 MPH, but it generates plenty of deception and plays well off his fastball.
That combination could give Raya a pretty interesting mix in a bullpen role. He also has a cutter, although he really isn’t throwing it much anymore. In reality, the pitch looks more like a hard slider than a traditional cutter, which could explain why it has fallen out of his mix. Still, it could be a usable offering if the Twins decide they want him to bring it back more often.
The biggest question is whether Raya can finally start turning all of that stuff into consistent results. His overall numbers at Triple-A this season are far from outstanding, and the home run problem in particular has continued to follow him. One out of every four hits he's allowed this year has left the ballpark, which has hurt his overall stat line and dents any confidence that he could be a valuable high-leverage arm. At the same time, there are some reasons to believe he's made progress. Compared to 2025, his walk and strikeout rates have both improved substantially. If he can clean up the long balls, there's still a world where he carves out a meaningful role in the Twins’ bullpen.
It may not be the role anyone envisioned when he was flying through the organization as a 20-year-old. There was a point when it looked like Raya could eventually become a frontline starter, and that path has clearly taken a major turn. But a change in role doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the road. He's still only 24, and the Twins have already seen enough from his arsenal to know that there's something to work with. A 96-MPH fastball, a whiff-heavy sweeper and a changeup with plenty of movement give him the ingredients of a legitimate major-league pitcher. Now, it’s about finding the right way to put everything together.
Do you approve of Twins ownership?
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!
View Twins Top ProspectsFollow Twins Daily For Minnesota Twins News & Analysis
- DocBauer, gman, thelanges5 and 3 others
-
6
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now