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The Twins bullpen was hanging on by a thread at the end of 2024. Overly taxed by the added workload from a rotation relying disproportionately on rookies, they cracked under the burden. Brock Stewart missed the majority of the season. Caleb Thielbar wasn’t trustworthy. Justin Topa may as well have been Keyser Soze, until he managed two appearances when the Twins' playoff odds had already disappeared.
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Fortune may well smile more kindly on the relief corps in 2025. A foundation of Griffin Jax, Jhoan Durán, Stewart, Cole Sands, and Topa should be viewed with optimism, but we know more arms are likely needed. Jovani Morán, Ronny Henriquez, and Matt Canterino are on the fringes of the mix, but who are the team's most likely internal relief candidates? Let’s dig in.
Jaylen Nowlin, LHP, St Paul
Left-handed relief options were a significant challenge for the 2024 Twins. Thielbar looks as if his best days are behind him. Steven Okert’s best moment of the season was tipping the bullpen cart driver at Nationals Park, and Kody Funderburk missed the majority of the year through injury.
Nowlin has quietly crept his way to St. Paul as a 23-year old, and worked in relief after he moved up in September. A 19th-round pick in 2021, it’s little surprise just how little fanfare Nowlin has received thus far in his minor-league career, but there are some interesting ingredients here. Nowlin’s fastball hit 95 mph and his sinker 96 mph in a short Saints debut. This pairs with a power slider he throws as hard as 88 mph. Nowlin still has work to do finishing off hitters and issuing fewer free passes (11.1 BB% in 2024). Good arm talent from the left side is a commodity, however, so don’t bet against him getting a chance at some point.
Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids
Prielipp may seem like a long shot, based on current level and injury history, but he makes particular sense as a late-season call-up option. His separator is the quality of his stuff (we recently profiled him as one of the most likely names to break into industry-wide top-100 prospect lists from the Twins organization).
Prielipp's history of arm trouble and his three-pitch mix make him an ideal relief option. His fastball would likely play up to 97 mph or above in a late-inning role. This, in addition to a slider that spins its way up to 3,000 rpm and a changeup averaging 16 inches of horizontal break from the left side, stack up as a formidable set of traits for opposing hitters to manage. Left-handed hitters managed just a .462 OPS against Prielipp in 2024. If he can stay healthy, I think he’ll be in the mix by the end of 2025.
Kyle Bischoff, RHP, St Paul
Bischoff is the latest in a long line of intriguing minor-league free-agent signings for the Twins, who seem to accrue significant value around those margins (see Payton Eeeles and Carson McCusker). Already 25 years old, Bischoff is an older prospect who saw time at three MiLB levels in 2024 on his way to a late season call-up to the Saints.
In 61 1/3 innings pitched, Bischoff managed a 3.23 ERA, 2.84 FIP, and 3.48 xFIP, striking out an impressive 29.9% of hitters and walking slightly too many at 10%. So what’s the arsenal underpinning those impressive numbers? Bischoff's is a sinker/slider profile. His sinker gets up to 96 mph, with good horizontal action. There’s also a cutter, gyro slider, and changeup, although his Triple-A sample size is so small that I don’t feel complete confidence in his mix just yet. Regardless, it’s solid stuff in a profile that would add more of an east/west element to the Twins' bullpen (along with Topa). Giving teams varied looks out of the pen is all the rage, and Bischoff can help do that.
Travis Adams, RHP, St Paul
Travis Adams is probably the Twins pitching prospect I’ve heard the least chatter about, and he’s been shortchanged, for my money. A 6th-round pick in 2021, Adams struck out 109 hitters in 108 innings of work at Double A (3.67 ERA) in 2024 before getting 19 Triple-A innings that were more of a challenge.
Adams has a deep, diverse pitch mix consisting of a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup. So, why would he be an option for the bullpen? A ton of competition and a lack of elite starter traits. My guess is he’ll get a long runway in the very deep starting rotation mix at St. Paul in 2024. He’ll find a more direct path as a reliever than through the pack of starting pitching prospects with slightly better stuff. Maybe an extended apprenticeship as a long reliever will help him tap into something, the way it seemed to do for Sands.
Honorable Mentions
There are, of course, plenty of other names who could position themselves in the mix here. There’s a high likelihood that the glut of young starters at St. Paul doesn't all remain starters. Names like Cory Lewis and Marco Raya could end up in relief roles next year, if not permanently. There are also names further down the organization, who could take a more significant leap.
Who do you think are the most likely internal candidates to impact the Twins bullpen in 2025? Make your case in the comments.
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 Prospects
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