Who Will Be the Next Top-100 Prospect for the Minnesota Twins?

The Twins farm system had remarkable success in 2024. For a drafting and development organization, prospects taking significant leaps forward in their development is crucial to sustain minor-league depth and buoy a MLB roster trying to compete for the playoffs. 

Three Twins prospects ascended to Top 100 global prospect status with their 2024 performances. David Festa (who was likely a top 125 name entering 2024) entered and graduated. Zebby Matthews’ remarkable MiLB season started in Cedar Rapids and ended on the Twins roster. Finally Luke Keaschall, the Twins second round pick in 2023, hit his way into a top 75 spot on most industry lists.

Who are the next most likely candidates to take a step forward and become Top 100 prospects? Let’s dig in.

Connor Prielipp, LHP, 23, High A Cedar Rapids
Prielipp worked his way back from his second TJ surgery in 2024. While health has been a question mark, his stuff has not. In eight starts (on strict pitch counts) in 2024, he struck out 42.2% of hitters at Cedar Rapids (14.77 per 9) and walked just 8.4% (2.95 per 9). Prielipp relied on a fastball up to 96 mph, a diabolical slider that he routinely generates more than 3,000rpms on, and an under-discussed changeup that has a ton of horizontal break (16.1 average in the very small samples size we have access to). All this while learning to pitch all over again.

Prielipp will likely start in 2025 at Double-A. There will be peaks and valleys as he continues to build his pitch count. It’s possible he might need to add a fourth pitch down the line to continue to start. Prielipp has some of the best stuff in the Twins organization. A clean bill of health may result in him rocketing up rankings in 2025.

Kaelen Culpepper, SS, 21, High A Cedar Rapids
If you were handicapping this race, Culpepper is probably the safest pick. A college bat with a solid track record from a good conference who checked the initial boxes in professional baseball. 

Culpepper made short work of Fort Myers. He didn’t swing and miss at a pitch once in nine games at Fort Myers, hitting .297/.366/.541 (.907) with five extra base hits in his stint in the Florida State League. Culpepper slowed down significantly at Cedar Rapids, which I’m putting down to the grind of his longest ever baseball season. Twins personnel raved about his defense and preparation. He’ll start 2025 at Cedar Rapids with a chance, like Luke Keaschall before him, to kick on to Wichita with a strong opening to the season.

Dasan Hill, LHP, 18, Yet to Debut
This is a bold take, admittedly, for a player who hasn’t thrown a pitch in professional baseball. Clearly, with prep arms, risk is extreme and variance is the range of possible outcomes is wide, but you can connect the dots here.

The Twins selected Hill 69th overall in 2024 in a class deep with diverse prep arms. He’s been up to 97 mph with his fastball. In his slider and curveball, he has two distinct breaking pitches (breakers often blur together in prep arms), and he’s shown feel for a changeup. In their pre-draft scouting report, FanGraphs described Hill as having "a feel for location uncommonly good for a pitcher his size and age." Incidentally, they ranked him as the 24th best prospect in the entire class. All of this is packed into a frame that’s 6’5" and 175 pounds. This is a profile that’s easy to dream on.

Brandon Winokur, 19, Low A Fort Myers
Winokur was the ultimate lottery ticket when the Twins drafted him in the third round in 2023. A ridiculous frame (6’6", 210) and level of athleticism, also incredibly raw. In spite of this, he held his own in the FCL in his age-19 season in 2024, hitting .249/.327/.434 (.761) while popping 14 home runs. There’s plenty of warts to Winokur’s profile; contact issues and a lot of chase, so the hit tool is going to be the question. It’s hard not to have your interest piqued by a 90th percentile exit velocity of 104.6 mph, though (fifth-best among qualified hitters in A-ball). Winokur excelled at the end of the season, hitting .277/.327/.543 in August with 12 extra base hits in 24 games. He’ll likely start 2025 at Cedar Rapids as a 20-year old.

Honorable Mentions
There are so many other intriguing prospects in the Twins system, I’d be remiss not to mention some additional names in the ‘honorable mentions’ category. Any of the college bats (DeBarge, Amick) drafted early are solid candidates if they take off. Charlee Soto has age and incredible stuff on his side. If you want longer shot lottery tickets, Yasser Mercedes, Eduardo Beltre, and Daiber De Los Santos are worth a flier, all tools, athleticism (and good performances) with a long road ahead. There’s also the most likely outcome, it’s a name I didn’t mention here (CJ Culpepper?), so submit your guesses and rationale 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!