Pitching Pipeline Keeps Flowing: Cory Lewis, Marco Raya Sparkled in Saints Debuts

Cory Lewis
It’s hard to imagine a more pleasing combination of outcomes than the ‘college four’ the Twins drafted in 2022, composed of Andrew Morris, Zebby Matthews, Cory Lewis, and C.J. Culpepper. Each has had ample success early in their professional careers. Taken as a foursome, what they’ve accomplished is remarkable; we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Heading into 2024, Lewis was the most famous of the four. Shoulder fatigue delayed his start to the season, and the twin ascensions (one to each of the Twin Cities) of Zebby Matthews and Andrew Morris diminished Lewis’s starshine ever so slightly. After a strong second half of the season at Double-A Wichita, Lewis was rewarded with a Triple-A debut, so let’s dig into what he showed.

Lewis pitched five innings, giving up seven hits, two earned runs, walking three and striking out two. Unlike Matthews and Morris, Lewis isn’t an elite strike thrower. He managed a Strike% of just 58.8% in his first Triple-A start (compared to 62.9% on the season in Double A, and an MLB league average of 65%).

Lewis threw his four-seam fastball 30.6% of the time in his first start for the Saints. He averaged 19.1 inches of induced vertical break on the pitch, albeit from a higher release point. What was noticeable about Lewis’s fastball, was his velocity was down. It averaged just 89.9 mph. Even with a solid shape, that will need to tick back up a few mph to maximize it’s effectiveness. I’m putting that down to the grind of a long season.

Lewis threw his knuckleball plenty (which also seems to be mischaracterized as a slider at times). It’s going to be an incredibly fun pitch to track. On the occasions it was correctly classified, it averaged just 243 RPM in spin rate, with a few thrown at 135 RPM. That’s diabolical. The pitch warrants further discussion, as it’s so unique. While Lewis kills spin at a similar level to Matt Waldron’s knuckleball and gets less play vertically, its velocity is unique. Lewis threw his hardest knuckleball in his start for the Saints at 86 miles per hour, and the pitch averaged over 83 MPH. (For reference, Waldron’s knucklers average 77.) It’s a deception of velocity, just as much as the unpredictable action of the baseball.

It’s hard to pull the threads of Lewis’ profile together, for me. There are exciting assets in the fastball shape, the knuckleball, and the solid secondary offerings; and there are some challenges with a lack of elite velocity and shaky strike-throwing. He’ll continue to be a fascinating pitcher to track in 2025, and should get an extended run in St. Paul to open the season.

Marco Raya
Along with Kala’i Rosario, Raya is the remaining Twins holdout from the abbreviated 2020 COVID Draft, in which there were just five rounds. Then a 17-year-old, Raya’s scouting reports coming out of Texas emphasized the cleanness of his mechanics and repeatability of his delivery. Finally, four years later, we can pull back the hood on the stuff a little more tangibly.

Raya is the Twins prospect I hear complained about the most, through no fault of his own. He’s been on strict pitch counts even in his last two seasons. It’s debatable whether the Twins should have gotten him more exposure to seeing a lineup for a third time, especially as he's ascended to the upper minors. An undeniable positive is that he’s now on the doorstep of the majors, and is still healthy. All things considered, keeping his health front and center is logical to me.

In his debut, Raya threw 65 pitches. His four-seam fastball, although with an unremarkable shape, topped out at 96.2 mph. Raya also threw a pair of two-seam fastballs, averaging 12 inches of horizontal break. The other obvious thing about Raya is that he can really spin a baseball. His arsenal is rounded out by a cutter, slider and curveball. The two breaking pitches averaged close to 2,800 RPM, and the curveball got to 3,000, with around a foot of downward induced vertical break. It looks extremely tough on hitters.

My hope for Raya is a lengthy, healthy runway at Triple-A in 2025. He’s undersized (listed at 6’0", 170 pounds), but has a legitimately diverse pitch mix and will eventually need to get reps surpassing 75 pitches if he’ll continue to be a starter as he gets closer to making an MLB debut.

Saints Boast Impressive Pitching Depth for 2025
Taking a more global snapshot of the Twins organizational pitching depth, one can’t help but be encouraged. ‘Where is the pitching pipeline?’, the pithy refrain so blithely thrown around Twins Twitter as a subject of mockery in the earlier years of the Falvey regime, now has a cheeky but not mockable answer: right here. The team's dedication to scouting and development excellence, especially on the pitching side, is now bearing fruit. Not only that, its product is diverse, intriguing, and fun.

Let’s travel down the 2025 rabbit hole for just a moment. In this future iteration of the Twins, Chris Paddack and Louie Varland are both full-time relievers. The Opening Day rotation of the big-league team is Pablo López, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richardson, and David Festa. That’s a solid five. Let’s examine the immediate depth behind them at St. Paul.

Without being able to predict offseason veteran signings, the Saints are likely to have Zebby Matthews, Andrew Morris, Cory Lewis, Marco Raya, and Randy Dobnak as starters, with Travis Adams as an extra option. Behind them at Wichita, there’s Pierson Ohl, Christian MacLeod, and C.J. Culpepper. This list goes on. Of course, that’s not to say all these pitchers will remain starters, remain effective starters, stay healthy, or even remain with the organization. Let’s make no mistake, though, the Minnesota Twins are a pitching development organization. That’s what they do well. If they want to trade assets to improve their offense prior to 2025, it’s likely to be from that deep corps of potential starters. In a season for the organization that seems to have ended in uniquely jarring disappointment, the saving grace is the feeling that the future remains bright.

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!