Three Up, Three Down: Fast Start Preferred

The minor-league season is less than three weeks old. It is far too early to make any grand decisions about a player or prospect at this point. The prospects are just passing 50 plate appearances. If things go well, they are going to get 500-550 plate appearances.

So, to make more of 8-10% of a season’s at-bat is foolish.

So, why would I write this article? Well, first, because it’s all we have to write about at this point.

I think it’s fair to acknowledge that coming into the season there are players who would benefit from getting off to a fast start. Fans who follow prospects know it. National sites that follow prospects know it. If you gave a Player Development director some truth serum, they would acknowledge that there are players for which a fast start is more important than others even if the reality is that they will be patient with most of them.

Why might it be more important for some guys to get off to faster starts? I might argue that a player who is repeating a level needs to come out quickly. Injury might be a reason that a player would want to get off to a fast start, and it might be a primary reason for returning to the same level. It could simply before overall performance, or the organization may have asked a player to work on certain aspects of their game and development.

Below you will find the names of six Twins prospects who, for various reasons I felt needed to have a fast start. Three of them have been able to start well, and three of them who will want to remind themselves that it is a long season and the organization is not going to be giving up on them any time soon.

Three Up
Tanner Schobel (23) – 3B, Wichita Wind Surge
In 2022, Schobel had a huge junior season at Virginia Tech. He hit .362/.445/.689 (1.134) with 18 doubles and 19 homers. The Twins selected him with their second-round pick. He signed quickly and played 28 games in Fort Myers that season. He began the 2023 season in Cedar Rapids, but after posting an OPS of 859 in 77 games, he moved up to Double-A Wichita and ended the year with a .634 in 49 games. At this point, he found himself inside the Top 10 Twins prospects rankings.

As expected, he began the 2024 season in Wichita, and he never really got going. In 122 games, he his .211/.301/.339 (.639) with 20 doubles and 10 homers. So, it was no surprise at all that he returned to Double-A this season. He also fell out of Top 20 Twins prospect rankings. I don’t know if he ever lost any confidence, but a fast start for him in 2025 would be beneficial.   

In his first 11 games of the 2025 season, Schobel hit .310/.400/.500 (.900) with two doubles and two home runs. And yes, those numbers include his 1-for-7, 14-inning game on Tuesday night. Through 10 games, he was hitting .343/.442/.571 (1.013) which is a good reminder of how quickly statistics can change this early in the season.

And again, I stress that it is early and that these stats can change quickly as well. In his pro career, his walk rate is about 11% This season, it is at 16% Maybe more important, he struck out in nearly 24% of his plate appearances in 2024. So far this season, he is striking out just under 12% of the time. Previously, he struck out approximately 18-19% of the time.

Gabriel Gonzalez (21) – OF, Cedar Rapids Kernels
Just before spring training 2024, the Twins traded Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHPs Anthony Desclafani, Justin Topa, Darren Bowen, and outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez. Desclafani missed the entire season. Topa hurt his knee and only pitched in three games for the Twins, all on the final weekend of the season. Bowen pitched in Cedar Rapids and that’s where the Twins sent Gonzalez. Coming into the season, Gonzalez was ranked #79 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

In 2023, he hit .348 (.933) in 73 games in Low A and then moved up to High-A Everett where he hit .216 (.677) as a 19-year-old. We ended up ranking Gonzalez in the Top 10.

The Twins sent him to Cedar Rapids where he played in 76 games and hit .255/.327/.379 (.706) with 19 doubles and just four home runs. These are solid numbers, but the burly outfielder lack of home run power surprised a bit. But, he also missed a couple of months of the season with a back injury which certainly would have affected his swing.  He fell to #19 on the Twins Daily prospect rankings coming into this season.

No surprise that Gonzalez was sent back to Cedar Rapids to start the season. He is still about a year and a half younger than league average. In the first Kernels game, he batted eighth. However, he had a good first game and has since moved back to the middle of the lineup. In 11 games, he is hitting .326/.408/.512 (.920) with five doubles and a home run. In his minor-league career, he has typically struck out twice as much as he has walked. So far this season, he has five walks and four strikeouts. Now, he’s only got one home run, but he has really been hitting the ball hard, and he’s been showing power to the opposite field. 

Hopefully he can remain healthy and keep working on his offense. Frankly, that will allow him to keep working on his defense (which has a long ways to go!).

Dylan Questad (20) – RHP, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 
Questad was the Twins fifth-round draft pick in 223 out of Waterford High School in Wisconsin. He had committed to the University of Arkansas, but the Twins were able to sign him. Like most Twins pitcher draft picks, he didn’t pitch in any games that summer. But there were reports that he was touching 95 with his fastball, and he had always been known for his ability to spin the ball.

While he never quite fit into the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects, he was just outside of it coming into the 2024 season. Questad began the season at Extended Spring Training and then pitched for the FCL Twins. And, frankly, if you just look at the numbers, it didn’t go as well as anyone would have wanted. In 12 games (9 starts), he went 2-4 with a 10.48 ERA. He had 39 strikeouts but also 29 walks in 28 1/3 innings. He also gave up 35 hits. That’s a 2.26 WHIP.

Certainly, a case could have been made to send him back to the FCL for another season. But that’s where it is important to remember that he was developing, growing, learning and working on thing during the FCL season, but then at “Instructs” and again at pitching camps. He went to Fort Myers very early. The work and the learning continued, and based on his start to this 2025 season, it has begun to pay off. 

In his season debut for the Mighty Mussels against the Tampa Tarpons (Yankees), he tossed five shutout innings. He gave up just one hit and one walk, and he had eight strikeouts. Definitely an encouraging start. He pitched on Tuesday night against Bradenton. The Twins had Christian MacLeod, Pierson Ohl and Brock Stewart throw the first six innings on rehab assignments. Questad came in to start the seventh inning of a 1-0 game. He proceeded to throw three scoreless, no-hit innings and was credited with the Save. He walked two and had four strikeouts.

Eight scoreless, one-hit innings with three walks and 12 strikeouts is pretty good on its own, but he looks the part on the mound. He throws a fastball between 91 and 95 (average 93.4). He has a sharp slider between 83 and 86 mph (average 84.0). He also has a slow curveball that sits 75 to 77 mph (average 75.9). He also throws some changeups in the low-80s, approximately 9 mph slower than the fastball. While I have watched probably six of his eight innings online, Statcast shows that he’s got a slider and a cutter. On average the cutter is 2 mph faster with less break.

A 20-year-old starting pitcher prospect who hits 95 with the fastball and has as many as five pitches with potential. That’s exciting. The Twins saw the progress, but regardless of where he began this season, a good start was important just for him to believe in himself and to experience actual success on the mound.

Three Down
Kala’i Rosario (22) – OF, Wichita Wind Surge
Rosario was the Twins fifth-round draft pick in the abbreviated 2020 MLB draft out of high school in Hawaii. Fellow 2020 prep pick Marco Raya was added to the Twins 40-man roster in November. While there was some speculation, Rosario was not added to the 40-man roster. There was concern that the slugger could be selected. In 2023, he had led the Midwest League in home runs and RBI and was named league MVP. He went to the Arizona Fall League and led the league in home runs.

He moved up to Double-A Wichita in 2024. In 67 games, he hit .235/.321/.405 (.726) with 19 doubles and eight home runs. The numbers were obviously down since he missed about half of the season due to a fractured elbow. He was able to return and did show some power. He went to the AFL again. Fortunately, for the Twins, Rosario went unselected in the Rule 5 draft and remains in the organization.

But due to the injury and lost time, it’s no surprise that he was sent back to Wichita to start this season. Even this year, he is over two years younger than the league average. 

Wichita played 14 innings on Tuesday night. Rosario went 2-for-6 to raise his slash line to .132/.171/.211 (.382) with one home run. A slow start is a slow start and in general there isn’t reason to be too worried about a rough nine or 10 games. However, in his 10 games, he has 41 plate appearances and already has 21 strikeouts (51%). His strikeout rate in Double-A last year was 30.4%, very similar to his K-Rate in previous seasons.

Obviously, it is pretty clear that Rosario will need to put the ball in play more consistently. He’s still so young. He’ll keep working, and patience will be very important.

Danny De Andrade (21) – IF, Cedar Rapids Kernels
Just over one year ago, De Andrade was the primary shortstop for the Kernels. He was about to turn 20. He was batting second or third in the team’s lineup. He hit a ground ball and hustled down the line in an attempt to beat the throw. When he got to the base, his ankle twisted and he was in pain. It was something he hadn’t experienced before. A few days later, he returned to the Kernels lineup but he had another ankle injury in mid-May which proved to be much more serious. In fact, he didn’t play again the rest of the season.

In his 29 games, he hit .243/.333/.359 (.693) with six doubles and two homers. Again, not bad numbers. He struck out just about 17% of the time. No real concerns.

Healthy again, De Andrade is back in Cedar Rapids. He just turned 21 years old a week ago. He is one of eight or nine other Top 30 Twins prospects on the current Kernels roster. While shortstop was his last year at this time, this year, Kaelen Culpepper, Brandon Winokur and Kyle DeBarge have played shortstop too. De Andrade has made three starts each at second base, third base and DH. He hasn’t yet played shortstop.     

On Tuesday night, he went 0-for-4 with two walks. Through 11 games, he is hitting .189/.302/.270 (.572) with three doubles. He has a good approach at the plate. He’s playing good defense. The organization knows what he can do, so he is in no danger. I’m just sure that after missing so much time last year, he would have loved to start out hot this spring. He has been a borderline Top 10 Twins prospect at times, and right now finds himself just outside of the Top 20, likely due to missing time.

Jose Rodriguez (19) – OF, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
Rodriguez entered the scene when he signed with the team in January of 2022. He spent that summer in the DSL. In 55 games, he hit .289/.361/.605 (.966) with 15 doubles and 13 home runs. He put himself into Top 20 Twins prospect rankings with that performance, specifically the home runs.

He came to the States in 2023 and played in the FCL. He was solid, very good when you compare him to most players that come to the States and play in the FCL for the first time. He hit .262 (.737) with 10 doubles and six homers. Good enough that he began the 2024 season with the full-season Mussels. In 43 games, he hit .178/.235/.319 (.554) with eight doubles and five home runs. And, as you can see, he missed a lot of time due to injury.

Still 19, of course he returned to the Florida State League, and certainly he would want to get off to a fast start. On Tuesday night, he played left field and went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. In his 10 games, he is hitting .132/.175/.289 (.464) with a double, triple and homer. He is incredibly aggressive at the plate. His walk rate has dropped from 9.6% in the DSL in 2022 to 8.6% to 6.7%, and this season, it is currently 2.8% this season. In addition, his strikeout rate in the two Complex leagues was 24% and 20%. It has been over 36% in his time with the Mussels. 

Rodriguez is a big man who takes a big swing and has tremendous power potential. He actually is a solid athlete with decent speed considering how big he is. The Twins need to remain patient, and the same can be said for Rodriguez. Hopefully at some point soon the game will slow down a bit for him, the quality of plate appearance improves, and he starts getting better counts.

Disclaimer: Just another reminder that 10 games is far too small of a sample size to make too much out of it. Ten games from now, it’s possible that this could be a completely different list.

Let me know what you think. Feel free to ask questions.

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