Twins Daily's 2026 Minor League Pitcher of the Year

Image courtesy of Riley Quick photos from (William Parmeter - Mussels), (Malamut Photography - Kernels), (Ed Bailey -

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The Twins have continued to add some intriguing arms to their pitching pipeline, and 2026 featured several pitchers taking important steps forward. From young prospects making their professional debuts to older pitchers looking to establish themselves at the upper levels, there were plenty of candidates worth considering for this year's award.

Before exploring this year’s top vote-getters, here’s a look back at Twins Daily’s recent winners of this award.

Let’s get into this year’s voting, starting with the honorable mentions and others receiving votes.

Honorable Mentions

SP Ty Langenberg: 4.29 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 20.8% K, 8.2% BB, 4.35 FIP, 123 2/3 IP (33 G, 33 GS)
SP Adrian Bohorquez: 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 27.3% K, 12.6% BB, 3.92 FIP, 59 2/3 IP (19 G, 18 GS)
RP Paulshawn Pasqualotto 3.73 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 32.9% K, 9.0% BB, 3.62 FIP, 70 IP (42 G, 0 GS)

3. RHP/SP Merit Jones
2026 Stats: 4.17 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 23.7% K, 8.7% BB, 4.54 FIP, 112 1/3 IP (15 GS, 29 G)

Jones had an interesting first full season of professional baseball, serving as both a starter and a reliever while still taking on a workload that looked much more like that of a starting pitcher.

The Twins' 2025 20th-round pick looked particularly sharp with Low-A Fort Myers early in the year, which earned him a promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids in early August. Things got a little tougher with the Kernels, but the promotion showed the organization believed Jones was ready for a tougher challenge.

One of the biggest positives from his season was the ability to generate swings and misses. Despite never throwing more than five innings in any of his 15 starts, Jones recorded at least seven strikeouts in five of those outings. There is still plenty for Jones to work on as he continues moving through the system, but his first full professional season was a promising one. After handling both roles and more than 110 innings, he will look to carry that momentum into 2027.

2. RHP Preston Johnson
2026 Stats: 4.36 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 29.0% K, 9.0% BB, 4.73 FIP, 88 2/3 IP (18 GS, 24 G)

Johnson's path to a successful 2026 season was anything but conventional. After a rough 2025 campaign in the Orioles' system, he began this season in independent baseball before the Twins signed him in mid-May. Once he joined Minnesota's organization, though, Johnson looked pretty darn good. He spent the season with Double-A Wichita and racked up nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings while showing solid command of the baseball.

The biggest issue was the long ball. Johnson allowed 15 home runs, which did a lot of the damage against him despite the strong strikeout and walk numbers. If he can find a way to limit that extra-base contact, there is a chance he could turn into a really promising minor league arm in 2027.

Age does factor into these votes, and that's a big part of why Johnson comes in at No. 2 rather than No. 1. Still, going from independent baseball to becoming one of the more productive pitchers in the Twins' system makes his 2026 season an impressive one.

Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year: RHP Riley Quick
2026 Stats: 4.74 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 30.6% K, 13.4% BB, 4.94 FIP, 81 2/3 IP (23 GS, 23 G)

Quick, who's Twins Daily's No. 5 prospect and top pitching prospect, had an extremely promising first year as a professional. After being selected 36th overall by the Twins in the 2025 MLB Draft, Quick looked like a man among boys at Low-A Fort Myers, both literally and figuratively. He needed just three starts there before earning a promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids, where he continued to overpower hitters.

That performance eventually led to another promotion, this time to Double-A in mid-July. Quick struggled a bit more once he reached Wichita, but considering how quickly he moved through the organization, there was plenty to like about his first professional season.

The biggest concerns were his walks and hard contact. His 13.4% walk rate in particular is something that will need to improve if Quick is going to develop into a quality major league starter. But the stuff is clearly there.

Quick struck out 30.6% of the hitters he faced this season, showing the kind of swing-and-miss ability that made him such an intriguing draft pick in the first place. When the command is there, he has the ability to overwhelm hitters, and that gives him a much higher ceiling than the ERA alone might suggest.

He figures to begin 2027 at Double-A, where he did have some struggles after his promotion. With a full offseason to adjust to the level and continue developing his arsenal, though, there is plenty of reason to believe Quick can take another step forward next season. And if he does, it wouldn't be surprising to see him make his way to the major leagues at some point in 2027.

Several Twins pitchers had strong seasons in 2026, but Quick's combination of prospect status, strikeout ability and rapid movement through the organization made him stand out from the rest. His first professional season wasn't perfect, but there was more than enough there to make him the Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

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