Twins Daily's Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospects: #4 - Charlee Soto, RHP

Similar to the incredibly strong 2022 draft, the Twins landed a bevy of high-upside guys. Taking Walker Jenkins fifth overall and Luke Keaschall in the second round, the Twins drafted Charlee Soto 34th overall and signed him for a full-slot $2.48 million bonus. At the time, Soto had not yet turned 18. Perfect Game said of him: “Outgrew shortstop, now a full-time RHP, works in the mid-90’s, top 98, with a plus change up and improving slider, very projectable, fresh arm.”

At the time, he was ranked as having the second-best stuff of any prep pitcher. He spoke to being influenced by both Gerrit Cole and Roy Halladay. He debuted in 2024 with Low-A Fort Myers and had a positive season.

What’s to like?
At 6’5”, Soto has a starter’s frame. He’s got great stuff, with three pitches that are average or better. His fastball approaches triple digits, his slider sits in the upper 90s, and his circle change approaches 90. His FIP is similar against both lefties and righties. He’s a ground ball pitcher. And, he has added a cutter and a sinker, giving him a full five-pitch mix. His heater gets about 18 inches of carry. He uses both his four-seamer and his changeup as out pitches.

How was his 2024 season?
In short, Soto learned that professional baseball is more challenging than facing high school hitters. Across 21 games (20 starts), he went 1-7 with a 5.23 ERA which was inflated by a .365 BABIP and an unlucky 11.5% home run / fly ball rate. His FIP was much better, at 3.88 on the season, and he struck out 87 in 74 innings which is quite strong for a starting pitcher. At the same time, he walked way too many - 4.01 per nine innings. Soto struggled with consistency, and his splits by month are kind of wild. April was good, with Soto giving up just three runs over four starts.

Then, in his nine starts in May and June, he pitched to an 8.77 ERA and went less than three innings per start. In the second half, he was again strong, going almost five innings per start with a 3.15 FIP. In July, he picked up Minor League Pitcher of the Month honors.

For an 18-year-old, a lack of consistency is almost expected. Overall, his expected numbers were strong despite being 3.9 years younger than average for the level. He accomplished what he needed to, and demonstrated legit prospect bona fides.

What does Soto need to work on as he enters his age-19 season?
In short, command and control are the biggest opportunity. Fangraphs has his command rated at 20 on the 20-80 scale. That was borne out with his 10% walk rate in 2024. In particular, Soto will want to work on locating his fastball as he gave up over seven walks per nine innings on that pitch.

He may want to work on his setup and release mechanics. Averaging just 5’8” of extension on his release, his velocity actually plays down a bit. Since he has plus velocity currently, extension is not an issue for him yet. But, as he ages, it will become more important. If the Twins are able to help him improve his extension now, he should see better results throughout his career.

He also needs to work on repeatability with both his slider and his cutter, as the characteristics of them were a bit all over the place. While the slider was still effective, the cutter was less so, yielding a 5.18 FIP.

Realistically, even small improvements in these things could help Soto mature into a legit frontline starting pitching prospect.

What’s next for him?
It seems likely that Soto will play most of the 2025 season at High-A Cedar Rapids. Given his age, I wouldn’t be surprised if he started the season back in Fort Myers for a month or so to build confidence. One can hope that the Twins pitching development team can work their magic over the next couple seasons. If so, fans may see him at Target Field in 2027 or 2028 - hopefully at the front of the rotation.

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!