Cory Moen

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperEduardo TaitEmmanuel RodriguezDasan HillRiley QuickKendry RojasHendry MendezMarek HoustonGabriel GonzalezBrandon WinokurKhadim DiawCharlee SotoRyan GallagherQuentin YoungKyle DeBargeCJ CulpepperBilly AmickKyler FedkoAdrian Bohorquez

Image courtesy of © Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Week in a Nutshell Last week saw the Twins face a couple of AL Central opponents. A week after losing two of three to the White Sox in Chicago, they saw the Sox for another three games, this time at home. They then welcomed the last-place Kansas City Royals in a four-game set. They went 3-4 in an up-and-down week, taking two of three from Chicago but then allowing the limping Royals to claim three of four. The Twins will start this week with an off day, before visiting the Tigers in Detroit. This weekend, they'll loop back to Target Field and encounter the Cardinals. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/1 through Sun 6/7 Record: 3-4 Run Differential: -5 Standing: 3rd Place in AL Central (7 GB) Game-by-Game Results: Game 61 | MIN 9, CWS 6: Twins Snap Five-Game Skid Behind Tristan Gray's Grand Slam Tristan Gray: 1-3, HR, 5 RBI Game 62 | MIN 6, CWS 4: As Connor Prielipp Learns Ropes, Twins Rally Past White Sox Keaschall, Gray, Jackson: 6-12, 5 RBI Game 63 | CWS 8, MIN 0: Twins Get Shut Out for The First Time This Season In Loss to White Sox Buxton, Lee, Larnach: 0-11, 1 BB Game 64 | KC 8, MIN 6: It was Like Tug-of-War Between Two Pigs in the Mud Caratini: 3-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI Game 65 | MIN 5, KC 3: Sixth Inning Ambush Fuels Comeback Win Matthews: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K Game 66 | KC 3, MIN 2: Late-Inning Momentum Swings and Costly Mistake Decide the Game Ryan: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K Game 67 | KC 6, MIN 5: Cameron Dominates Twins Again, Rally Falls Short As Royals Take Series Morris: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K NEWS & NOTES One of the bigger news items from this past week was the Twins trading right-handed pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. This came after the Twins designated him for assignment or release after Woods Richardson started 0-7 with a 7.74 ERA and a 6.17 FIP. As they try to cobble together a viable bullpen, meanwhile, they acquired righty reliever Justin Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lawrence has made three appearances for the Twins, throwing 2 ⅔ innings, striking out four with three walks, and giving up zero runs. Royce Lewis was recalled after tearing up Triple-A pitching. He's played two games (one at second base and one at first base) since being recalled. He'll probably move around the diamond for a while, depending on who else is in the lineup on any given day. The Twins pulled the trigger quickly on returning him to the big leagues, and will have to hope he rediscovers the magic that made him a good hitter until about August 2024. HIGHLIGHTS The Joe Ryan Experience has continued, with Ryan throwing another very good start against the Royals on Saturday. This came after throwing six innings against the White Sox on Monday night, giving up four runs over six innings—good enough for his fourth win on the season, though not good enough to satisfy Ryan. He's been solid for the majority of the year, with a 4-3 record and a 3.07 ERA over 14 starts. The closer it gets to the trade deadline, the more Ryan's name will come up in national conversations. Another highlight from the week came in that Monday night contest, when Tristan Gray hit a grand slam in the fourth inning off White Sox starter David Sandlin. The grand slam helped the Twins to a 9-6 win over the second-place Sox. On Friday, Zebby Matthews threw seven innings, giving up two runs, which was a nice bounce-back after a tough previous appearance. This was a solid start for a rotation suddenly looking for more depth, after some of the depth has disappeared due to injuries or poor performance. LOWLIGHTS Unfortunately, Byron Buxton was taken out of the game on Friday night after making a catch and running into the wall in center field. He was officially removed with an injury to the same shoulder he injured earlier in the season. He is considered day-to-day, and the Twins are hoping and expecting him to return for Tuesday’s series opener against the Tigers—but it's not a great sign that he wasn't available to pinch-hit with the game on the line Sunday afternoon. The Twins' bullpen has been a storyline all year, and the inconsistencies showed this past week. The bullpen threw 27 innings over the seven games, which is more than you typically want a shaky bullpen to throw over a seven-game stretch. They had a few good outings, but the 5.24 relief ERA and their -0.60 WPA tell the real story. The latter figure was fourth-worst in the majors. TRENDING STORYLINES Another thing to keep an eye on is how Connor Prielipp is adjusting to hitters adjusting to him. His start against the White Sox on Tuesday was a nice (though not dominant) rebound after two difficult outings. The follow-up on Sunday was similarly good, but equally un-great. Prielipp has had ups and downs, but his development into a solid starting pitcher is one of the most important things to track throughout this season for Minnesota. Matt Wallner is looking to follow in Lewis’s footsteps and earn a call back up to the big-league club. He's been crushing Triple-A pitching to the tune of .275/.359/.897 since being demoted in mid-May, with five home runs, six doubles, and eight walks over 80 at-bats. If he continues this hot stretch, he could be back at Target Field in short order. Speaking of crushing Triple-A pitching, former first-round pick Kaelen Culpepper has looked the part of a top prospect this year, hitting 14 home runs in 56 games played with the Saints, recording a .862 OPS along with 13 stolen bases. With Lewis changing positions and Brooks Lee moving to third base, don’t be surprised to see Culpepper with the Twins in the very near future, if he continues to produce at the level he has so far this year. LOOKING AHEAD The Twins start the week with a long-awaited off day. Their last day off was Thursday, May 21. They'll head to Detroit and play three games against the Tigers, who have (surprisingly) struggled this year. Both clubs are looking to turn things around before it gets too late. The Twins would love to take advantage of a struggling rival before hosting the second-place Cardinals. It should be a fun and interesting week. MONDAY, JUNE 8: OFF DAY TUESDAY, JUNE 9: TWINS @ TIGERS - RHP Taj Bradley vs RHP Troy Melton WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10: TWINS @ TIGERS - TBD vs LHP Framber Valdez THURSDAY, JUNE 11: TWINS @ TIGERS - RHP Zebby Matthews vs RHP Keider Montero FRIDAY, JUNE 12: CARDINALS @ TWINS - TBD vs TBD SATURDAY, JUNE 13: CARDINALS @ TWINS - TBD vs TBD SUNDAY, JUNE 14: CARDINALS @ TWINS - TBD vs TBD View full article

The Twins have acquired RHP Justin Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations. Basically, this means the Twins paid a little extra to jump the teams ahead of them on the waiver wire to ensure they would acquire Lawrence. Lawrence has thrown 22 innings for the Pirates this year, and his results have been not great leading to the Pirates designating him for assignment on May 29. Over the 22 innings, Lawrence has 25 strikeouts, but has also given up 12 walks while surrending 20 runs (13 earned) in that time frame. Lawrence throws three pitches, a sinker, a sweeper, and a four seam fastball, throwing primarily the sinker (42.2%) and sweeper (39.6%). Lawrence will provide some depth in a bullpen that desperately needs it. The Twins are hoping his results can improve in a new situation. Last season, he looked much better out of the Pittsburgh bullpen, throwing 17.2 innings with 23 strikeouts and a 0.51 ERA and a 2.25 FIP. If he can get back to those type of results, he could earn some higher leverage spots in a bullpen that has struggled. View full rumor

The Twins announced a set of roster moves, recalling LHP Kody Funderburk from Triple-A St. Paul and reinstating RHP Cody Laweryson from the 15-day injured list. In corresponding moves, LHP Kendry Rojas was placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation, and Travis Adams was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. Funderburk has had mixed results this year, pitching in five games with St. Paul and throwing five innings, where he gave up five runs while recording seven strikeouts. Earlier in the year at the major league level, Funderburk threw 16 innings for the Twins, where he struck out 10 hitters, earned a save, and had a much better 2.81 ERA, but his underlying metrics weren't as stellar (5.44 FIP). Laweryson has thrown 6 1/3 innings prior to the injury, striking out eight hitters, with a 2.43 FIP and a 0.789 WHIP. It's a small sample size, but he could be someone who serves as a solid option out of a bullpen, looking for solutions in various areas. Rojas was scratched from his most recent start and is having an MRI, which will reveal how serious the elbow injury is. Adams has had mixed results this year, mostly as a multi-inning reliever, throwing 10 innings for the Twins, striking out 12, but has given up eight runs, and a 4.77 FIP in that small sample size. He will likely return to the majors when a fresh arm is needed in the future. View full rumor

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Box Score Starting Pitcher: Zebby Matthews - 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (88 pitches, 56 strikes (63.6% strikes)) Home Runs: Brooks Lee (6) Bottom 3 WPA (via Fangraphs): Josh Bell (-0.13), Kody Clemens (-0.12), Zebby Matthews (-0.09) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Coming off a series sweep in Boston, the Twins were looking to continue their winning ways against the South Siders in Chicago—and trying to get back to .500. The Twins got on the board quickly on a Brooks Lee solo shot off lefty Anthony Kay in the first inning. In the bottom half of the first inning, White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami kept the impressive start to his Stateside career going, taking Zebby Matthews deep to tie the game on his 18th home run of the season. The Twins were able to get three hits in the top of the second, but were unable to score. Making his major-league debut, Rikuu Nishida, a second baseman by trade, showed off a pretty solid throwing arm, throwing out Orlando Arcia at the plate on an Alex Jackson single. In the bottom of the second, the White Sox didn’t wait long to take a two-run lead. Drew Romo hit a two-run shot after Tristan Peters drew a four-pitch leadoff walk (those will haunt...) against Matthews. Both starting pitchers settled in, not giving up a run through the sixth inning. The bullpens took over from there. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Twins showed off some defense, with Arcia making a barehanded play off of a deflection and Austin Martin making a diving play in right field. Simeon Woods Richardson threw two scoreless innings in relief of Matthews, and notably, his fastball sat at 94.1 MPH, touching a tick higher. Woods Richardson's success in this new role hinges on throwing a bit harder because of the transition; he's doing that. The Twins managed one hit in each of the final three innings off the White Sox bullpen, but were unable to string hits together to close the gap. Seranthony Domínguez closed the game out for the White Sox, securing his 11th save of the season. What’s Next? The Twins and White Sox will face off again on Tuesday evening, in the second game of a four-game series. The pitching matchup will feature Joe Ryan (3-3, 3.02 ERA) facing off against Sean Burke (2-3, 4.08 ERA). Ryan is coming off three straight quality starts, and will be looking to continue his solid start to his season. In his most recent start, he threw six innings and gave up one run against the Houston Astros. Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Gómez 0 13 0 22 0 35 Rojas 0 0 45 0 0 45 Morris 0 0 32 0 0 32 Adams 0 29 0 1 0 30 Banda 0 14 0 10 0 24 Orze 0 14 0 10 0 24 Rogers 0 0 6 13 0 19 Woods Richardson 0 0 0 0 35 35 View full article

Image courtesy of Kason Huckaby, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Ryan Gallagher) There are a few bigger changes to take a look at: specifically, who is moving up the rankings, who is moving down, and why that may be. The top three prospects, Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez, remain unchanged. The first change in the rankings is that Connor Prielipp and Eduardo Tait flipped spots from the first ranking of the season. Prielipp was previously ranked #5 and is now ranked #4, and Tait was previously #4 and is now ranked #5. This change is slight, and might mostly be because Prielipp has made his major league debut, and looked pretty good doing it. This does not mean Tait is not as good a prospect. He still has a very high ceiling, but is still a couple of years away from being seen at Target Field. There are some other changes to the top 20 list, but let’s take a look at the biggest risers, who may have dropped in the rankings, and who is on the outskirts of the list, but could make an appearance by years end, due to one of the guys losing their prospect status, or because they play their way into being ranked higher based on their performance. Biggest Risers The first riser that someone will notice on the list is 2025 first round pick Marek Houston. Houston has played this year at High-A Cedar Rapids and hit .306/.371/.441 so far this year. The biggest question about Houston as a prospect was whether his offense would be good enough since he is said to be ready for the majors defensively. If he can continue to develop offensively, he will continue to rise on these lists until he makes his major league debut. Another riser on the list is the other first-round pick from 2025, pitcher Riley Quick. At 22 years old, Quick started the year at Single-A and was called up to High-A after having three starts and giving up no runs. He threw eight innings and had 13 strikeouts at Single-A and was deemed ready to be called up to High-A Cedar Rapids. Quick has thrown eight more innings and struck out 11 hitters, so he has continued to look the part. Because of this strong start, Quick rose from the #11-ranked prospect to #8. He has the potential to continue moving up the minor league ladder, and moving up quickly, no pun intended. The last riser to highlight is pitcher Ryan Gallagher, who was not ranked in the top 20 when the year started and is now ranked #16. Gallagher was one of two prospects that came from the Cubs in the Willi Castro trade at last year’s trade deadline. Gallagher is currently with Double-A Wichita and has had a solid start to the season. He threw 18 innings over four starts, with a 3.50 ERA and 20 strikeouts, which earned him a call-up to Triple-A, where he has made two starts so far. He’s an intriguing arm and someone who fans could see at Target Field in the next year or so. Biggest Falls With Gallagher previously not being ranked, that means someone had to drop out. The unlucky prospect to drop off the list was Marco Raya. Previously a top pitching prospect in the system, Raya has struggled mightily in his transition to the bullpen this year. He has thrown 19.1 innings and struck out 20 hitters, but has an ERA of 7.91, with a decently high walk rate (12.6%), and has also given up five home runs. Another prospect that has slid on this list is outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez. As you may or may not remember, Gonzalez was acquired along with Justin Topa in the trade that sent Jorge Polanco to Seattle. Gonzalez has a slash line of .183/.255/.380 to start the year, which is not what he, or the Twins, hoped for. Still just 22 years old, Gonzalez is playing at Triple-A, so there is no reason to give up on him yet, but he will have to turn around offensively to not continue sliding on this list. The third player who slid on the list is second baseman Kyle DeBarge. Playing at Double-A, DeBarge has four home runs on the year, but his overall offensive numbers have been underwhelming, with a .593 OPS. Soon to be 23, DeBarge will look to turn his year around. One promising aspect of DeBarge’s season thus far is his 11 stolen bases over his first 29 games, so that’s something to keep an eye on if he is able to get on base at a higher clip. View full article

Twins Daily recently held a public vote on our top 20 prospects ranking, and the newest addition, coming in ranked 16th overall, is right-handed pitcher Ryan Gallagher. Who is Gallagher, and why is he climbing prospect lists? Bats: L / Throws: R Age: 23 Stats in 2025: (High-A, Double-A) 121.2 IP 133 SO 4.07 ERA 1.21 WHIP Rule 5 Eligible: After 2028 Season ETA: 2027 Ranking to Start 2026: NR What’s to Like It’s interesting to look at Gallagher’s raw stuff because he doesn’t overpower hitters, throwing his fastball at approximately 91 mph. While he doesn’t throw super hard, he is still intriguing due to his command and his changeup and slider, which he uses both to get swing and misses. He was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs along with Sam Armstrong for utility player Willi Castro. In 2025, he pitched with the Cubs High-A and Double-A teams before finishing the year with the Twins Double-A team in Wichita. Across those three stops, he threw 121.2 innings, racking up 133 strikeouts, and having a 4.07 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. At 23 years old, he is still being used as a starter but could end up as a multi-inning reliever, similar to how the Twins have used other prospects in recent years. Gallagher offers a bit more upside and is someone to keep an eye on if he can remain a starter throughout his time in the minors. What’s Left to Work On Gallagher will need to continue to be a strike thrower if he hopes to have success. He has walked six batters over his first seven innings in Triple-A, but his history of throwing strikes suggests it will not be a big problem going forward. Gallagher has a repeatable delivery and is someone who could be used in multiple roles, either as a starter or a multi-inning reliever. Proving his worth as a starter at Triple-A will be key in him not moving into a role that others like Pierson Ohl or Travis Adams have slid into, which isn’t a bad role, but not one he is likely to want to take if he, or the Twins, had the choice. What’s Next? Gallagher is currently at Triple-A St. Paul, so he is on the doorstep of the major leagues. He will continue to develop as a starter, but the key will be to keep throwing strikes and gain more experience against higher-level competition. He will likely spend the majority of the year at Triple-A with a chance to make his major league debut, depending on team need and his own personal development over the next few months. Gallagher still has upside and will look to prove that he was worth betting on at the 2025 trade deadline in his first full year in the Twins organization. View full article

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperConnor PrielippEmmanuel RodriguezEduardo TaitDasan HillMarek HoustonKendry RojasRiley QuickCharlee SotoHendry MendezGabriel GonzalezQuentin YoungRyan GallagherAndrew MorrisBrandon WinokurAdrian BohorquezCJ CulpepperKyler FedkoKhadim Diaw