Jamie Cameron

Daiber De Los Santos and Edouardo Beltre were the standout prospects for the Twins in the Dominican Summer League this season. It's likely they'll start playing stateside in 2025, but how will they adjust to living in a new country and the customs here as they try to repeat their success from this summer? View full video

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 55 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie start by breaking down the news that the Pohlad family is exploring the sale of the Minnesota Twins. Is this news a surprise? Why the strange timing? Are the Twins an attractive proposition to a prospective buyer? The guys then complete the final part of the Twins MiLB system year in review. After talking about recently drafted slugger Billy Amick, they turn their attention to Ricardo Olivar and Peyton Eeeles, before digging into guys lower in the system like Dameury Pena, Adrian Bohroquez, Daiber De Los Santos, and Eduardo Beltre. Finally, the episode finished with listener questions, and a preview of forthcoming guests. 0:00 Intro -- Lynx, Twins sale 11:23 Billy Amick 19:16 Ricardo Olivar 26:18 Payton Eeles 37:48 Damuery Pena and Adrian Bohroquez 49:05 Daiber De Los Santos and Eduardo Beltre 56:31 Listener Question You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

By the end of their prolonged stumble and fall to close 2024, the Twins bullpen was sorely lacking for reinforcements. There should a strong core in place for 2025, but who are the under-discussed prospects who could factor into the MLB bullpen next season? Let's profile four of them. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge The Twins bullpen was hanging on by a thread at the end of 2024. Overly taxed by the added workload from a rotation relying disproportionately on rookies, they cracked under the burden. Brock Stewart missed the majority of the season. Caleb Thielbar wasn’t trustworthy. Justin Topa may as well have been Keyser Soze, until he managed two appearances when the Twins' playoff odds had already disappeared. . Fortune may well smile more kindly on the relief corps in 2025. A foundation of Griffin Jax, Jhoan Durán, Stewart, Cole Sands, and Topa should be viewed with optimism, but we know more arms are likely needed. Jovani Morán, Ronny Henriquez, and Matt Canterino are on the fringes of the mix, but who are the team's most likely internal relief candidates? Let’s dig in. Jaylen Nowlin, LHP, St Paul Left-handed relief options were a significant challenge for the 2024 Twins. Thielbar looks as if his best days are behind him. Steven Okert’s best moment of the season was tipping the bullpen cart driver at Nationals Park, and Kody Funderburk missed the majority of the year through injury. Nowlin has quietly crept his way to St. Paul as a 23-year old, and worked in relief after he moved up in September. A 19th-round pick in 2021, it’s little surprise just how little fanfare Nowlin has received thus far in his minor-league career, but there are some interesting ingredients here. Nowlin’s fastball hit 95 mph and his sinker 96 mph in a short Saints debut. This pairs with a power slider he throws as hard as 88 mph. Nowlin still has work to do finishing off hitters and issuing fewer free passes (11.1 BB% in 2024). Good arm talent from the left side is a commodity, however, so don’t bet against him getting a chance at some point. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids Prielipp may seem like a long shot, based on current level and injury history, but he makes particular sense as a late-season call-up option. His separator is the quality of his stuff (we recently profiled him as one of the most likely names to break into industry-wide top-100 prospect lists from the Twins organization). Prielipp's history of arm trouble and his three-pitch mix make him an ideal relief option. His fastball would likely play up to 97 mph or above in a late-inning role. This, in addition to a slider that spins its way up to 3,000 rpm and a changeup averaging 16 inches of horizontal break from the left side, stack up as a formidable set of traits for opposing hitters to manage. Left-handed hitters managed just a .462 OPS against Prielipp in 2024. If he can stay healthy, I think he’ll be in the mix by the end of 2025. Kyle Bischoff, RHP, St Paul Bischoff is the latest in a long line of intriguing minor-league free-agent signings for the Twins, who seem to accrue significant value around those margins (see Payton Eeeles and Carson McCusker). Already 25 years old, Bischoff is an older prospect who saw time at three MiLB levels in 2024 on his way to a late season call-up to the Saints. In 61 1/3 innings pitched, Bischoff managed a 3.23 ERA, 2.84 FIP, and 3.48 xFIP, striking out an impressive 29.9% of hitters and walking slightly too many at 10%. So what’s the arsenal underpinning those impressive numbers? Bischoff's is a sinker/slider profile. His sinker gets up to 96 mph, with good horizontal action. There’s also a cutter, gyro slider, and changeup, although his Triple-A sample size is so small that I don’t feel complete confidence in his mix just yet. Regardless, it’s solid stuff in a profile that would add more of an east/west element to the Twins' bullpen (along with Topa). Giving teams varied looks out of the pen is all the rage, and Bischoff can help do that. Travis Adams, RHP, St Paul Travis Adams is probably the Twins pitching prospect I’ve heard the least chatter about, and he’s been shortchanged, for my money. A 6th-round pick in 2021, Adams struck out 109 hitters in 108 innings of work at Double A (3.67 ERA) in 2024 before getting 19 Triple-A innings that were more of a challenge. Adams has a deep, diverse pitch mix consisting of a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup. So, why would he be an option for the bullpen? A ton of competition and a lack of elite starter traits. My guess is he’ll get a long runway in the very deep starting rotation mix at St. Paul in 2024. He’ll find a more direct path as a reliever than through the pack of starting pitching prospects with slightly better stuff. Maybe an extended apprenticeship as a long reliever will help him tap into something, the way it seemed to do for Sands. Honorable Mentions There are, of course, plenty of other names who could position themselves in the mix here. There’s a high likelihood that the glut of young starters at St. Paul doesn't all remain starters. Names like Cory Lewis and Marco Raya could end up in relief roles next year, if not permanently. There are also names further down the organization, who could take a more significant leap. Who do you think are the most likely internal candidates to impact the Twins bullpen in 2025? Make your case in the comments. View full article

Connor Prielipp was finally healthy for the final months of the Minor League season, pitching in 9 games and posting a solid 2.70 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. Even with the limited playing time in 2024, there's a good chance he begins 2025 in Double-A and if he can remain healthy, what results can he show to being a solid pitching prospect for the Twins? View full video

:) Stand by what I said in the write up. Of course he's a risky add, but he's the caliber of arm talent that makes industry lists (assuming health and strong performance).

Age and being a sure fire reliever are why I didn't consider him, which is not to say he can't make a big impact, because he sure can if he can stay healthy.

Agree with all of that, and, we know injuries, trades, and unexpected things will happen. No one would have called SWR pitching an entire season in MLB in 2024, for instance.

So I agree with you, he's the most likely candidate. The reason I left him off was he's close to debut. Figured he might debut before folks catch up and rank him in that 75-99 chunk of players (which is what almost happened to Festa). Good shout though!

The Twins had three prospects ascend industry Top 100 lists in 2024, giving a huge boost to their minor league system. Who are the next candidates to ascend to top 100 prospect status? Image courtesy of John Vittas (Connor Prielipp) & William Parmeter (Kaelen Culpepper, Brandon Winokur) The Twins farm system had remarkable success in 2024. For a drafting and development organization, prospects taking significant leaps forward in their development is crucial to sustain minor-league depth and buoy a MLB roster trying to compete for the playoffs. Three Twins prospects ascended to Top 100 global prospect status with their 2024 performances. David Festa (who was likely a top 125 name entering 2024) entered and graduated. Zebby Matthews’ remarkable MiLB season started in Cedar Rapids and ended on the Twins roster. Finally Luke Keaschall, the Twins second round pick in 2023, hit his way into a top 75 spot on most industry lists. Who are the next most likely candidates to take a step forward and become Top 100 prospects? Let’s dig in. Connor Prielipp, LHP, 23, High A Cedar Rapids Prielipp worked his way back from his second TJ surgery in 2024. While health has been a question mark, his stuff has not. In eight starts (on strict pitch counts) in 2024, he struck out 42.2% of hitters at Cedar Rapids (14.77 per 9) and walked just 8.4% (2.95 per 9). Prielipp relied on a fastball up to 96 mph, a diabolical slider that he routinely generates more than 3,000rpms on, and an under-discussed changeup that has a ton of horizontal break (16.1 average in the very small samples size we have access to). All this while learning to pitch all over again. Prielipp will likely start in 2025 at Double-A. There will be peaks and valleys as he continues to build his pitch count. It’s possible he might need to add a fourth pitch down the line to continue to start. Prielipp has some of the best stuff in the Twins organization. A clean bill of health may result in him rocketing up rankings in 2025. Kaelen Culpepper, SS, 21, High A Cedar Rapids If you were handicapping this race, Culpepper is probably the safest pick. A college bat with a solid track record from a good conference who checked the initial boxes in professional baseball. Culpepper made short work of Fort Myers. He didn’t swing and miss at a pitch once in nine games at Fort Myers, hitting .297/.366/.541 (.907) with five extra base hits in his stint in the Florida State League. Culpepper slowed down significantly at Cedar Rapids, which I’m putting down to the grind of his longest ever baseball season. Twins personnel raved about his defense and preparation. He’ll start 2025 at Cedar Rapids with a chance, like Luke Keaschall before him, to kick on to Wichita with a strong opening to the season. Dasan Hill, LHP, 18, Yet to Debut This is a bold take, admittedly, for a player who hasn’t thrown a pitch in professional baseball. Clearly, with prep arms, risk is extreme and variance is the range of possible outcomes is wide, but you can connect the dots here. The Twins selected Hill 69th overall in 2024 in a class deep with diverse prep arms. He’s been up to 97 mph with his fastball. In his slider and curveball, he has two distinct breaking pitches (breakers often blur together in prep arms), and he’s shown feel for a changeup. In their pre-draft scouting report, FanGraphs described Hill as having "a feel for location uncommonly good for a pitcher his size and age." Incidentally, they ranked him as the 24th best prospect in the entire class. All of this is packed into a frame that’s 6’5" and 175 pounds. This is a profile that’s easy to dream on. Brandon Winokur, 19, Low A Fort Myers Winokur was the ultimate lottery ticket when the Twins drafted him in the third round in 2023. A ridiculous frame (6’6", 210) and level of athleticism, also incredibly raw. In spite of this, he held his own in the FCL in his age-19 season in 2024, hitting .249/.327/.434 (.761) while popping 14 home runs. There’s plenty of warts to Winokur’s profile; contact issues and a lot of chase, so the hit tool is going to be the question. It’s hard not to have your interest piqued by a 90th percentile exit velocity of 104.6 mph, though (fifth-best among qualified hitters in A-ball). Winokur excelled at the end of the season, hitting .277/.327/.543 in August with 12 extra base hits in 24 games. He’ll likely start 2025 at Cedar Rapids as a 20-year old. Honorable Mentions There are so many other intriguing prospects in the Twins system, I’d be remiss not to mention some additional names in the ‘honorable mentions’ category. Any of the college bats (DeBarge, Amick) drafted early are solid candidates if they take off. Charlee Soto has age and incredible stuff on his side. If you want longer shot lottery tickets, Yasser Mercedes, Eduardo Beltre, and Daiber De Los Santos are worth a flier, all tools, athleticism (and good performances) with a long road ahead. There’s also the most likely outcome, it’s a name I didn’t mention here (CJ Culpepper?), so submit your guesses and rationale in the comments. View full article

Danny De Andrade hasn't played since May 15 as he went down in a game for High-A Cedar Rapids with a shin injury. The Arizona Fall League will provide him opportunities to make up for some, but not all of his lost playing time, so how can one of the best defensive infielders in the Twins organization take advantage of the short AFL season to prove himself great for 2025. View full video

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 53 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie start by breaking down their rooting interests in the playoffs, and ask if the end of season is even more frustrating for Twins fans with two AL Central teams making an October run. Next they dig into some discussion on coaching staff turnover and how much it really matters and impacts the on field product. The guys then break down AFL rosters for the Brewers, Cubs and Twins. Jeremy talks through how the AFL has changed and highlights how teams leverage roster spots different from previous years. They spend time breaking down Brock Wilken, Luis Lara, Ryan Birchard, Moises Ballesteros, Benjamin Cowles, Jonathon Long, Kala’i Rosario, Danny De Andrade, and Kade Bragg, before answering questions on Matt Canterino and Connor Prielipp. 0:00 Intro 14:05 Arizona Fall League 19:50 Brewers 29:18 Cubs 39:00 Twins You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

Cory Lewis and Marco Raya made their Triple-A debuts in St. Paul in the final week of the Saints' season. Let’s dig into what they threw, how it looked, and the prognosis for each in 2025 and beyond. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints 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. View full article

Prep Baseball has become the powerhouse in scouting high school athletes and the talent they possess to possibly go pro someday. Shooter Hunt, former Twins prospect hand and VP of Prep Baseball breaks down how they go about scouting athletes at such a young age and the realistic approach to their talent while their bodies are still growing. View full video

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 52 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie bemoan a lifeless 6 week period of play from the MLB squad. They talk through if the team can and will make the playoffs, and where to direct criticism should they miss the postseason. The guys are joined by producer Theo to talk through Cory Lewis and Marco Raya, who were recently promoted to AAA. They ask how Morris will impact the MLB roster with so much competing depth, and if Raya’s long term future is as a starter or reliever. Finally, the guys dig into some prospects lower in the system, talking through the respective seasons of Charlee Soto, Brandon Winokur, and Kaelen Culpepper and their outlooks for 2025. 5:00 What Happens if the Twins miss the playoffs? 12:35 Who to criticize? 20:20 Andrew Morris 33:00 Marco Raya 43:00 Charlee Soto 52:11 Brandon Winokur 58:24 Kaelen Culpepper You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 51 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie are joined by Prep Baseball’s Vice President of Scouting and former Twins first round pick, Shooter Hunt. They discuss how scouting and player evaluation have changed with the explosion of publicly available data on prospects before digging into a discussion of player evaluation of prep prospects, in particular, prep pitchers. The guys dig into Shooter’s thoughts on the 2024 draft class and how it stacks up against the 2025 class before getting some insights on some of Shooter’s favorite hitting and pitching prospects for next summer’s draft cycle. Jeremy and Jamie talk through the Twins releasing Derek Bender after Fort Myers elimination from playoff contention. The guys are joined by Theo and finish with some thoughts on Cory Lewis and Marco Raya being promoted to St. Paul. 0:00 Intro 1:17 Shooter Hunt 3:20 Background 5:32 Approach to Evaluation 12:30 Prep Players 19:45 2024 Draft 24:35 2025 Draft 33:59 Names to Watch 36:20 Where to find Shooter 37:53 Derek Bender & Pitching You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article