NEW YORK – It’s NFL Draft week, and of course if you know baseball, you know that baseball’s Draft is a very different story from football. Whereas this week’s top draftees will be starring in five months, we’re still a long way from even last year’s baseball selections making their names in the big leagues. However, that doesn’t mean they’re not worth paying attention to. And the Twins’ top picks from 2025 have shown themselves to be very much worth noticing. Shortstop Marek Houston (Twins' No. 8 prospect) and right-handed pitcher Riley Quick (No. 11) are both off to outstanding starts in their first full seasons of professional baseball. Houston, the Twins’ first Draft pick out of Wake Forest last June, actually made his debut in 2025. And the results were mixed. Houston comes with rave reviews for his defense at shortstop, but his offensive results ran the gamut. In 12 games at Single-A Fort Myers, he hit .370. In 12 games upon being promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids, he hit .152. This year, though, Houston is raking. As of Saturday, he sported a .321/.375/.469 line at Cedar Rapids, with six steals, seven extra-base hits and seven walks in 89 plate appearances. He’s still striking out more than you’d like, but a player with Houston’s defensive chops doesn’t need to be an elite hitter to contribute. He just needs to hit enough for the glove to carry him. Performance like he’s shown so far this year will do that. |
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Quick, meanwhile, didn’t pitch in the pros in 2025. He was drafted out of Alabama, where he’d thrown 62 innings in 14 starts. The former offensive lineman – seriously, he was a very highly regarded tackle recruit out of an Alabama high school – waited until '26 to start pitching professionally. In a very, very limited sample, it’s looking great so far. Quick has made three appearances for Fort Myers, and he’s yet to allow a run. In eight innings, Quick has allowed exactly one hit, struck out 13, and walked three. In his last outing, Quick topped out at 97.9 miles per hour, and averaged a spicy 95.9 on his sinker. Both Houston and Quick remain a long way from the Majors. In fact, neither has so much as played a game in the high Minors. But it’s easy to see encouraging signs from their first full-season experiences in professional baseball. |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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It wasn’t hard to get excited about what Connor Prielipp showed in his Major League debut on Wednesday, when the rookie lefty turned in four effective innings with six strikeouts and no walks. And if you liked what you saw, good news: you’re going to see more. Manager Derek Shelton said Friday that for now at least, Prielipp will remain in the Twins rotation in place of the injured Mick Abel. “He’s going to stay in our rotation,” Shelton said. “With Abel being out, we plan on him being in our rotation.” |
During much of the time since he was acquired from the Blue Jays, it would’ve been hard to imagine Kendry Rojas’ Major League debut coming so soon. Rojas struggled mightily upon arrival from the Toronto organization, in his first taste of Triple-A. Then he showed some impressive flashes in his first spring in the Twins organization, but suffered a hamstring strain that landed him on the injured list to begin the season. However, he thrived upon his return to action, and when Kody Funderburk headed for the paternity list, Rojas was called up. He’s back down now, but he showed he could handle the Majors, and he’ll remember the moment for a long time. “We were at the team meeting, and the manager broke the news in front of everyone. I couldn’t help but feel super excited about the whole thing,” Rojas said via interpreter Pablo López. “It’s hard not to feel a little down after you go down with an injury, but I got a lot of support from my teammates and my support system and here we are. … My mother and my grandmother, they got so excited that their blood pressure went up, but all from the very, very good reasons.” |
AND, FINALLY, THE PLAYLIST |
Y’all be kind and look out for each other, OK? Hum, “Stars” Spacehog, “In the Meantime” Dinosaur Jr., “Start Choppin” Smashing Pumpkins, “Drown” Catherine Wheel, “Black Metallic” |
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