Hendry Mendez has the kind of offensive approach the Twins consistently value, and he’s going to get a chance to show it off for another few weeks. Mendez, an outfielder at Double-A Wichita who is Minnesota's No. 25 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was acquired from the Phillies in the trade that sent Harrison Bader to Philadelphia. He’s a left-handed hitter who controls the strike zone well. And he was one of three ranked Twins prospects named Wednesday to the Arizona Fall League, commonly known as “baseball’s finishing school.” Minnesota will send eight players to the Fall League, one of the sport’s top prospect showcases. It tends to be a hitters’ league, and that shows in the Twins’ selections this year. They’ll send five pitchers -- none of whom are ranked in the franchise’s Top 30 according to MLB Pipeline -- and three hitters, all of whom are. Mendez is definitely one of the most intriguing. It’s his fifth professional season but he’s still just 21, and he shows an advanced approach at the plate. He has a lifetime .372 on-base percentage in the Minors, including .394 this year and .451 since joining Wichita. |
But there is some question about his future position -- the Twins have him doing some work at first base -- and about his power. Mendez has 22 homers in 415 Minor League games and a career .383 slugging percentage -- though his .431 mark this year is easily his highest in full-season ball. Still, young hitters who control the strike zone like Mendez don’t come along every day. It’s his calling card. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve always taken pride in that,” Mendez said recently, through interpreter and teammate Jose Salas. “Always worked hard on making sure I make good decisions on what to swing at and what not to swing at. One of my managers really touched on that with me a lot, and I take pride in it.” As for his position, the Twins have him working out some at first base, though he hasn’t appeared in a game there yet. The Fall League could be the perfect opportunity for him to give it a shot in games. The full list of Twins prospects headed to the AFL is as follows: • RHP Miguelangel Boadas (High-A Cedar Rapids) • RHP Jakob Hall (Single-A Fort Myers) • RHP Hunter Hoopes (Double-A Wichita) • RHP Dylan Questad (Single-A Fort Myers) • LHP Zander Sechrist (Single-A Fort Myers) • IF Billy Amick (High-A Cedar Rapids, Twins' No. 17 prospect) • IF Brandon Winokur (High-A Cedar Rapids, Twins' No. 14 prospect) • Mendez The AFL gets under way on Oct. 6 and runs through Nov. 12. |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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The Twins begin their final homestand of the season on Friday with a three-game series against the Diamondbacks. The Yankees come to town after that, and the series opener against New York, Sept. 15, will be “Buck Truck Night.” Fans can purchase a special ticket offer that includes a ticket and a trucker hat highlighting Buxton’s “Buck Truck” celebration. For details, visit this link. |
RODRIGUEZ ALL THE WAY BACK |
It’s been an injury-marred season for Emmanuel Rodriguez, the Twins' No. 3 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 68 overall. However, as Triple-A St. Paul enters the home stretch, Rodriguez is finally back with the Saints. Rodriguez missed several weeks with an oblique strain, then went on a rehabilitation assignment at Single-A Fort Myers. But he’s back in Triple-A for the final two weeks of the season. And in a fun development for fans, he’ll join top prospect Walker Jenkins at St. Paul, meaning that the Twins’ top two outfield prospects will be together in Triple-A for the first time. The Saints have home games Thursday through Sunday before going on the road for the season’s final week. |
After missing more than a month due to an infection in his right shoulder, catcher Christian Vázquez is making good progress and the Twins are planning for him to get some game action in before the 2025 season comes to an end. Vázquez, who initially went home to Florida to convalesce, has returned to Minnesota and has been working out at Target Field. “The plan is that [we’ll] continue to ramp him up throughout that homestand and just kind of see where we are as we get to the tail end of it,” head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re running up against the Triple-A team’s season ending and our season not ending so we’re trying to figure out if we can get him some at-bats at Triple-A rehab-wise or we have to activate him here. Whatever we need to get to at that point but he’s definitely moving in a great [trajectory] right now.” |
AND, FINALLY, THE PLAYLIST |
Lorde, “Broken Glass” TSHA, “Girls” Onsloow, “Taxi” Pixey, “Give A Little Of Your Love” Jade Bird, “Stick Around” |
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