Top 5 Minnesota Twins Pitching Prospects

Jovani Moran making the top spot in the list is partially due to merit and partly due to the state of the Twins bullpen and lack of other reliever prospects close to being called up. Moran was a seventh round pick in the 2015 MLB draft from Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy.  In 2015 Moran started in Rookie ball as a starter and in 2017 earned a Rookie Ball All-Star honor after switching over to relief pitching. As a reliever with Elizabethton Moran was absolutely dominating out of the bullpen with a 16.42 SO/9 and gave up just one run in 24.2 innings.

Moran moved up to Single-A in 2018 and continued to dominate out of the bullpen. In 75 innings he gave up 19 runs, striking out 107 batters. Moran is noted for having electric stuff but was very raw coming into the minor league system for the Twins. His fastball touches the mid-90’s with good movement on it, and he is still developing his other pitches.

For Moran to make an impact this season at the major league level he will have had to improve his change up and command. Some of his command issues tend to be attributed to the amount of movement he has on his pitches. If he can gain a feel for how to command his fastball and change up with the movement in mind he could possibly make a leap to the major leagues this season.

In 2019 Moran started out in Double-A and has encountered stiffer competition that he has struggled against more than at previous levels. Control issues have surfaced in his first eight appearances walking 11 batters in 15 innings. The command being an issue as well has resulted in giving up more hits and homeruns. Still, the stuff remains electric striking out 25 batters in just 15 innings. It’s relatively small sample size and moving up a level too but if Moran can fix his control/command issue he could be in for a late season rise to the majors. His dominating stuff, when in command of it, could be just what the Twins need to help remedy the bullpen issues.