Minnesota Twins expected to sign shortstop prospect Enmanuel Merlo from Venezuela
With January 15th being the first date international prospects can sign their contracts, Baseball America's Ben Badler wrote that the Minnesota Twins are expected to sign shortstop prospect Enmanuel Merlo, 17, out of Venezuela. His signing bonus is expected to be $1.5 million, the 29th-largest bonus of any international prospect, per Baseball America.
Merlo is a switch-hitter who is lean but extremely strong, enabling him to drive the ball with high-end impact. Merlo can sting the ball with some of the better raw power in the 2026 international class, hitting hard line drives with long carry and launching balls out to his pull side when he's generating loft. Merlo typically takes quality at-bats as well with good feel for hitting and maneuvering the barrel, especially from the left side of the plate. An average runner with a plus arm, Merlo has the traits to stick in the dirt and has a chance to stick at shortstop, though if he were to move to second or third base, he has the offensive components to profile well there.
Merlo is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 180 pounds. He is ranked as MLB Pipeline's No. 34 international prospect. Here are his scouting grades: hitting 50, power 45, run 50, arm 50 and field 55.
Merlo played in the Liga Gran Caracas Prospect League and went 9-for-23 with two homers, eight RBI, seven walks and five steals across seven games.
Merlo set to join Twins farm system with abundance of shortstop talent
By signing with the Twins, Merlo joins an organization with plenty of talented shortstops in the minor leagues, in addition to Brooks Lee. MLB Pipeline has Twins shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper, who will likely make his MLB debut in 2026, ranked as Minnesota's No. 2 prospect and MLB's No. 52 prospect. The Twins also have promising shortstop prospects Marek Houston, whom Minnesota selected in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft, Kyle DeBarge, Quentin Young and Brandon Winokur.
Merlo likely has a longer road to the big leagues than the other shortstops in Minnesota's system, simply because he isn't even an adult yet. Assuming he flourishes in the Twins' system, he still won't make his MLB debut for at least several years, but he has a good chance to one day be an impact player for the Twins.