When you think of the Twins' catching prospects, the first name that comes to mind is likely Eduardo Tait, MLB Pipeline's No. 3 overall Twins prospect. Two other catchers also rank among the club's top 30 prospects. One of them is Enrique Jimenez, who has posted an outstanding .286/.458/.561 (180 wRC+) slash line across 32 games (28 in Low-A and five rehab games in rookie ball) since being sent to Minnesota from Detroit as part of the Chris Paddack trade last summer. Jimenez is the Twins' No. 26 overall prospect. The other catcher among the Twins' top 30 prospects is Khadim Diaw, Minnesota's No. 22 overall prospect.
Minnesota selected Diaw in the third round (96th overall) of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He hit .271/.374/.341 (116 wRC+) over 24 games with Low-A Fort Myers in 2024. He's slugged a bit more over the past two seasons, but he's still mainly a hit-for-average player.
In 45 games with High-A Cedar Rapids this season, Diaw is slashing .280/.390/.401 (113 wRC+) with two homers, 31 runs and 20 RBI. Last year, the catcher appeared in 42 games, 39 in High-A and three in Low-A, and posted a .297/.450/.445 (161 wRC+) slash line with four homers, 25 runs and 24 RBI. Given his elite ability to reach base, Diaw, 22, deserves more attention from Twins fans.
MLB Pipeline regards Diaw as an athletic backstop. He can also play all three outfield positions.
Diaw looks promising but has proven to be injury-prone
Unfortunately, like many of the Twins' top prospects, Diaw has already dealt with numerous injuries in his young career. He appeared in just eight games during his freshman season due to a back fracture and played in only 20 games during his final collegiate season because of a broken left thumb. Additionally, Diaw appeared in just 39 games with High-A Cedar Rapids last season because of a broken wrist and then a hamstring injury. If Diaw hadn't been hurt much of the time since being drafted, he likely would've reached Double-A if not Triple-A by now.
While Ryan Jeffers is slated to be a free agent at season's end, the Twins should feel great about the future of the catcher position with Diaw, Tait and Jimenez in their pipeline. Additionally, many mock drafts have Minnesota selecting Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey with the third overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.
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