When Minnesota Twins fans think of their favorite team's top pitching prospects, Connor Prielipp, Dasan Hill, Kendry Rojas and Charlee Soto are likely the names that come to mind. While all four of those pitchers have star potential, there's another arm in the Twins system who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath: Riley Quick.
Quick, whom the Twins selected 36th overall in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Alabama, made his High-A debut with Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. The 22-year-old righty absolutely dominated for the Kernels, allowing just one hit and no walks with five strikeouts across four shutout innings. Quick, a righty, also made three appearances with Low-A Fort Myers this season, allowing no runs, one hit and three walks with 13 strikeouts across eight innings.
Wednesday was a rough day for Twins fans, as Minnesota blew a 3-2 lead to the Seattle Mariners in the ninth inning of the rubber match at Target Field, falling to a 13-18 record. Luckily, Quick's strong High-A debut gave fans something to be excited about during a time when hope is lacking in Twins Territory.
Genuinely probably better than anyone in the #MNTwins current bullpen right now https://t.co/sJ9r2BGRfS
— SleeperTwins (@SleeperMLBTwins) April 30, 2026
he’s exactly the type of pitcher teams are looking for, interested to see what the twins do with his fastball shapes.
— Akane (@akanemvp) April 30, 2026
Quick signed for a full-slot bonus of $2.69 million after being drafted by Minnesota. He had a solid 3.68 ERA with 26 strikeouts over 22 innings as a reliever during his freshman year with Alabama. He made just one appearance with the Crimson Tide in 2024 due to undergoing Tommy John Surgery. In 2025, the righty posted a 3.92 ERA with 70 strikeouts across 62 innings.
Quick has good shot to be in Twins' starting rotation in 2028
MLB Pipeline projects Quick, who is 6-foot-6 and weighs 255 pounds, will make his MLB debut in 2028. But if he continues to dominate in the minors, we could see him as early as next season.
Quick throws a sinking fastball that sits at 96-97 mph and can reach 99. He complements his electric fastball with a mid-80s slider, a low-90s cutter and a high-80s changeup.
The Twins are being cautious with Quick since he didn't throw more than 62 innings in a season during his time with Alabama. By slowly building him up to a full workload, Minnesota is limiting his risk of injury. Quick likely has a real shot at being in the Twins' rotation in 2028, and could be used as a big-league reliever late in 2027 if Minnesota is competing for a playoff spot and needs a pitcher with electric stuff for late innings.
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