The Twins’ most likely Rule 5 Draft candidate could be hiring a new pitching staff very soon

Under the Top prospect of the Minnesota Twinss, no shortage of pitching. Of the club’s Top 30 prospects, 14 are pitchers, including Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year Connor Prielipp (No. 9) and 6-foot-1 teenager Dasan Hill (No. 7), who is climbing the ladder at an astronomical pace.

At the bottom of the list is number 24 Jose Olivares. a 22-year-old right-hander with a world of promise. Unfortunately, that potential may not come to fruition within the Twins organization. With the 2025 MLB Rule 5 Draft releases on December 10 in Orlando, Florida, Olivares qualifies for Rule 5 and is the most likely player to be drafted from Minnesota.

Twins’ No. 24 prospect Jose Olivares’ Rule 5 eligibility puts him in danger of leaving Minnesota

The 6-foot-1 Righty will be viewed as a project with tremendous upside. He struckout 107 batters in 90.1 innings this season. Of his 22 appearances, 10 saw six or more strikeouts, giving him a career 9.7 K/9.

Olivares’ biggest problem is his command. He walked 57 batters last season, six of which were four or more. Experts can point to his four-field arsenal as the source of his problem. Yes, they’re all good throws, but Olivares can’t perfect a particular throw because he throws all four offerings too many times. This has led to too many missed throws during games, but if he can master half of those throws, he’s in good shape. Many teams could be salivating at the chance to bolster his skillset.

Olivares can drop back and hit his fastball in the 90s, so when you combine that with three other pitches with a lot of life, this could be a future MLB starter. But only if he develops correctly. A team could take that chance in the Rule 5 draft, but if they don’t, Twins fans should be happy if they stay.