Twins' No. 17 prospect enjoying change of scenery in Fall League
This browser does not support the video element.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- For a while, it looked like Yasser Mercedes had become a full-time resident of Fort Myers, Florida.
It’s true that most young prospects coming through the Twins system are bound to spend considerable time in the southwest Florida spot, given it is the organization’s Spring Training facility. For an international prospect like Mercedes, who signed for $1.7 million in January 2022 as one of the highest-ranked outfielders in the class, a regular path might include multiple stays for instructional league play in the fall, the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and then the full-season affiliate in the Florida State League, not to mention countless Spring Trainings.
But Mercedes, now the Twins’ No. 17 prospect, took it to the extreme. After posting an OPS of .955 in his Dominican Summer League debut following his signing, he came stateside and proceeded to spend the next three full seasons, 2023-2025, in either the FCL or the FSL. He went back there for the start of the '26 season as well, but after hitting .321/.439/.642 over his first 21 games, he finally departed the Sunshine State for High-A Cedar Rapids.
“I was really excited because I was there for like three years,” Mercedes said. “To get the promotion was really special.”
His time in the Midwest League wasn’t as productive, with a .232/.320/.409 line. Though he continued to show an ability to get to more power with 12 homers in 88 games, that came with a 116/39 K/BB ratio. This didn’t surprise the Twins, given that Mercedes struggled in his first taste of the FCL and again when he reached full-season ball, and it’s a big reason why they sent him to play some more baseball with the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League.
“We’ve noticed he has a bigger level adjustment when he moves up than most guys,” Twins farm director Drew MacPhail said. “So we wanted to expose him to better competition before going back to High-A next year, to prepare him for that.”
There were certain things the Twins noticed about Mercedes’ offensive development that led to the uptick in production this season, as well as some of the mechanical bad habits that can get him into trouble, all things he can keep working on -- Mercedes mentioned consistency often -- this fall.
“The priority is getting at-bats,” MacPhail said. "He’s dealt with bail at points in his career and he did a much better job keeping his center of mass over the plate this year, which I think contributed to his breakout in A ball.”
Mercedes also performed extremely well defensively and will need to focus on his physical development so he can stay in center field long term. That will also help him on the basepaths, where he’s been prolific even when other parts of his game stalled. He led the Twins organization with 52 steals in 2026, only getting caught eight times.
“I worked a lot with some of the coaches from our team on learning how to steal a base,” Mercedes said, “how to take whatever you can take from the pitcher, like any signs, anything, and take advantage of that.”
Twins hitters in the Fall League
Kyle DeBarge, 2B/SS: The Twins took DeBarge No. 33 overall in the 2024 Draft and the Ragin’ Cajun spent a season apiece at High-A and Double-A over his first two years of pro ball. His speed definitely plays, with 107 steals over that span, but the rest of his offensive game hasn’t been as consistent. He will draw some walks, but strikes out too much for a sparkplug type, though he has shown the ability to play four different positions at times.
Jacob McCombs, OF: The Twins nabbed McCombs in the seventh round of the 2025 Draft after a solid sophomore-eligible season at UC Irvine. He played just 67 games with High-A Cedar Rapids, so he’s looking to make up for lost reps this fall. He’s a capable outfielder who can man all three spots and is an aggressive left-handed hitter with a swing primed for contact and some raw pop to tap into.
Twins pitchers in the Fall League
Ross Dunn, LHP: Dunn spent two years at Florida State and was part of the same weekend rotation as Guardians’ Rookie of the Year candidate Parker Messick in 2022. He transferred to Arizona State for his junior season and joined the Twins as a 10th-rounder in 2023. He made just one start in 2025, then needed Tommy John surgery, which he returned from this July. The lefty is still shaking the rust off, but showed a low-90s fastball and a decent 84-85 mph slider upon his return.
Cesar Lares, LHP: A 6-foot left-hander who signed for just $10,000 shortly after the 2022 international signing period opened, Lares made his way to full-season ball by 2024, throwing 81 Florida State League innings that season, before Tommy John surgery late that year wiped out his 2025 campaign. He returned in late May and amassed 44 1/3 total innings, so he’s making up for lost mound time while trying to rediscover feel for his four-pitch mix: a low-90s fastball, a low-80s slider and 75-76 mph curve that both miss bats and a low-80s changeup.
Cleiber Maldonado, LHP: Another lefty who missed the 2025 season because of elbow surgery, Maldonado threw only 15 innings this season and only has 111 1/3 career IP since making his debut in 2021. He’s a reliever who can crank his fastball up to 97 mph and miss bats with a low-80s breaking ball.
Jake Murray, LHP: Murray went from junior college to Campbell University in 2022, then missed the '24 season following internal brace surgery. He signed as an undrafted free agent after pitching in the Fighting Camels’ rotation at age 24 in 2025. He spent his first full season pitching out of the bullpen for Single-A Fort Myers, striking out 13.4 per nine while walking 6.8, showing a fastball up to 96 mph and a full array of secondary offerings used to elicit a lot of ground-ball outs (1.61 GO/AO).
Brian Zeldin, RHP: Zeldin spent four years at Penn, two more at Georgia as a grad student reliever and a year in indy ball before signing with the Twins as a free agent in February. He pitched out of the bullpen at two A levels at age 25, striking out 12.8 per nine but struggling with his command (7.1 BB/9). He’s a slider monster with a mid-80s breaker that elicited a miss rate north of 40 percent, his primary pitch ahead of a fastball that touches 96 mph.