Khadim Diaw took his promotion by the horns.
The Twins' No. 9 prospect headed up to Double-A Wichita on June 15 after a career-high 58 games at High-A. Diaw slashed .300/.405/.454 with 15 doubles, five homers and one triple for Cedar Rapids, and the 23-year-old hasn't wavered during his adjustment to the Texas League.
"Double-A is probably the biggest jump they'll make until they go to the big leagues, just in terms of the quality of the pitching," Wind Surge hitting coach Andrew Cresci said. "He did an excellent job. The guy is a perfectionist in his attention to detail. I can definitely appreciate his work in the cage and his preparation."
Diaw's bat-to-ball skills and decision-making have thrived after the move, although his power numbers started to dip. The righty slashed .307/.430/.413 with 11 extra-base hits and 23 walks to 18 strikeouts across his first 40 games.
While he's always walked at a high clip (11.8 percent in 2025), Diaw also has been hit at a significant rate. In his first full pro season in 2025, he was hit by a pitch 18 times, and through 98 games in 2026, the Loyola Marymount product has been plunked 19 times, 11 at Double-A.
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The Twins' 2024 third-rounder also cut his strikeout rate nearly in half (19 to 9.7 percent) after moving to a level with better pitching. He improved his on-base percentage at the same time as well, but now, the focus has turned to getting more of those barreled balls to land for extra-base hits.
"He does a great job of getting his pitch, driving it," Cresci said. "When he doesn't, he still gets enough bat on the ball to get a quality swing in there and get on base."
Diaw made a swing change in his second pro season. His power might show more over time as his contact quality and decision-making play in his favor.
"He's a big information guy in terms of watching his video and going through the reports," Cresci said.
Diaw has also stolen a career-high 14 bases, 11 at Double-A, this season. The Wind Surge already broke their franchise home run record again this season on top of snapping their single-season stolen base mark as well.
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Cresci and Diaw both hail from New Jersey. The former has admired the Twins' ability to factor in character and personality into Draft profiles, with more young guys moving up to Double-A in Cresci’s second season with Minnesota.
"KD, he's intense, man," Cresci said. "He gets in the cage, and he's got a clear picture of what he wants to accomplish on the mechanics front. He's a smart guy, so it's always a good back-and-forth with him in there."
With that intensity, Diaw has set high expectations for himself. He's wanted to help lead the organization while leveraging a non-traditional platoon at catcher and in center field. But Diaw has also improved his barrel and hard-hit percentages with his improved exit velocities.