When Kala¡¯i Rosario arrived in the Arizona Fall League in 2023, he was coming off a full season of game action that saw him named High-A Midwest League MVP. This time around, an elbow injury knocked out more than two months of his summer, making the premier prospect circuit an ideal place to make up for lost time and propel him on his upward trajectory through the Twins¡¯ system.

Beyond establishing a sound base for his move to Double-A Wichita during his age-21 campaign, his first foray into the AFL also saw him collect some hardware as the league¡¯s Home Run Derby champion.

¡°I had a few guys talk about that like, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re gonna go back and do the Home Run Derby!¡¯ And I was joking around like, ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll be fun to watch this year.¡¯ We¡¯ll see what happens," Rosario said. "If I¡¯m in it again, it¡¯ll be a great time. ¡­ I had a blast doing that last year.

¡°When they called me and told me they wanted me to come back to the Fall League, it was almost a relief because I want to be out here, I want to play more games. I saw this league last year and I had such a blast, so I¡¯m excited to be out here again.¡±

The jump from High-A to Double-A is often presented as the most challenging for hitters in the Minors, particularly for players who go pro from the high school ranks. Rosario, a fifth-round selection in the 2020 Draft out of a Hawaii high school that has produced a pair of big leaguers -- Kean Wong and Onan Masaoka -- has always dealt with a dose of swing-and-miss to his game, a tradeoff for the extra-base power that he generates.

But upon returning to action in late August, the punchouts piled up to the tune of 28 in 68 plate appearances. His 30.4 percent strikeout rate for the season was a slight increase from his previous year, which when coupled with a sky-high ground-ball rate (54.2 percent), led to a harsh dose of life in the upper Minors.

¡°A big thing [for me] in the Fall League this year is just being more aggressive,¡± Rosario said. ¡°Try not to leave too much meat on the bone. And when I get into at-bats, don¡¯t get behind too much. Just kind of test around with being a little bit more aggressive and see how that [goes] and just trusting myself out there."

The Twins have consistently challenged Rosario with a one-level-per-year style of development. The club believes in his offensive impact enough that they slotted him into the cleanup spot during the 2024 Spring Breakout game, which also included Top 100 prospects Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 29) and Luke Keaschall (No. 63), along with Brooks Lee and Austin Martin, who made their Minnesota debuts this summer.

When MLB Pipeline released their in-season farm system rankings in August, the Twins made an enormous jump to No. 2 overall. While Lee, Rodriguez, Keaschall and MLB¡¯s No. 2 overall prospect Walker Jenkins played a big part in that, so did high-upside bats like Rosario.

¡°I¡¯m gonna be facing a lot of great competition,¡± Rosario said of his second Fall League stint, ¡°so this is the perfect place to be.¡±

Twins hitters in the Fall League

Danny De Andrade, SS (No. 21): Tabbed as the No. 14 international prospect among the 2021 crop, De Andrade has shown glimpses of that potential while consistently moving one level at a time through Minnesota¡¯s system. A left ankle injury sustained on May 15, and subsequent surgery, forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season, making the Fall League his proving ground. He posted slightly better than league average production (105 wRC+) as a 20-year-old at High-A while making multiple starts at both shortstop and second base.

Ben Ross, UTIL: Ross has gone from Notre Dame to quickly moving up the Twins organization. Not that Notre Dame, but rather Notre Dame College in Ohio, an institution that has since closed after he was selected in the fifth round in 2022, the school¡¯s lone draftee in program history. Boasting an exciting blend of tools that has allowed him to move around the diamond defensively, Ross hit a speed bump at the upper levels this year with Double-A Wichita: a .212/.285/.342 slash line in 123 games with a 29.7 percent strikeout rate. Previously a member of the club¡¯s Top 30 list, his reps in the Fall League could help him reclaim some prospect shine.

Twins pitchers in the Fall League

Kade Bragg, LHP: No matter where you pitch collegiately, going 15-1 with a 1.20 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings will get you on the radar of big league organizations. Named the DII Pitcher of the Year for Angelo State University in 2023, the Twins nabbed the southpaw in the 17th round. A left rotator cuff strain limited him to just 8 1/3 innings this season for Single-A Fort Myers, although his arsenal looked electric in a relief role with a low-90s sinker, 91-93 mph four-seamer, 84-87 mph changeup and low-80s slider limiting batters to a .185 average against.

Jacob King, RHP: The 23-year-old joined the organization as an undrafted free agent in July 2023 and has combined for just 2 1/3 frames in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League since then. A right shoulder issue kept him out of game action this season, but he picked up steam with back-to-back scoreless outings to open his Salt River stint. Operating with a low-90s fastball and a 79-81 mph slider, the former UC Irvine closer has the look of a two-pitch reliever as he looks to make hay in pro ball.

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Devin Kirby, RHP: Last season, right-hander Cory Lewis brought his floating knuckleball to Fort Myers. This year, Kirby carried on the legacy, an offering he¡¯s still working on honing during his time in the Fall League. The new offering is a byproduct of Tommy John surgery, which forced Kirby to revamp his arsenal. Signed for $500 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Connecticut in July 2023, he has just 13 1/3 innings under his belt in full-season ball, hoping that the elevated competition in Arizona can speed up his development.

Jack Noble, RHP: Combing through Noble¡¯s color-coded pitch usage on Baseball Savant is reminiscent of a rainbow. Working with six offerings -- four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, splitter, slider and curveball -- in a multi-inning role made him particularly nasty down the stretch at Single-A, as he logged 34 strikeouts across his final 20 2/3 innings. He¡¯ll be 25 for all of the 2025 campaign with a significant bump up the organization¡¯s ladder likely in his future, making his time in the Fall League vital to hone his arsenal.

Liam Rocha, RHP: Eight of Rocha¡¯s 10 appearances this year featured multiple strikeouts as he worked as a bulk hurler for the FCL Twins. Undrafted out of Cal Baptist, the 22-year-old amassed 10.5 K/9 across three seasons in the WAC. Equipped with a low-90s four-seam fastball and a mid-80s slider, he allowed more than one hit per inning and scuffled with keeping walks in check (16) across 29 1/3 frames.