Former Twins 12th-round pick making strong case for minor league POY award

You won't find the name Kyler Fedko on any list of the Twins' top prospects, but the 25-year-old former 12th-round draft pick is having a spectacular season and making a real case to be named the organization's minor league player of the year.

Fedko went 5 for 5 for the St. Paul Saints on Tuesday night, becoming just the sixth Saints player to ever do so. He singled twice, doubled twice, and homered in a St. Paul blowout win. After that offensive explosion, he's now hitting .358 with five home runs, five steals, and a 1.116 OPS in his first 16 games at the Triple-A level.

Kyler Fedko recorded his first ever 5-hit (and 4-hit) game in his professional career in the @StPaulSaints win 🤙

5-5 / HR / 2 2B / 2 RBI / 4 R

He is now slashing .358/.429/.687 (1.116 OPS) since getting promoted to Triple-A 👀#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/6lvqezMAb6
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) August 20, 2025

Fedko has been raking all year, dating back to when he went 3 for 8 with a couple doubles in MLB spring training with the Twins. In 88 games for Double-A Wichita before being promoted, he hit .253 with 20 homers, 26 steals, and an .868 OPS. In total, across the two levels, he's up to 25 homers and 31 steals. A 30-30 season is well within reach with 29 games left on the Saints' schedule. Fedko's season OPS is up to .912.

It's been quite the breakout year for Fedko, who the Twins selected with the 369th overall pick out of the University of Connecticut in 2021. The Pennsylvania native put up decent numbers in the low minors in 2022 and '23, but nothing that screamed future big leaguer. Then, in 2024, he struggled quite a bit in his first taste of Double-A action, hitting just .227 with three homers and a .645 OPS across 77 games.

Whatever work Fedko did this offseason has paid off handsomely. He was excellent as a power/speed threat for Wichita this year, and he's somehow been even better since earning his way up to Triple-A. Fedko, a right-handed outfielder, has put himself on the doorstep of a call-up to the majors at some point this year or next.

He's also a strong contender to win the Sherry Robertson Award, given annually to the Twins' minor league player of the year. Fedko leads all Twins minor leaguers in homers, runs scored, RBI, and OPS (minimum 250 PAs). He's also third in total hits, fourth in doubles, third in walks, and tied for third in steals.

His two primary contenders for the award are a pair of younger top-10 prospects in the Twins' system in Kaelen Culpepper and Gabriel Gonzalez. Culpepper has been incredible, hitting .304 with 18 homers and 23 steals across High-A and Double-A. Gonzalez, who has gone from High-A to Triple-A this year, leads the organization in batting average (.325) and hits (129). All three players have a wRC+ between 146 and 148 on a similar number of plate appearances. Twins No. 1 prospect Walker Jenkins has a 149 wRC+ but has 200 fewer PAs due to a lengthy injury absence.

Culpepper and Gonzalez fit the typical mold of the Twins' minor league player of the year. The last five winners are Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee, Matt Wallner, Jose Miranda, and Trevor Larnach. But if Fedko finishes with around 30 homers and 40 steals, which he's on pace for, I'm not sure how you could give that award to anyone else.

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