Twins 2025 First-Round Pick Marek Houston is Moving Up a Level

The 2026 MLB Draft is just a few weeks away. If the Twins' recent track record is any indication, they're going to add a very good player to their farm system with the No. 3 overall pick this year.

The Twins have done quite well with their top pick in recent years. Brooks Lee (8th overall in 2022) looked like a bust for a bit, but he's playing every day and has emerged as a productive big-league player in his third season. Walker Jenkins (5th in 2023) is Minnesota's top prospect and a borderline top-10 prospect in baseball. Kaelen Culpepper (20th in 2024) is the Twins' No. 2 prospect and their reigning minor league player of the year.

Not to be overlooked, Marek Houston (16th overall in 2025) has so far been everything the Twins hoped he'd be when they drafted him a year ago. Houston was promoted to Double-A Wichita on Monday after an outstanding 56 games with High-A Cedar Rapids, putting him on pace to potentially reach the big leagues at some point next year.

Seen as the best defensive shortstop in last year's draft, Houston's glove has certainly lived up to the reputation he built during his time at Wake Forest. More encouraging has been what he's done on the offensive side of things. After struggling in his first 12 games at High-A late last year, he's dominated that level in 2026.

Prior to his promotion, Houston slashed .325/.406/.461 in 268 plate appearances for the Kernels. He hit five home runs among 20 total extra-base hits. He also stole 24 bases on 26 tries. The 22-year-old's patient approach and strong bat-to-ball skills have yielded great results. He's ranked as the Twins' No. 7 prospect and has a case to be moved up a couple spots on that list.

Five hits in … the first five innings 🤯

The @Twins' 2025 first-round pick, Marek Houston, sets a new career high and raises his average to .326 for the High-A @CRKernels: pic.twitter.com/J6YQ2qFAqI
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 14, 2026

The level of difficulty will now ramp up for Houston as he jumps to Double-A. It would be understandable if he gets off to a slow start at the plate, like he did after his first promotion last year. But for a glove-first shortstop, the way Houston has hit to start his pro career has been a major positive. If he's the caliber of defender many think he is, he's not going to have to be a great big-league hitter to provide a lot of value to the Twins.

Because of his defense, Houston might be the best bet to be the Twins' everyday shortstop two years from now. If he continues to hit, he'll likely push Culpepper to a different infield position.

Jenkins is back

Speaking of recent Twins first-round picks, Jenkins' rehab assignment has officially come to an end. After going 9 for 16 with two homers in four games for Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids, Jenkins will be back in Triple-A St. Paul's lineup on Tuesday for the first time since early May.

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