Luis Rijo

Minor League Top Prospects

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  Ranked American League #14 prospect in 2018
  Rijo was acquired by the Twins, along with 1B Tyler Austin, from the Yankees in exchange for Lance Lynn this summer and has taken a slight jump in velocity that came hand in hand with a growth spurt. Previously listed at 5-foot-11, Rijo is now 6-foot-1 and his fastball ticked up from the mid to upper-80s to sitting in the low 90s, touching 94 mph. His secondaries include an average changeup and a fringe-average curveball, but Rijo projects to have future plus control and command. He didn't walk a batter through his first four starts and on the season issued just seven free passes -- just one walk per nine innings. Plenty of pitchers have louder raw stuff than Rijo, but his tremendous feel for locating the baseball should give him a chance to become a backend starter.