Only St. Louis Cardinals catching prospect Leo Bernal moved more when he climbed 19 spots.<\/p>\n
Houston tied Baltimore Orioles left-hander Joseph Dzierwa and Washington Nationals infielder Seaver King for the second-largest jump in the update.<\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s first full professional season answered some of the questions that had been surrounding him after Minnesota selected him as a first-round draft pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.<\/p>\n
Marek Houston Finished 2026 on a Tear![\"Marek](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m3z43azgkwr1kefmwq.jpg\" "\\"Marek")
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Marek Houston | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
The Twins picked Houston as the No. 16 overall pick out of Wake Forest last summer.<\/a><\/p>\n Houston has been an elite defenseman for a long time. In fact, he earned the starting position with Wake Forest as a freshman due to his performance with his glove. MLB Pipeline gave him a 60 fielding grade along with above-average grades for his speed and arm.<\/p>\n The questions that surrounded Houston were all about his ability on offense.<\/p>\n The 2026 season should provide encouraging answers there.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old hit .310 with a .390 on-base percentage and .457 slugging percentage across two Minor League levels. He collected 28 doubles, 12 home runs, and 59 RBI as well.<\/p>\n Coming into the final stretch of the season, it would have been understandable for Houston to be a little tired and have his numbers fall. Instead, he did just the opposite. It was like he found his stride.<\/p>\n He went into a 10-game hitting streak where he batted .405 over 50 plate appearances while also drawing seven walks against eight strikeouts.<\/p>\n Certainly that added some fuel to the fire and moved him right up the Top 100 list.<\/p>\n Houston Could Be Knocking on Top 50 Wake Forest’s Marek Houston | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n Given his stats and how he finished the year, Houston\u2019s rise might not be over.<\/p>\n As MLB Pipeline noted, if he were to develop more power at the plate, he could easily be a top-50 contender.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not just a dream, either. He has shown signs that this could certainly be a reality.<\/p>\n Houston hit 15 home runs<\/a> with a 1.055 OPS during his final college season at Wake Forest. Since joining the Twins, he has continued to work at creating better line-drive angles and producing more impact.<\/p>\n He has already reached Double-A, and that puts him in a position to continue his quick rise within the organization.<\/p>\n Twins Have High-End Talent Coming<\/p>\n Houston isn\u2019t the only one who earned recognition in the Pipeline\u2019s final update, either.<\/p>\n Walker Jenkins <\/a>moved from No. 15 to No. 13 overall. Jenkins remains Minnesota\u2019s No. 1 prospect within the organization despite already reaching the Major Leagues this season.<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s current organizational rankings have Jenkins first, Vahn Lackey<\/a> second, Kaelen Culpepper third, and Houston fourth. Emmanuel Rodriguez rounds out the top five.<\/p>\n Several of those prospects have already found their way to the MLB field.<\/p>\n Houston has not.<\/p>\n If he continues on the path he is currently on, it likely won\u2019t be long before he gets the chance.<\/p>\n![\"Wake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m3z44cmr58scf8p7jy.jpg\" "\\"Wake")
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