How Cesar Lares Showing Twins Early Success in Arizona Fall League

Minnesota Twins pitching prospect Cesar Lares needs innings and that’s the biggest reason the team send him to the Arizona Fall League.

The 23-year-old left-handed pitcher missed all the 2025 season due to an elbow injury that required surgery. He got back on the field in May on a rehab assignment and then quickly moved from Class-A Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids in June to continue his progress through the system.

Lares made his AFL debut last week and has pitched one game in relief. So far, he’s been an effective option for the Salt River Rafters.

Cesar Lares’ Early AFL Start

Lares threw 3.1 innings in his only appearance so far, as he gave up three hits and one run. He struck out four and walked two as batters hit .231 against him.

It was a promising start for a pitcher the Twins hopes will get several more reps during AFL action, which continues into early November. It will help refuel his development, which was stunted by the injury and boost his future in the eyes of the organization after a rough return in the back of this season.

Lares took 14 starts in the minors in 2026 as he went 1-7 with a 9.34 ERA. He gave up 54 runs (46 earned) in 44.1 innings. He also struck out 51 and walked 29 as batters hit .293 against him.

Minnesota is hopeful that Lares can recapture the strikeout stuff that he showed early in his career when he struck out hitters at a high rate. Even with the injury and the rough re-entry, he’s struck out 242 batters in 202.1 innings, better than one hitter per inning.

The Twins signed Lares out of Venezuela before the 2022 season. He was assigned to the Twins’ Dominican Summer League rookie team and he had a fine season, as he went 2-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 11 games. He struck out 71 and walked 20 in 46 innings as batters hit just .188 against him.

Those numbers went way up after he was brought stateside to play in the Florida Complex League squad in 2023. He started nine games and went 0-4 with an 8.13 ERA. He did strike out 43 and walked only eight in 31 innings. But batters hit .295 against him, giving him plenty of room to improve.

He found that improvement to some degree in 2024 after he was promoted to Class-A Fort Myers. He went 3-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 19 games, all starts. He struck out 77 and walked 20 in 81 innings but batters hit .272 against him. He hit 20 batters that season, a career high.

The other Twins that are playing in the AFL include infielder Kyle DeBarge, infielder Yasser Mercedes, outfielder Jacob McCombs, right-handed pitcher Brian Zeldin and left-handed pitchers Ross Dunn, Cleiber Maldonado and Jake Murray. They’re playing alongside prospects from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies, the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals.