Twins Turn Kyle DeBarge Into A Weapon On The Bases
The Twins’ scouting department paid a lot of attention to Kyle DeBarge last spring. They became sold on the shortstop’s versatility, grasp of the strike zone and, especially, his self-confidence.
“Kyle has a competitiveness that shined through every time our scouts got a look at him,” Twins GM Jeremy Zoll said. “He acknowledged, ‘Hey, some might think I’m cocky, but it’s just confidence. I believe in myself.’ And we’ve seen how that confidence really pushes him to succeed.”
Those reports also included an important detail about DeBarge and Louisiana-Lafayette’s baseball program: The Ragin’ Cajuns had a conservative philosophy about baserunning, and DeBarge timed out far faster than his 44 stolen bases in three college seasons indicated.
“Really good job by our scouting group to identify that he had a lot of untapped potential as a basestealer,” Zoll said. “It’s been really cool to see that become a big part of his game.”
That may be an understatement. The Twins drafted DeBarge with the 33rd overall pick in 2024, which they received as compensation for losing free agent Sonny Gray. Then they began working to turn him into a weapon on the bases. He stole 15 bases in 26 games at Low-A Fort Myers last summer, then ramped it up even further this season.
DeBarge, who turns 22 in July, was successful on his first 27 steal attempts for High-A Cedar Rapids before being thrown out for the first time on May 29.
“Our coaching staff has done a lot of work on a day-to-day basis, using technique elements to supplement his natural speed,” Zoll said.
DeBarge’s high walk rate contributed to a .270/.391/.450 through 49 games. The Twins believe the 5-foot-9 infielder—he plays mostly second base—can be more than a contact hitter.
“We think he’ll have some sneaky pop along the way,” Zoll said of DeBarge, a first-team College All-American last year. “He does a nice job controlling the zone, talking his walks. But with his bat speed, there’s definitely some sneaky pop in there.”
