Inside The Twins

Unique Twins prospect Payton Eeles highlighted by major YouTube channel

Eeles is a 5'5" infielder who went from independent ball to Triple-A last season.

Will Ragatz

Twins prospect Payton Eeles has a unique story
Twins prospect Payton Eeles has a unique story / Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints
In this story:

Twins prospect Payton Eeles has quite the story.

A 5'5" infielder, Eeles was lightly recruited out of high school and spent four years at D-II Cedarville University in Ohio. He then transferred and had a productive fifth year at D-I Coastal Carolina, but it wasn't enough to get him drafted in 2023. So Eeles turned to independent ball, playing for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League before the Twins signed him for just $500 last May.

Eeles proceeded to quickly play his way up Minnesota's minor league system. He raked at Low-A Cedar Rapids, earned a promotion to High-A Fort Myers, and then skipped a level and wound up at Triple-A St. Paul in early July. And he just continued to hit. Across 64 games with the Saints, Eeles hit .299 with 8 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and a .919 OPS. Heading into 2025, the 25-year-old has a legitimate shot at becoming just the second player listed at 5'5" or shorter to reach the MLB level in the last 50-plus years.

Eeles' impressive journey is the subject of a recent video from a prominent YouTube baseball content creator named Bailey Freeman, who has over 186K followers on X/Twitter and nearly 350K subscribers on his main YouTube channel. The video on Eeles, titled "The Best Underdog Story of 2025," was posted on his secondary channel, which has almost 100K subscribers. It's a ten-minute video that's worth a watch.

The attention is well-deserved for Eeles, whose journey from D-II baseball to independent ball to Triple-A is a rare one. The story would become even cooler if he eventually earns an opportunity with the Twins. The case for Eeles getting a shot in the big leagues at some point is that he's hit and gotten on base at a high rate at every level and he has the positional versatility to play multiple infield positions (or even the outfield). His plate discipline, bat control, and speed are real assets.

The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman ranks Eeles as Minnesota's No. 26 prospect, noting that he has "a path to the big leagues in a utility role."

As the 2025 baseball season gets underway in a couple months, the 5'5" infielder and on-base machine in St. Paul is someone to keep an eye on.

Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Home/Minnesota Twins News