Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 40 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Olivar might have seemed like a bit of an afterthought when he joined the Twins organization as an international free agent for just $20,000 in July 2019. He didn't actually play in the system officially until 2021 because of the pandemic, then spent two summers in the Florida Complex League, winning MVP honors on the circuit in 2022. He started popping up on prospect radars especially with a solid move to full-season ball the following year and reached Double-A for the first time in 2024. He spent all of 2025 with Wichita and began this season at the level again, having hit his way to Triple-A for the first time, but he landed on the 60-day injured list with a right knee sprain after just seven games with St. Paul.

A compact and strong right-handed hitter, Olivar has shown the ability to impact the baseball while minimizing his swing-and-miss. He draws a ton of walks -- at a 12.7 percent rate in his career at the time of his injury -- and he finds the barrel consistently. That's helped him get to his power, with nearly all of it coming to his pull side, and some more refinement with his tendency to chase out of the zone could make him a more complete hitter.

Whether Olivar can catch at the highest level is yet to be determined, and it remains to be seen how he comes back from this knee injury. He's previously worked hard at his craft behind the dish and works with pitchers well, and he was back there more than his other spot, left field, before he got hurt. His arm and overall receiving might never be average, but he could hit enough to serve as a backup catcher/corner-outfield hybrid player in the big leagues in the near future.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Signed for $20,000 in July 2019 in the same international period that brought Emmanuel Rodriguez into the organization, Olivar skipped over the Dominican Summer League following the long pandemic-related layoff and didn’t make his pro debut until 2021 in the Florida Complex League. That didn’t go well, but a repeat of the level in 2022 led to an MVP award and an OPS north of 1.000 for the summer. He hit well in a full season with Single-A Fort Myers in 2023 then continued to swing the bat well in 2024, reaching Double-A for the first time.

A right-handed hitter, Olivar has made excellent progress at the plate over the past two seasons. He has the chance to perhaps be an above-average hitter, one who has kept the strikeouts in check while improving his overall approach and walking at a career 13.4 percent clip heading into 2025. Better swing decisions have continued to enable him to barrel up the baseball and get to his power more consistently. He can drive the ball to all fields, though his home run pop has come mostly to his pull side.

His defense hasn’t come along as quickly as his bat, though the Twins do think he has the chance to catch in the big leagues. He’s a tireless worker who is bilingual, works with pitchers well and calls a good game. There’s still work to be done on his arm strength and receiving, but there’s hope it’s trending toward Major League average. He’ll continue getting reps in the outfield, with the versatility giving his bat a better chance of reaching the big leagues.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45

The Twins handed out seven bonuses of six figures or more during the 2019-20 international signing period, led by Emmanuel Rodriguez’s $2.5 million. They added Olivar when the period opened in July of 2019 for just $20,000, then had to wait until after the pandemic for his official pro debut, which was a rough 34 games in the Florida Complex League. He won FCL MVP honors when he repeated the level in 2022 and had a solid year at the plate with the full-time move up to Single-A in 2023.

After back-to-back solid offensive years, there is some confidence that the right-handed hitter is going to hit as he progresses. He’s improved his overall approach considerably since signing, continuing to make better swing decisions, drawing a lot of walks and limiting his strikeouts, which led to him finishing second in the pitching-friendly Florida State League in on-base percentage and third in OPS. There’s some impact in the swing with solid extra-base pop.

Olivar will continue to work on his catcher/outfielder profile, and the Twins think he’s athletic enough to make it work. His arm won’t wow anyone, but he’s working to improve his receiving and game-calling skills behind the dish and he got most of his outfield reps in left field last year.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 45 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

At the top of the Twins’ international prospect acquisitions in the 2019-2020 signing period was Emmanuel Rodriguez, now one of the best prospects in the system, who got $2.5 million to sign. Near the bottom in terms of bonus amount was Olivar, who joined the organization out of Venezuela for just $20,000 in July 2019. After struggling in his 2021 debut in the Florida Complex League, something clicked in 2022 as he led the circuit with a 1.047 OPS over 40 games and finished the year in full-season ball.

The reigning FCL Most Valuable Player, Olivar has a unique profile as a catcher who also plays center field. The right-handed hitter worked to improve his swing decisions, and it paid off. He impacted the ball on a more regular basis while limiting strikeouts and drawing a good amount of walks. He still chases a bit too much and struggled with pitchers on the outer half, but the Twins like his swing and think he has the chance to hit with his excellent bat-to-ball skills.

An athletic catcher, Olivar will continue to get as many reps behind the plate as possible, but the Twins want him to continue to use that athleticism to play a solid center field, and he even played a little second base last year. It’s not common, but the Twins are bullish on his versatility.

Awards

TEX Player of the Week

Week	Team
04/26/2026
07/06/2025

MiLB.com Organization All-Star

Year	Team
2023

FSL Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2023

FSL Player of the Week

Week	Team
05/28/2023

FCL Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2022

FCL Most Valuable Player

Year	Team
2022

FCL Player of the Month

Month	Team
07/2022

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	06/04/2026	St. Paul Saints transferred C Ricardo Olivar from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.
	06/01/2026	St. Paul Saints placed C Ricardo Olivar on the 7-day injured list.
	05/20/2026	C Ricardo Olivar assigned to St. Paul Saints from Wichita Wind Surge.
	05/20/2026	St. Paul Saints activated C Ricardo Olivar.
	03/05/2026	C Ricardo Olivar assigned to Minnesota Twins Prospects.
	02/09/2026	Minnesota Twins invited non-roster C Ricardo Olivar to spring training.
	08/31/2025	Wichita Wind Surge activated C Ricardo Olivar from the 7-day injured list.
	08/09/2025	Wichita Wind Surge placed C Ricardo Olivar on the 7-day injured list.
	03/06/2025	activated C Ricardo Olivar.
	07/29/2024	C Ricardo Olivar assigned to Wichita Wind Surge from Cedar Rapids Kernels.
	03/31/2024	C Ricardo Olivar assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels from Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
	03/07/2024	Minnesota Twins Prospects activated C Ricardo Olivar.
	06/13/2023	Fort Myers Mighty Mussels activated C Ricardo Olivar from the 7-day injured list.
	05/30/2023	Fort Myers Mighty Mussels placed C Ricardo Olivar on the 7-day injured list. Left hamstring strain.
	03/05/2023	C Ricardo Olivar and assigned to Minnesota Twins.
	09/08/2022	C Ricardo Olivar assigned to Fort Myers Mighty Mussels from FCL Twins.
	12/22/2021	Cardenales de Lara activated C Ricardo Olivar.
	12/22/2021	Cardenales de Lara activated C Ricardo Olivar.
	12/22/2021	C Ricardo Olivar, and assigned to Cardenales de Lara.
	10/07/2021	C Ricardo Olivar assigned to Twins Organization.
	10/07/2021	Twins Organization activated C Ricardo Olivar.
	06/28/2021	C Ricardo Olivar assigned to FCL Twins.
	07/02/2019	Minnesota Twins signed free agent C Ricardo Olivar to a minor league contract.