Quinn McDaniel had a baseball week he’ll always remember.

Then it got even better. The former Marshwood High and University of Maine star earned a promotion with his new organization and reignited a professional career that was stalled just six weeks earlier.

McDaniel, 23, hit .538 with two homers, a triple, a double, eight RBI, nine runs and two stolen bases in his first six games with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Low-Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. He was chosen as the Florida State League Player of the Week.

McDaniel won’t be playing a seventh game with the Mighty Mussels. On Tuesday, he found out the Twins were shipping him to their High-A team in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“The fresh start was huge, an opportunity to not only open some eyes but to recreate myself in a new environment,” McDaniel said. “Now it’s just, keep hitting the ball and controlling the zone. If I do that, I think I’ll look up at the end of the year and be happy with where I’m at.”

McDaniel was not happy on March 30. That’s when he was cut loose by the San Francisco Giants, who drafted him in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the 2023 MLB draft.

When he was drafted, McDaniel was coming off a junior season at Maine in which he hit .354 with a .513 on-base percentage, 16 homers and 32 steals. He got a signing bonus of $300,450 and quickly moved from rookie ball to Low-Class A to High-A, and spent all of the past two seasons with the Giants’ High-A team in Eugene, Oregon. But as spring training closed, Giants staff told McDaniel they wouldn’t be able to find him at-bats this season. He had slight regressions across the offensive categories in 2025, and the organization hadn’t seen improvement in spring training.

“I just didn’t have a great spring. They kept trying to change stuff swing-wise, and it just wasn’t working. … I was supposed to go to AA, and then I got released with three days left in spring training, just because of roster size limits,” McDaniel said.

Just like that, McDaniel was without a team.

“Definitely there was some question marks on what I was going to do next,” McDaniel said.

After a day or two, McDaniel said his attitude “flipped” from being sad and shocked to angry and determined to show the Giants “what they’re missing out on.”

With roster spots limited in affiliate minor leagues, McDaniel and his agent targeted the independent leagues.

McDaniel signed on with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Over 14 games he hit .365 with 15 runs and nine steals. Minor swing and approach adjustments had him feeling good at the plate.

“I was loving it and feeling good again,” McDaniel said.

The Twins saw those numbers and purchased his contract from Southern Maryland, and McDaniel renegotiated a new deal. He would have to start back at the Low-A level, though, with no guarantees.

“It was pretty much get out there and play again, and we’ll evaluate from there,” McDaniel said Tuesday night as he was packing for Wednesday’s relocation to the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Like corn. Get it?) in the High-A Midwest League.

A second baseman at Maine, McDaniel played second and all three outfield positions in Eugene. With Fort Myers, he played five games in center field and was the designated hitter in the other. McDaniel said it seems like he’s now considered an outfielder, but he’s not sure.

One key trait that McDaniel has possessed is his ability to draw walks, then use his speed to steal bases (40 steals in 2024, 14 last season). McDaniel did not have a base on balls in Fort Myers. Is he now a free swinger?

“No. That’s not part of the adjustment. But I think I know I’m in a good place when I’m not fouling pitches off,” McDaniel said.

While McDaniel is focused on his next steps, he said he does understand that his one-week stint in Fort Myers was something special, a rare feat of performance and fortuitous timing.

“I had no idea I was only going to be here in Fort Myers for a week,” McDaniel said. “Obviously with the week I had, it makes sense, but I’m just happy to be back in affiliate ball and back on the East Coast, too.”