The baseball season has returned, and although the Minnesota Twins’ lone affiliate to participate thus far is the St. Paul Saints, players from other teams are filling up rosters and getting ready to play.
The Minnesota Twins and the St. Paul Saints began their 2024 season together over the weekend. The grounds team at CHS Field did a fantastic job getting the playing surface ready, even though Opening Day was postponed to Saturday and then only a few hours later. It was quite the miracle to be playing baseball right after the winter storm, hosting two quick games versus Columbus before heading out on the road.
With a 2-0 lead at the beginning, Toby Gardenhire’s team’s pitching was the main focus of activity. In the first game, David Festa and Randy Dobnak looked fantastic together, while in the second game, Brent Headrick scored eight runs in his first appearance. Instead of being added to the roster as planned, Austin Martin was sent to Minnesota to take Royce Lewis’ position.
Unfortunately for St. Paul, Trevor Larnach and Brooks Lee both began the season on the injured list. Although Lee is anticipated to be out for a little longer than Larnach, it would be best if both returned to action quickly. Austin Schulfer, another player on the injured list, is anticipated to report to the Nashville club this week.
The Twins added to their St. Paul depth on Monday when they executed a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays to acquire infielder Tanner Morris for monetary considerations. Morris, a former fifth-round pick, walks a lot but doesn’t play very quickly or with much power. The 26-year-old, who has participated in over 120 Triple-A games, will be joining the Saints infield.
To begin the 2024 season, 14 members of the Wind Surge squad from the previous year are back. It’s noteworthy that instead of playing for the Saints at a higher level, veteran pitcher Alexy is at Double-A. Raya will lead the rotation as the best pitching prospect among the group. Since Engler is from Wichita, there’s a lively homecoming celebration.
Both Cardenas and Cossetti have turned heads as catching prospects, and the infield has some stars too. Schobel logged 49 games at Double-A last season following the promotion from Cedar Rapids. He’ll look for stronger numbers this time around, and an eventual promotion to St. Paul should be in the cards this year.
The outfield is home to one of Minnesota’s best hitting prospects in Rodriguez, and Rosario dominated led the Arizona Fall League in home runs in 2023 after being named the Midwest League Player of the Year. Soularie spent the season with Wichita last year and is a familiar face for manager Ramon Borrego.
Wichita hosts Frisco on Friday to begin their season.14 players from last year’s Wind Surge roster return to start the 2024 season. It is interesting that veteran pitcher Alexy is at Double-A as opposed to being a level up with the Saints. Raya is the top pitching prospect of the bunch and will headline the rotation. Engler is a Wichita native, so a fun homecoming happens there.The Cedar Rapids Kernels return 15 players from their Midwest League Championship roster. Graduations have taken place as players move throughout the system, but the High-A affiliate has plenty of big names on it. The squad is set to begin their title defense on Friday in Beloit.
On the pitching side of things, Prielipp begins the season on the 60-Day IL after a second elbow surgery last summer. Bowen was among the players acquired by Minnesota in the Jorge Polanco trade with the Seattle Mariners. MacLeod, Matthews, and Morris could be among the better rotation arms grouped together throughout the system.
Last season, Cavaco played just 63 games as injuries held him back. He starts at Cedar Rapids again, and will be joined by notable prospects like De Andrade and Keaschall on the dirt. Minnesota is hoping for a bounce-back from Salas, who was a nice get in the Luis Arraez trade.
The Kernels outfield is where Gonzalez will start, and as a fringe top 100 prospect, he could make it a quick stop. Last season, albeit in the Mariner organization, he played 43 games at High-A after earning a midseason promotion. The pitching staff has a bunch of 2023 draft picks on it, and Fort Myers is where top prospect Charlee Soto will make his professional debut. After throwing in the Spring Breakout game for the Twins, he has some familiarity with the mound he is set to start on. The group doesn’t have a ton of professional experience, and will be exciting to watch develop It’s worth noting that the Mighty Mussels list Winokur as an infielder. Despite a possibility that he winds up as a corner outfielder, he has an ability to play shortstop and centerfield as well. The toolsy prep pick is one to watch alongside Jenkins out of the gate. Fort Myers has an impressive collection of outfielders as well. While Jenkins is the big name, Aguiar, Chourio, and Rodriguez all have garnered differing levels of prospect buzz.
