Kernels Announce 2022 Opening Day Roster
Cedar Rapids, IA – The Cedar Rapids Kernels have officially announced their 2022 Opening Day Roster, highlighted by 18 returners and four members of the Minnesota Twins’ Top 30 prospect list per MLB.com. Of the 30 members of the Opening Day Roster, 17 are pitchers and 13 are position players.
Cedar Rapids, IA – The Cedar Rapids Kernels have officially announced their 2022 Opening Day Roster, highlighted by 18 returners and four members of the Minnesota Twins’ Top 30 prospect list per MLB.com. Of the 30 members of the Opening Day Roster, 17 are pitchers and 13 are position players.
The Kernels pitching staff will feature Melvi Acosta, Denny Bentley, Andrew Cabezas, Osiris German, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Bradley Hanner, Brent Headrick, Cody Laweryson, Casey Legumina, Bobby Milacki, Derek Molina, Sean Mooney, Matt Mullenbach, Tyler Palm, Cade Povich, Miguel Rodriguez and Aaron Rozek. The Cedar Rapids position player group is comprised of Jair Camargo, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Willie Joe Garry Jr., Seth Gray, Will Holland, Wander Javier, Charles Mack, Jeferson Morales, Anthony Prato, Aaron Sabato, Yunior Severino, Alerick Soularie and Kennie Taylor.
Acosta, Bentley, Cabezas, Camargo, German, Gipson-Long, Gray, Javier, Laweryson, Legumina, Molina, Mooney, Morales, Palm, Prato, Rozek, Sabato and Severino make up the 18 returning Kernels players.
Camargo, Mack and Morales will serve as the Kernels’ catching corps to open 2022, bringing plenty of pop to the lineup. Earning Organizational All-Star status from MiLB.com, Camargo belted 13 home runs – 10 of which came at Veterans Memorial Stadium – and threw out 23% of opposing baserunners. Mack converted to catching full-time last season with Fort Myers and homered seven times in 73 games while posting a .738 OPS. Morales joined the Kernels in early August and slashed .301/.350/.516 with five home runs and a 33% caught stealing rate across 25 games in High-A last season.
Twins No. 16 prospect Aaron Sabato and No. 29 prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand headline the infield alongside Seth Gray, Will Holland, Wander Javier, Anthony Prato and Yunior Severino. Sabato was Minnesota’s first round pick in 2020 and was named an Organizational All-Star by MiLB.com last season, slashing .253/.402/.613 for a 1.015 OPS to go with eight homers and 15 RBI over just 22 games with Cedar Rapids. Encarnacion-Strand was drafted in the fourth round last summer and hit .391 with four home runs in his professional debut with Fort Myers, collecting a hit in 21 of 22 games played. The everyday third baseman for CR last season, Gray had 27 extra-base hits and drove in 51 across 113 games.
Holland spent 2021 in Fort Myers, belting 15 doubles and ten home runs while stealing 19 bases and posting a .737 OPS across 76 games. Javier returns for his third season with the Kernels, smashing 37 extra-base hits and driving in 53 as the everyday shortstop last season.
Prato hit .289 with a .774 OPS last season in a 14-game stint with Cedar Rapids, splitting time across three levels. Severino rounds out the middle-infielder group fresh off slashing .321/.414/.493 for a .907 OPS in 35 games with the Kernels last season.
2020 second-rounder and No. 25 Twins prospect Alerick Soularie is joined in the outfield by Willie Joe Garry Jr. and Kennie Taylor. Soularie spent most of his professional debut season with Fort Myers, playing in 28 games and stealing nine bases while handling both second and left field. Garry Jr. played 95 games for the Mighty Mussels in 2021, stealing 24 bases and collecting 24 extra-base hits while knocking in 31. Taylor signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins in January after spending last season in the Mariners system, reaching AAA while slashing .287/.350/.407 for a .757 OPS across 31 games with High-A Everett.
Sawyer Gipson-Long, Brent Headrick, Cody Laweryson, Casey Legumina, Sean Mooney, No. 27 prospect Cade Povich and Aaron Rozek all spent much of 2021 in the starting rotation either with the Kernels or in Fort Myers. Gipson-Long started six games for the Kernels, going 3-3 with a 39:9 K:BB ratio across 29.2 innings of work. Headrick struck out 86 across 61.1 frames, starting 14 games for Fort Myers with a 3.82 ERA. Laweryson took the ball 14 times with Cedar Rapids and struck out 73 batters over 58.2 innings, working to the tune of a 4.91 ERA. Legumina made nine starts across two levels in 2021, tossing 49.1 innings to the tune of a 3.28 ERA while striking out 63. Boasting a 2.79 ERA across 12 starts at two levels, Mooney held batters to a .149 average with 71 strikeouts over 42.0 innings. Povich was Minnesota’s thirdround pick last summer and held a 19:2 K:BB ratio across his first 10.0 professional innings, pitching to the tune of a 0.90 ERA. Rozek covered 56.1 innings over 16 appearances and seven starts spanning four levels last season, punching out 74 and walking just seven with a 2.40 ERA.
Righthanders Melvi Acosta, Andrew Cabezas, Osiris German, Bradley Hanner, Bobby Milacki, Derek Molina, Matt Mullenbach, Tyler Palm, Miguel Rodriguez and lefthander Denny Bentley round out the Kernels’ 2022 Opening Day pitching staff. Mullenbach is an Iowa native and a Waukee graduate.
Opening Day 2022 is set for April 8 at 6:35 p.m. as the Kernels open their season against the Beloit Sky Carp. Single game tickets are now on sale, available at milb.com/cedar-rapids/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (319) 896-7560.
To keep up to date on information regarding the Kernels 2022 season please visit www.kernels.com or follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds and subscribe to our Kernels email newsletter.
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring