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.

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.