Top Pitching Prospect Simeon Woods Richardson Earns Promotions To Triple-A St. Paul

_ST. PAUL, MN _*(August 17, 2022) - *The St. Paul Saints rotation is about to get even deeper as the Minnesota Twins promoted Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A on Wednesday.

Woods Richardson, 21, is the sixth-best prospect in the Twins’ system per MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. He came to the Twins in 2021 as part of a trade package that included Austin Martin from the Toronto Blue Jays, in exchange for José Berríos.

A six-foot-three right hander, Woods Richardson has spent the season with Double-A Wichita, where he’s gone 3-3 with a 3.06 ERA. He started off the year without surrendering a run in his first 23.2 innings, earning himself Texas League Pitcher of the Month for April. After a stint on the 7-day Injured List from June 23 to July 26, he’s allowed just four earned runs in his last 17.2 innings with Wichita, walking seven while striking out 24 in that span. In his most recent start on August 16, he struck out a career-best 10 batters en route to a 17-4 Wichita victory. He’s been dominant against left-handed hitters, holding them to just a .190 average and a .488 OPS.

In 2021, the Sugar Land, TX native started the year with Double-A New Hampshire where he collected a 2-4 record and a 5.76 ERA as the Blue Jays’ number four prospect. He was then placed on the Temporary Inactive list as he joined Team USA in an effort to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, where he would go on to win a silver medal with former Saints pitcher Joe Ryan. He was traded to the Twins on July 30, while in Tokyo.

Following the trade, Woods Richardson was assigned to Wichita where he finished the season with a 1-1 record in four appearances (three starts), allowing six earned runs on six hits in 8.0 innings.

Woods Richardson was originally drafted by the Mets in 2018 with the fifth pick in the second round out of Kempner High School in Sugar Land, TX. He made seven appearances in his first professional season, before being traded to the Blue Jays in 2019 along with Anthony Kay in exchange for Marcus Stroman. Between his stops in Low-A Columbia and High-A Dunedin, he was 6-10 and had a 3.80 ERA, highlighted by his time with the Florida State League, where he allowed just eight earned runs in 28.1 innings.

The Saints roster now consists of 32 players, one shy of the league maximum of 33, with 18 pitchers and 14 position players.