Saints Opening Day Roster Set, Features Top Prospect Lewis, Six Other Top 30 MLB Pipeline Prospects

LOUISVILLE, KY (April 5, 2022) - Infielder Jose Miranda lit the Minor League Baseball world on a fire a season ago, spending half the season with the St. Paul Saints. The number three prospect (MLB Pipeline) in the Minnesota Twins system, and number 95 overall, will start the season with the Saints. He might not be, however, the most intriguing prospect on the roster in 2022. That distinction probably goes to the number one prospect in the Minnesota Twins system, and number 46 overall, shortstop Royce Lewis. The Saints have five other Top 30 MLB Pipeline prospects in number five Jordan Balazovic (who will begin the season on the IL with a left knee strain), number 17 RHP Cole Sands, number 19 RHP Drew Strotman, number 24 LHP Jovani Moran, and number 30, infielder Jermaine Palacios. Those six players will be joined by a group that is deep in Major League experience and intriguing talent.

The Saints will begin the season with 17 pitchers, three catchers, six infielders and five outfielders. The pitching staff is deep with arms that have pitched at the highest level, but the arms that haven’t reached the Bigs may be the most talked about. RHP Yennier Cano begins just his third season of professional ball and needed all of 24 games before he reached Triple-A. He was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA and four saves for the Saints a season ago. He also threw an immaculate inning (three strikeouts on nine pitches) on May 11 of last year with Double-A Wichita Wind Surge. He struck out 86 in 69.2 innings pitched between the two stops.

No matter what level he’s pitched at, RHP Ryan Mason has had success and that includes with the Saints a season ago. After going 3-2 with a 2.29 ERA and six saves with the Wind Surge, Mason was 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA and one save for the Saints. Overall, he fanned 63 in 54.0 innings.

Strotman, who came over in the Nelson Cruz trade last season, will move from starter to reliever this season as the Twins look to maximize his talents in shorter stints. The former fifth round pick by the Twins in 2018, Sands dazzled at Double-A last season going 4-2 with a 2.46 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). In 80.1 innings pitched he fanned 96 while opponents hit .203 against him. He closed the final month by giving up just thee earned runs in 22.0 innings.

While Balazovic begins the season on the IL, recovering from a left knee strain, the excitement is high for a pitcher that went 5-4 with a 3.62 ERA and fanned 102 over 96.0 innings at Wichita last season.

The right-handed reliever, Juan Minaya, got his opportunity with the Twins late last season and was impressive. He went 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 29 relief appearances. In 40.0 innings he struck out 43 while opponents hit .189 against him. This was after an already successful season with the Saints.

One of the more devastating change ups in the system, Moran, worked his way up from Double-A to the Majors in 2021.

After a Spring Training in which he didn’t allow an earned run in 11.0 innings, RHP Devin Smeltzer, will try to continue his dominance after missing almost all last season with an injury.

The remainder of the pitching staff has a ton of Major League experience and guys that could help the big club at any moment with RHP Jake Faria, RHP Jordan Gore, RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP Daniel Gossett, RHP Ian Hamilton, RHP Ariel Jurado (IL- right elbow UCL repair), LHP Trevor Megill, RHP Wladimir Pinto, RHP JC Ramírez, RHP Dereck Rodriguez, and RHP Mario Sanchez.

Two of the three catchers saw time with the Saints a season ago in David Ba**ñ**uelos and Caleb Hamilton while Stevie Berman, who joined the organization in the Andrew Vasquez trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, rounds out a solid catching group.

The infield in a talented bunch with three Top 30 prospects led by Lewis. This will be his first action since 2019 when he hit .236 with 12 homers and 49 RBI between High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola. The former number one pick in 2017 will be joined by the Twins Minor League Player of the Year, Miranda. He led all of Minor League Baseball in 2021 in hits (184) and total bases (306). Jermaine Palacios may be considered one of the best fielders in the system, but he slugged a career high 19 homers last season at Wichita. First baseman Curtis Terry shined in his first stint at Triple-A last season with the Texas Rangers’ Round Rock Express. He hit .275 with 22 homers and 75 RBI in 99 games and has 47 long balls over his last two seasons. Elliot Soto brings more than 900 games of Minor League experience and a career .267 batting average at Triple-A to the team while former first round supplemental pick by the Oakland Athletics in 2012, Daniel Robertson, brings nearly 200 games of Triple-A experience. Former first overall pick Tim Beckham, who will begin the season on the IL with a left quad strain, adds 472 games in the Majors while hitting .279 with 11 homers and 32 RBI last season at Triple-A Charlotte in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

The outfield has a chance to be very scary to opposing pitchers and those that dare to run on these guys. Trevor Larnach got his first taste of the Major League’s last season and brings a ton of thump to the lineup. He’s not alone in that category, however, as Mark Contreras returns to the team after a career season in 2021 hitting 20 homers, 18 of them with the Saints and he also hasn’t committed an error in 313 games (1746.2 innings). After being sent to the Saints on three separate occasions and never playing in a game because he was called up to the Twins each time, Celestino proved he was worth the wait in St. Paul. He hit .290 with five homers and 24 RBI in 49 games. Jake Cave, who spent most of 2021 with the Twins, has 281 games of Major League experience and a .303 career Triple-A average while Derek Fisher has 410 games of Major League experience and a .283 career Triple-A average with 53 homers in 172 games.

The Saints begin the 2022 season against the Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds) on Tuesday, April 5 at 5:35 p.m. (central). The home opener is Tuesday, April 12 at 6:37 p.m. against the Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates).