Saints

Saints fans can be excited about the amount of talent projected in St. Paul to start the 2023 season. Many of the team's top prospects are closing in on the big-league level, including multiple starting pitchers that debuted in 2022. Here's a look at who could populate the Saints' pitching staff on Opening Day.  Trio At the Top: Bailey Ober, Louie Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson Ober was potentially pushed out of the Twins rotation after the team acquired Pablo Lopez from the Marlins. Ho

The St. Paul Saints cowboyed up the number 15 for all time in honor of 1993 Saint Kevin Millar. As the Saints celebrated their 30th year, Millar became the first player in Saints history to have their jersey number retired. “This year I have my jersey retired at Lamar University in June and we [Millar’s family] talked about coming out here in August and it's truly an honor. While you're playing, all I did was I love baseball, and I wasn’t the best player on the field. I just loved the game

Elliot Soto has been in professional baseball for 13 seasons, and he has had only three games in Major League Baseball. Soto got his call with the Los Angeles Angels on September 25, 2020, against the freeway rival Los Angeles Dodgers.  Soto’s debut was as a pinch-runner for teammate Luis Rengifo in the top of the seventh inning. By the time it was Soto’s turn to bat in the top of the ninth against Kenley Jansen, he was pinch hit for by Shohei Ohtani. Soto wouldn’t have to wait long to get

The St. Paul Saints held their first team practice at CHS Field for the 2022 season late Sunday morning, preparing themselves for their Opening Day in Louisville tonight. Although the Saints roster is not completed with the Twins still needing to make a couple more moves, around 15 players and the Saints coaching staff took to practice on the field on Sunday. One of the newcomers to the Twins organization, Saints' first baseman Curtis Terry, spoke of the excitement he has with the oppo

Understandably, much of the discourse between Twins fans this offseason has surrounded the lack of pitching upgrades, a frustration compounded by a stagnant lockout. Since Derek Falvey arrived in Minnesota in 2016 the organization has made an enormous commitment to maximizing player development. The Twins were on the front end of hiring college coaches for their MLB staff (Wes Johnson). Additionally, they catapulted their front office staff from near the bottom of the proverbial pile to a modern

Understandably, much of the early off-season Twins conjecture has surrounded trades and free-agent additions the Twins can make to boost their beleaguered pitching staff. The promotion of Jovani Moran and his dynamic changeup is indicative of another direction the organization will have to succeed at if they are to compete in 2022, promoting from within. Twins fans have bemoaned the organization's poor returns on developing its own pitching for as long as I can remember. 2022 will be the ye

Mid-morning rays of the Minnesota sun christen the back of Marcus Campbell as he plays fetch with his dog Maverick. Birds are chirping, luscious green grass tickles the air with a carefree aroma, and there couldn’t be a worry in the world.  A man, his dog, and... CHS Field.  “Mav likes to run along the warning track with players. Last year he’d always run with Danny Coulombe, and he’s in the big leagues now,” Campbell chuckled while launching another saliva-glossed tennis ball tow

Sticky air, high winds, and a foreboding forecast didn’t stop 8,209 baseball fans from coming out to CHS Field on Friday night to watch highly-touted prospect and Olympian Joe Ryan make his Twins organization debut. Even better? The game marked Byron Buxton’s highly-anticipated return after a lengthy stint on the IL from a hand injury he suffered on June 21st. Ryan was electric out of the gate, hitting 93, 94, and 95 MPH in his first matchup of the night, striking out former Twins outf

Twins Daily (TD): Thanks for taking the time to chat, Mike. I’m interested in illuminating for folks what coaching looks like in baseball and the Twins organization. Let’s start by hearing about your journey to becoming a pitching coach. Is that always something you wanted to do? Mike McCarthy (MM): I played six-and-a-half years with the Red Sox and made it to AAA. I learned how to throw really good batting practice starting at around 7:05 pm for three of four innings until they got me out

It was 81 degrees at CHS Field by the bottom of the third inning Saturday evening, but it wasn’t because it’s late May in Minnesota and summer is right around the corner. No, it was because St. Paul Saints starter Jhoan Duran was PUMPING HEAT. Duran - the Minnesota Twins’ #2 pitching prospect according to MLB Pipeline (#1 according to Twins Daily) - made his season debut for the Saints after being recently reinstated from the IL with a shoulder injury and touched 103 mph on multiple oc

I witnessed the St. Paul Saints lose in Twinsian fashion live and in person Sunday afternoon after Ian Gibaut allowed eight earned runs to cross the plate in the ninth inning, but, thankfully, that’s not what this article is about. This article is about Randy Dobnak and Lewis Thorpe. Randy Dobnak made his third start for the Saints after being optioned off the Twins’ roster on May 3 with the intent of being stretched out and looked much more like his early 2020 self than he did during his p

The newly  AAA-crowned Saints suffered their most lopsided defeat of the season courtesy of an Iowa Cubs team that did just about everything right both on the bump and at the plate. And while there were moments of brilliance from the Saints, the night on the field belonged to the I-Cubs.  Results matter, don’t get me wrong. Yet the true winners of the night were the Twins organization, CHS Field, and the all-encompassing atmosphere of having fans back at one of the greatest experiences in t

It isn’t rare to see Major Leaguers have unique skills outside the lines of the ballpark. Twins fans saw Trevor May showcase his gaming skills to the world. Mookie Betts channels his inner Pete Weber with strikes on the bowling ally.  Make room for Twins prospect Griffin Jax.  There’s no telling what Jax can do with a bowling ball or a joystick. Yet one thing’s for sure- the Air Force Academy alum and Twins pitcher is going to change the world whether it be on the diamond or as a futur