Wichita Wind Surge Opening Day Roster - 2023

[Seth Stohs]

On Sunday afternoon, the Wichita Wind Surge announced their 28-man Opening Day roster. They will begin their season on Thursday (April 6) with three games in Springfield. They will head home to start a six-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Top prospect Brooks Lee headlines the team's roster to start the season. 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

The Wichita Wind Surge roster had 28 players on it. There are 15 pitchers and 13 position players. 17 players return to the club that played there last year. The team will have two Top 20 prospects including the #1 overall Twins prospect Brooks Lee. 

Let's take a look at the Wind Surge Opening Day roster. 

Coaching Staff 
Ramon Borrego is back for his third season as the Wichita manager. He is one of the more respected people in the organization. He was a coach for Team Venezuela in the WBC. His pitching coaches will be Dan Urbina and DJ Engle. The hitting coach is Shawn Schlechter. Takashi Miyoshi is the team's bench coach. 

Pitchers
Pitching is what wins, right? So that's where we'll start. 

Starting Pitchers: David Festa, Travis Adams, Carlos Luna, Kody Funderburk, Aaron Rozek 
Festa was the Twins 13th round pick in 2021 from Seton Hall. He has developed into a very exciting prospect. He's got three solid pitches, but it comes with a fastball that routinely hit 97 and 98 mph a year ago and touched 99. Travis Adams spent most of 2022 in Ft. Myers, but he spent the final month in Cedar Rapids. He was the Twins sixth round pick in 2021 from Sacramento State. A command and control guy, Adams was hitting 97 mph by the end of last year. Kody Funderburk is a little underrated in the system, but he's one to watch. A left-hander, he's become crafty southpaw. At Dallas Baptist, he was a fantastic two-way player, but the Twins have developed him into a pitcher to watch. Rozek is a Minnesota native and went to Minnesota State-Mankato. He signed with the Twins in 2021 and has pitched at each level including Double-A, the past two years. Carlos Luna comes to the Twins from the Brewers as a minor-league free agent. Sits in the low-90s and mixes his pitches really well. 

Relief Pitchers: Tyler Beck, Michael Boyle, Jose Bravo, Jordan Brink, Chad Donato, Blayne Enlow, Osiris German, Hunter McMahon, Seth Nordlin, Alex Scherff. 

Good to see Tyler Beck back on the mound again. He had Tommy John surgery shortly after the 2021 season and was excited that he would be full-go to start this season. Blayne Enlow came off of the Twins 40-man roster this offseason, but the organization was thrilled when he cleared waivers and will stick in the organization. He is now further from the Tommy John and should be full-go this year. German is intriguing in that he has one of the best changeups in the organization. Hunter McMahon was finally healthy in 2022, and he was terrific, one of the best relievers in the organization all year. He started the season in Ft. Myers, moved up to Cedar Rapids, and ended with a few outings for the Wind Surge. Speaking of guys being healthy, Alex Scherff came to the Twins from the Red Sox organization. He had been a really good prospect as a starter, but injuries derailed that a bit. He has been on the Injured List the majority of the time with the Twins but is finally healthy and ready to go this year. Boyle, Bravo, Brink, Donato, and Nordlin all signed with the Twins as minor-league free agent this offseason.       

Catchers: Alex Isola, Patrick Winkel  
Just two catchers in Wichita to start the season. Isola returns and may need to do more catching because of it. He had a nice showing in the Arizona Fall League, mostly playing first base. He's got a good combination of plate discipline and some pop in his bat. Winkel is arguably their best catching prospect. The organization is very high on him. He spent last season in Cedar Rapids and gets the bump to Double-A this year. He should do the majority of the catching. 

Infielders: Seth Gray, Will Holland, Brooks Lee, Anthony Prato, Jake Rucker, Aaron Sabato, Yunior Severino. 
Clearly Brooks Lee is the top prospect in this group. I mean, he's the #1 prospect in the organization by many outlets, including Twins Daily. He ended the season last year by DHing for the Wind Surge in the playoffs. He had a solid showing in his first big-league camp. He didn't hit much, but he showed a good approach and played very good defense at shortstop. Likewise, Gray, Holland, Prato, Sabato and Severino all spent the final month or more in Wichita last year. Holland has primarily an outfielder at this stage. In fact, that's all he played in big-league spring training games, but he was drafted as a shortly. Prato broke out in 2022. He became a solid on-base guy with some power, and he showed he can be a plus-defender in the infield and in the outfield too. Severino seemed to put some things together last year with the bat and did a nice job after moving up to the Surge. He played mostly second base in Cedar Rapids and then mostly third base in Wichita. Aaron Sabato continued to struggle to make contact, but he kept walking and he kept hitting home runs. He moved up to Double-A late and was just getting going when a pitch hit his wrist and ended his season. Jake Rucker started last year in Ft. Myers and then he moved up to the Kernels. When their season ended, he was promoted to the Saints for the final couple of weeks of their season.  

Outfielders: Yoyner Fajardo, DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., Armani Smith, and Alerick Soularie. 
DaShawn Keirsey was healthy in 2022 and really put things together. First and foremost, he is a tremendous defensive centerfielder, with great range and the ability to close on fly balls and create web gems. But he also had a ver solid offensive year as well. He got on base, but he hit for some power. He turns singles into doubles. He had a couple of inside-the-park homers. And he can steal bases like crazy. Hopefully he can get up to Triple-A at some point. Alerick Soularie was the second round pick in 2020 from Tennessee, but he started his career by getting hurt. Last year in Cedar Rapids, he struggled with the bat, but he can play second base and in the outfield. Hopefully a bump to Double-A will help him take off. Fajardo and Smith were both selected in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Smith is very intriguing. He's a big dude with tremendous power potential, kind of in the Franmil Reyes mold. 

TWINS DAILY TOP 20 PROSPECTS
#1  - Brooks Lee
#13 - David Festa 

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[mikelink45]

I am interested in this team because I really only know about three of them.  So much has changed in our system

[darwin22]

Seth:  Thanks for the insight/breakdown of the Wind Surge roster.  As most fans are, I'm most excited to see how Lee develops this season.  I'm hoping he gets off to a strong start and forces management into moving him up to SP by the middle of July (or earlier).  Also quite interested to see the progression of Festa as I saw him pitch in Cedar Rapids last year.  Wil Holland is also high on my list.  Great speed and bat made strides last season.  Keirsey and Soularie need an injury free season as both could be realistic MLB options by 2025.  The most pivotal player, imo, career wise is Sabato.  His OBP has been good along with the occasional power production, but his propensity to whiff at a "Sano-esque" rate is alarming.  Another poor season could result in a DFA.

[Seth Stohs]

27 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

The most pivotal player, imo, career wise is Sabato.  His OBP has been good along with the occasional power production, but his propensity to whiff at a "Sano-esque" rate is alarming.  Another poor season could result in a DFA.

He won't be DFAd... He just won't be added to the 40-man roster. That would make him eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Hard to picture a offensive-first player who hasn't provided a lot of offense at a offensive defensive position (that's easy to say/think/type) getting selected. and Sabato can't be a free agent for like 3 more years... 

So, he's got time to continue developing. Again, the walks help the OBP and the home runs and doubles help the SLG, but the batting average at .200 and the strikeouts are concerning. But they've invested in him. He could and should continue to get time. 

[jkcarew]

Thanks for the info, Seth.

I had forgotten Lee got a taste of AA last year. Got a lot of looks at ST, and struggled mightily at the plate. So, I'm not expecting domination out of the gate. Hopefully, just a solid year for him health and performance-wise.

[Dman]

Was surprised to see Travis Adams on the list as I had him penciled in at High A.  Hoping he is ready as the Texas league isn't easy on pitchers. He wasn't exactly dominant at High A and only had 31 innings there.

I was also surprised to see Enlow as a reliever now.  I thought he had three if not four pretty strong pitches?  I take it the Twins think the fastball only plays in small stints?

Was happy to see Rucker make the jump to AA but I thought that after Shuffield held his own at AAA that they would at least start him at AA especially given his age.  The bat  looked like it could be special last year but I guess he can prove it again.

It is an interesting list.  Lacking the higher end talent depth we saw there last year but there are guys who could rise especially on the pitching side.

[FlyingFinn]

I'm interested in hearing how Isola and Winkel do at catcher. Isola has the bat and Winkel has the defense. Can either one do well enough on the reverse to make them into major league catchers?

That infield has potential but Sabato, Severino and Rucker need to step it up. Lee is the star of the team.

Keirsey - I would like to see him step up and be a great outfielder. He has the speed for it. Then, the tough part - hitting consistently. I'm sure Holland and Prato will be out there a lot even though they are listed as IF's. The Rule 5 guys, I don't know what to expect.

I think the bullpen will be good. I'm thinking the starting pitching could be a little weaker than last year after Festa. I'm expecting guys like Hidalgo and Nowlin to get moved up at mid season. Of course, if Festa is doing great, he could be moved up to the Saints at that time as well. 

My future Twins in this group are Lee and Festa.

 

[DocBauer]

This was the one level I've been "concerned" about as I think it lacks a degree of talent and depth due to past trades and other promotions, and some younger players not yet ready. Not saying Wichita is devoid if talent, but it feels as though it lacks in amount. 

I was a little surprised Headricks jumped to AAA, pleasantly so, and wasn't sure if Festa might do the same. Glad to see they feel he's up to the challenge. Definitely surprised to see Adams pushed this quickly. I hope that means they really feel he's ready. Guessing here, but I think Enlow is listed as a reliever because he finished there in 2022? While I don't doubt he'll see some innings there, as many do, I'm betting he's really in the rotation plans.

Not sure what to think about the pen. Other than what MacMahon did last year, I'm not sure there's much to get excited here. Probably enough arms to work well at the AA level, but not sure I'm seeing much upside.

Winkel already at AA, after being drafted in 2021, is very interesting. While Cardenas might have the better bat potential from the same draft, Winkel has been a level above him and held his own offensively so far. Does Isola face a put up or shut up season? He can hit and make contact and he's got some pop. But he's mostly aged 1B and DH and the bat doesn't look special enough for that role going forward. Time to prove he has actual cather potential, IMO.

I think the INF is the strength of the club and Lee makes it pretty good by himself. I think Severino gets overlooked a lot. He seemed to raise his game to a new level last year. If he can continue on that path, both he and Lee might be at St Paul by mid season. I like Prato a lot as a do everything and play everywhere super utility that I thought had a real shot to begin at AAA. Has Gray done enough for this promotion? I guess so, even though he didn't set the world on fire since being a pretty high draft choice, with a mediocre 2022 probably being his best season so far. Sabato? Not sure what is left to say. He either discovers the ability to actually HIT, or he's going to be an organizational player only. But he's going to provide thump in the lineup, and that's a positive.

I think Keirsey has a real shot if he can build on what he did last year. I don't understand the Giants making Armani Smith available. With covid, I believe he's only played 3yrs and has shown some decent numbers until last year. Can their 40 man really be that full? He wasn't exactly a late round pick. Soularie is an athlete but is he a ballplayer? He's had injury setbacks for sure. Can he finally tap in to all of that athleticism? The aforementioned Prato should help in the OF as well. Holland is super fast and can run wild on the bases. But even if he plays great defense, he has to hit at some point. 

I like the INF quite a bit. The OF has a shot to have at least a couple solid guys. Really going to keep my eye on Winkel at catcher. Still not sold on the amount of upside across the roster, but there is talent here. Could be a fun team if the pitching holds up and a couple of the best arms, like Festa, can continue to develop.

 

 

[FlyingFinn]

53 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Not sure what to think about the pen.

If Enlow is in the pen, I like McMahon, Enlow and German. Boyle and Brink are older and maybe they stabilize this pen. Not sure the starters can go enough innings for this team to be as good as last year. But like you said, trading away Hajjar and Povich hurts this team. I do agree with those trades though.

[Rosterman]

Canterino on the long-term IL? Listed on the future FCL roster, or will "injured" names still be added.

 

 

[TwinsDr2021]

On the surface there isn't much here besides Lee and Festa.

[roger]

Thanks, Seth.

Recall that the Twins signed three catchers this winter to MiLB contracts, all of whom had a fair amount of big league time.  I believe Wolters is with the Saints, but no mention of the other two since spring training.  They weren't listed in St. Paul and aren't here.  Are they still in the organization?  Or did they have opt outs and are gone?

[chpettit19]

15 minutes ago, roger said:

Thanks, Seth.

Recall that the Twins signed three catchers this winter to MiLB contracts, all of whom had a fair amount of big league time.  I believe Wolters is with the Saints, but no mention of the other two since spring training.  They weren't listed in St. Paul and aren't here.  Are they still in the organization?  Or did they have opt outs and are gone?

Twins released Greiner and Sisco at the end of March.

[saviking]

Other than Festa, I think this is the weakest AA team the Twins have fielded by far ..

But with young players like, ,Lewis, Julian, Miranda, Krilloff, Larnach, Wallner; and Lee with Correa and Buxton locked down long term, who gives a **** ..

[FlyingFinn]

8 minutes ago, saviking said:

Other than Festa, I think this is the weakest AA team the Twins have fielded by far

Wait until we see the Cedar Rapids final roster. That team is stacked. These guys in Wichita may have only a half a year to show that they are worth keeping or the mid-season call-ups from Cedar Rapids will push them out.

[Jocko87]

46 minutes ago, saviking said:

Other than Festa, I think this is the weakest AA team the Twins have fielded by far ..

But with young players like, ,Lewis, Julian, Miranda, Krilloff, Larnach, Wallner; and Lee with Correa and Buxton locked down long term, who gives a **** ..

This is the proving ground for trade chips for the next few years.  Hopefully it will be very tough to crack the big league roster for awhile as you say but AA is going to still be crucial to watch.

I'm really looking forward to getting to as many games as possible and watching with a closer eye toward the development.  The last time I lived in Wichita the Twins weren't here so that really changes how I will watch the games.  Feel free to let me know if you want me to check anything out in person.  I'm not a scout by any means but I take a mean video.  I enjoy observing body language and approach and feel like it can tell me a lot.

Also excited to see the likes of E-Rod and Raya and Prielipp if he can get here this year.  Lots to be excited about.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Jocko87 said:

This is the proving ground for trade chips for the next few years.  Hopefully it will be very tough to crack the big league roster for awhile as you say but AA is going to still be crucial to watch.

I'm really looking forward to getting to as many games as possible and watching with a closer eye toward the development.  The last time I lived in Wichita the Twins weren't here so that really changes how I will watch the games.  Feel free to let me know if you want me to check anything out in person.  I'm not a scout by any means but I take a mean video.  I enjoy observing body language and approach and feel like it can tell me a lot.

Also excited to see the likes of E-Rod and Raya and Prielipp if he can get here this year.  Lots to be excited about.

Any  time you are at a game and see something interesting I would like to see a comment from you. Thanks.

[nicksaviking]

Wow, only two catchers and Isola being one of them? I was pretty high on his bat last year but everyone seemed pretty sure he couldn't stick at catcher. This says otherwise and I'm back on that bandwagon!

Also, Anthony Prato and his excellent on base skills seems highly under-appreciated. I know he's largely an infielder, but this team doesn't have right handed outfielders who can actually hit AND get on base so I think he's going get a look on the MLB team sooner than people expect.

[FlyingFinn]

13 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Wow, only two catchers and Isola being one of them? I was pretty high on his bat last year but everyone seemed pretty sure he couldn't stick at catcher. This says otherwise and I'm back on that bandwagon!

Also, Anthony Prato and his excellent on base skills seems highly under-appreciated. I know he's largely an infielder, but this team doesn't have right handed outfielders who can actually hit AND get on base so I think he's going get a look on the MLB team sooner than people expect.

I love that they are giving Isola a chance to catch more (I'm one that said he can't stick at catcher if he's playing there less than 25% of the games played). In the AFL, he didn't catch much, if at all. It's his only path to the majors IMO.

Prato seemed to play more in LF than anywhere else at the end of last year, if I remember correctly.

[saviking]

21 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

This is the proving ground for trade chips for the next few years.  Hopefully it will be very tough to crack the big league roster for awhile as you say but AA is going to still be crucial to watch.

I'm really looking forward to getting to as many games as possible and watching with a closer eye toward the development.  The last time I lived in Wichita the Twins weren't here so that really changes how I will watch the games.  Feel free to let me know if you want me to check anything out in person.  I'm not a scout by any means but I take a mean video.  I enjoy observing body language and approach and feel like it can tell me a lot.

Also excited to see the likes of E-Rod and Raya and Prielipp if he can get here this year.  Lots to be excited about.

Thanks J .. I just got a look at Cedar Rapids roster and started drooling as I live about two an a half hours from there. 

[FlyingFinn]

According to today's transaction list, Frank Nigro (another catcher) got assigned to Wichita. Maybe our hopes of Isola catching 3 days a week aren't going to come to fruition.

[rikker49]

On 4/4/2023 at 12:51 PM, FlyingFinn said:

According to today's transaction list, Frank Nigro (another catcher) got assigned to Wichita. Maybe our hopes of Isola catching 3 days a week aren't going to come to fruition.

Nigro is not on the active roster. Listed on the "Developmental", List. I hope that means more catching for Isola

[FlyingFinn]

Following up on the Wichita catchers - this week, Winkel played catcher for 4 games, Nigro 1 and Isola 1. Isola played 5 games, 2 at DH, 2 at 1B and 1 at C. This is consistent with last year. Isola will not be a major league catcher, to our disappointment. 

On 4/6/2023 at 11:09 AM, rikker49 said:

I hope that means more catching for Isola

 

On 4/3/2023 at 4:04 PM, nicksaviking said:

I was pretty high on his bat last year but everyone seemed pretty sure he couldn't stick at catcher. This says otherwise and I'm back on that bandwagon!