Yoyner Fajardo is Making His Name Known with the Saints

[Theodore Tollefson]

Yoyner Fajardo is a soon-to-be 25-year-old outfielder with the St. Paul Saints. He's made his name known, hitting a home run and walk-off single to win the Saints' first two games of the season. It's time Twins fans learned a bit more about him.

Image courtesy of Grayson Wolfe, Gray Wolfe Media

Several new faces are starting their 2024 seasons with the St. Paul Saints after successful seasons at Double-A Wichita or elsewhere in 2023, from catchers Patrick Winkel and Alex Isola, to veteran relievers Diego Castillo and Matt Bowman.

There’s another new name in the Saints outfield that not too many Twins fans are likely to know, at least beyond the prospect gurus, though: Meet Yoyner Fajardo. 

Fajardo, who turns 25 on Saturday, is only in his second season with the Twins organization. He was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent on March 9, 2018. Fajardo would go on to to play the next four seasons in the Pirates system. 

A left-handed hitter, Fajardo put up solid numbers as he climbed the professional ladder, with good plate discipline and speed leading his profile. In parts of two seasons (2021 and 2022) with Pittsburgh's High-A affiliate in Greensboro, S.C., he batted .258/.342/.347, in 418 plate appearances.

Despite his contact rate and speed on the base paths, Fajardo has never cracked notable Top-20 or Top-30 prospects rankings for the Pirates system before the Twins claimed him in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft in December of 2022.

That change of scenery worked very well for Fajardo in his first full season at Double-A. The Dominican native was a consistent bright spot in the Wind Surge lineup, as he was third in the Texas league in batting average (.305) and stolen bases (50) and carried the fifth-best OPS on the team (.821) in a team-leading 123 games.

The secret to Fajardo’s success last season? According to him, it’s all preparation. 

"I think it's the preparation,” said Fajardo through interpreter and teammate Jair Camargo. “I just try to prepare myself the best that I can, so I can execute in the game, have a plan, stick to the plan, and that's what I've been doing in these games."

The success Fajardo’s had to start his Triple-A career is still very small, but in two games, he started 3-for-9, with a three-run home run and the walkoff hit in the Saints' 5-4 victory over the Columbus Clippers on Sunday. This early success has left an impression on Saints manager Toby Gardenhire. 

“He’s doing really good,” Gardenhire said. “He doesn’t strike out very much against lefties, because it’s a big strength of his where he does put the ball in play in those big situations like that. And he has come through for us in those moments.”

It's not only Gardenhire who has recognized the hitting abilities of Fajardo. His new teammate Brent Headrick, who started Sunday’s game, knows Fajardo is one of many guys in the Saints lineup who can pick up the pitching staff.

“This team is fun, it’s awesome,” said Headrick. “There’s a bunch of talent on both sides of the field and two runs (surrendered) is nothing to these guys. Our hitters, our lineup is incredible, that with the bullpen we have, it’s going to be a good rest of the season.” 

Last season, Fajardo struck out only 13 times in 76 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. During the two games against the Clippers to start the season, Fajardo had four plate appearances against lefties and avoided striking out each time. 

His ability to battle out at-bats with lefties is something at which Fajardo has been working hard for a long while, and he takes pride in the early success he’s seen against them (2-4 with a home run and five RBIs).

“I think it’s the preparation I put together in the offseason," he said. "I was working on hitting against left-handed pitchers in the offseason. Last year, I did a good job, but I can do a better job with it and just having the reports. Whenever I get to the ballpark, I try to study what he’s got, what’s his best pitch and what he can throw to me, and then I just work on it."

“I’m super happy for him and the early success he’s had at this level,” said Saints hitting coach Shawn Schlechter. “He’s continuing to do for us what he did in Wichita. He's a guy who's always going to give you a competitive at-bat, and we knew that even with the left-on-left matchup, he was a guy who could create some action by putting a ball in play.”

The early success for Fajardo has made his name known to those attending the games at CHS this past weekend. Building off his strong season at Double-A in 2023, the 2024 season for Fajardo looks to be one of his best yet in his professional career, and fans can expect many exciting moments, from his speed on the bases to his ability to beating lefties in crucial at-bats.

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[Aggies7]

Now THAT’S a name!

[Dman]

Lot's of things to like and he looks comfortable at the plate against most any pitcher.  Nice to see that Home Run early because if he can tap into a bit more power he would profile well in a corner spot.  This is a big year for him and I hope it turns out well.

[jmlease1]

Interesting player. Probably just organizational depth, but good organizations can find hidden gems this way. he hit well at AA and seems to be a solid enough defender in the corners. It'll be interesting to see how he hits this season: he did a nice job getting more power production last year while still making tons of contact and did a good job taking his walks as well. If he can repeat it, he's got a chance. If not...well, not that many guys even make it to AAA!

I'm not going to start planning around him, but should be a fun player to keep an eye on. Nice to see a minor league Rule 5 advance in the system after selection.

[mikelink45]

Thanks for the introduction. I did wonder where he came from. I'd love to see him get a chance at some point. When a player works that hard. You always hope to see them get a shot at the big leagues 

[Doctor Gast]

Fajardo is a great pickup. He'll leap frog over a few prospects.

[jkcarew]

Other than that one swing, he seems to be very much in acclimation mode at the AAA level. 6 K’s in his first 13 PA, and zero BB.