Patrick Winkel is Coming into His Own with the Saints

[Theodore Tollefson]

Catcher Patrick Winkel was the bright spot in the Saints lineup on Tuesday, as they lost 7-5 to the Lousiville Bats. Read up on Winkel's successful game, and how he sees this as a turning point in the season. 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

ST. PAUL – When he arrived at the ballpark Tuesday morning, Patrick Winkel knew he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup for the St. Paul Saints as they took on the Louisville Bats.

As a catcher, he went about his normal off-day routine, until an hour before the first pitch. Saints manager Toby Gardenhire flagged him down in the clubhouse and told Winkel the lineup plans had changed; he was starting at catcher.

“I told him, ‘Hey, you got it,’ so he was in there,” said Gardenhire. 

Winkel hadn’t even picked up a bat in the cages beneath the CHS Field concourse to warm up. What took priority at that time was preparing for his role alongside his starting pitcher, David Festa.

“I’ve come up through the system with him, so I have a good idea on how he pitches and we work well together,” said Winkel on Festa. “I’ve caught him a few times so I have a really good idea on how he likes to pitch. So if I have to come into a game an hour before first, this is the guy I want to have on the mound. You really don’t have to think about much.”

That was the case in the first inning for Winkel, as Festa struck out the side to begin the game. Winkel was batting seventh in the order, but he had an opportunity in the first inning he hadn’t had all season: to do damage with the bases loaded. 

Michael Helman and Tony Kemp were on the corners via walks, and Yunior Severino was out at second base, having reached on an error. Even with the Saints up 1-0, any hitter walking into a bases-loaded situation has high pressure on them, but that wasn’t the case for Winkel as he approached the plate.

“Honestly, you don’t have to worry about anything because whatever happens, happens. My thing was, I just haven’t swung today, I’m literally just going to try and swing the bat and see what happens,” Winkel said.

And what happened next? Winkel drove the ball over the right-field wall for a grand slam and his first home run in Triple-A.

“He goes in there and hits a grand slam. It’s good for him, he’s had a tough time early, so seeing him hit a big home run was cool for us,” said Gardenhire.

“It felt good considering I wasn’t in the lineup an hour before the game, so the first time I actually touched a baseball bat was walking up to the plate. I took a couple of practice swings, but that was the first time I was holding a bat all day,” said Winkel.

When Festa and Winkel went back out for the top of the second up 5-0, the Bats came back to score two runs of their own on a two-run home run from catcher Austin Wynns. Despite that dinger, though, Festa made his strongest start of the season, going five innings and striking out 10. Festa attributed a lot of his success in Tuesday’s start to his catching partner. 

“I was just trying to pound the zone, honestly. I think Pat did a great job of calling a great game,” said Festa.

Winkel has caught two of Festa’s six starts so far this season. Jair Camargo has caught half of them, while Chris Williams just caught one. The Saints won the first game in which Winkel caught Festa this season, against the I-Cubs on Thurs., Apr. 11, 5-2. In 7 ⅔ innings catching Festa, Winkel has helped him to earn a 3.52 ERA.

Winkel would go 2-4 at the plate to finish out Tuesday’s game. While it only brought his batting average up from .133 to .156 and his home run and RBI totals from zero to one and three to seven, it heated up Winkel during a cold month to start the season. He walked away from Tuesday’s game with the momentum of what he can do at the plate both as a hitter and catcher. 

“It’s good to see some hits and runs. Whether it was a home run or a single, I didn’t care if it was just a bloop hit. Just to see the ball drop and get on base and see what it looks like from first base, just to feel that again was good. That’s what I am going to take, just keep the feels that I have and keep building and taking this into the next game.”

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