2025 St. Paul Saints Opening Day Roster Preview

[Seth Stohs]

The Saints start their 2025 season with three games this weekend at CHS Field in St. Paul. Let’s take a quick look at their Opening Day roster.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

While the Twins made their way to St. Louis on Tuesday evening, members of the 2025 St. Paul Saints roster had an early-morning flight to St. Paul. One of the biggest reasons for optimism for Twins fans is that they do have a deep roster. That is especially true in terms of arms who are (nearly) ready to contribute. 

Manager Toby Gardenhire has some new help on his coaching staff. Jonas Lovin, who has done a terrific job in Cedar Rapids the last two seasons, makes the move to St. Paul, where he and former big leaguer Carlos Hernandez (who has been in Wichita the last two seasons) will be tasked with the continued development of young pitchers. 

Shawn Schlecter is back as the lead hitting coach. Danny Marcuzzo is new to the organization, and will be a hitting and development coach. 

“A team is only as good as its next day’s starting pitcher.”

Starting Pitchers: David Festa (RHP), Zebby Matthews (RHP), Travis Adams (RHP), Marco Raya (RHP), Andrew Morris (RHP). 
Festa and Matthews made their big-league debuts in the final months of the 2025 season. They took some lumps, but they also showed why the organization is so excited about them. Matthews showed increased velocity this spring, and fans should be very excited about him. These two are ready if needed, and yet more development time at Triple-A is far from a bad thing for them. 

Also on the 40-man roster are Marco Raya and Travis Adams. Raya was a fourth-round pick in 2020 out of high school in Texas. Adams was the Twins' sixth-round pick in 2021 out of Sacramento State. Both have moved up the system steadily, though in very different ways. Adams is a horse: an innings eater with good control and improving stuff. Raya has been handled a bit, well, cautiously. However, he has had shoulder issues since signing, and he was able to make all of his starts in 2024—finishing the season with five shutout innings for the Saints.

Andrew Morris was a non-roster invitee at Twins big-league camp this spring, and was quite impressive in the innings he threw. Like Matthews, he began the 2024 season at Cedar Rapids and flew up to St. Paul. At this point, he is pretty much ready when needed. 

Relief Pitchers: Kody Funderburk (LHP), Anthony Misiewicz (LHP), Huascar Ynoa (RHP), Scott Blewett (RHP), Darren McCaughan (RHP), Ryan Jensen (RHP), Alex Speas (RHP), Kyle Bischoff (RHP), Jacob Bosiokovic (RHP). 

This group is a fairly typical Triple-A bullpen corps. Funderburk is the one in the group who is on the 40-man roster and has spent quite a bit of time with the Twins in the past two seasons. Misiewicz is the other lefty reliever. He has spent time in the big leagues each season since 2020. The rest of the bullpen arms are right-handed.

Scott Blewett, frankly, should be in the big leagues. He did a really nice job when called upon by the Twins in 2024. Darren McCaughan has been primarily a starter in his career. He has spent time with the Mariners, Marlins and pitched some for the Guardians last year. Ryan Jensen throws hard, and once in a while, he’s got some control. Same with Alex Speas. Jensen’s still looking to debut. Speas has made four big-league appearances over the past two seasons. Bosiokovic might be the more intriguing story to follow. The 31-year-old is yet to make his big-league debut. He’s pitched in Triple A three of the past four years, but was in independent ball for the 2023 season. He’s impressed in camp with some improved velocity. 

Huascar Ynoa was traded by the Twins to Atlanta in the infamous Jaime Garcia trade. He was still in rookie ball at the time. However, he debuted in 2019, pitched a bit more in 2020, and in 2021 became a fairly reliable starter. Then came the arm issues. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since April of 2022. But unlike others in this bullpen, Ynoa is still just 26 years old. 

Kyle Bischoff is another relatively young guy. He’s 25, and after going undrafted, he went to the United Shores Baseball League and the Twins signed him in 2023 from the Westside Wooly Mammoths. Last season, he began in Cedar Rapids and ended the year with the Saints. Another interesting story, to be sure. But interesting stories that are coupled with a fastball at 96 are even better!!

The hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a round ball with a round bat... and hit it squarely. (Addendum: Now try it when starters are throwing in the mid 90s, relievers throw in the upper 90s, and they all get a bunch of movement.)  

Catchers: Jair Camargo (25), Diego Cartaya (23), Patrick Winkel (25) 
Over the past two seasons, Camargo has played in 164 games for the Saints. He has posted a .765 OPS with 32 doubles, 33 homers and 114 RBIs in that stretch. He debuted briefly in 2024. Cartaya was generally viewed as a top-25 global prospect before the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He showed a strong bat and some good power numbers. His batting average and power production have been down the last couple of years in the top two levels of minor-league ball, but the potential is there. Definitely a nice waiver claim/trade to acquire him. Patrick Winkel isn’t on the 40-man roster, but he was the Twins' ninth-round pick in 2021 from UConn. He has moved up one level each season, until 2025 when he will return to the Saints after hitting .228 with 16 doubles and seven homers. 

Also with some potential offense, this group is going to be relied upon to work with the organization’s top pitching prospects. It is definitely noteworthy that the Twins didn’t go out and sign a 32-year-old defense-first catcher in the offseason. They believe in all three of these guys. 

Infielders: Yunior Severino (25), Armando Alvarez (30), Ryan Fitzgerald (30), Mike Ford (32) 
Yunior Severino has seemingly been around a long time, and yet he is still just 25. In 2023, he ended the season in St. Paul, and led all of minor-league baseball with 35 total homers. He was added to the 40-man roster, but then 2024 was disappointing. He came on strong to hit .254 by season’s end, and he had 21 doubles and 21 home runs. However, he also struck out 154 times. He was taken off of the 40-man roster, became a free agent, but quickly returned to the Twins. 

The rest of this group is filled with minor-league free agents. Ford has been around a long time. He’s got at least some MLB service time all the way back to 2019 when he debuted with the Yankees. A 17th-round pick in 2016, Alvarez made his big-league debut in 2024 with 20 games with the A’s. Fitzgerald went undrafted out of Creighton and began his pro career in independent baseball. The Red Sox  gave him an opportunity and he spent six seasons with that organization. Last year, he played for Omaha (Royals Triple-A). 

Outfielders: Carson McCusker (26), Emmanuel Rodriguez (22).
Rodriguez came to spring training healthy this year after missing so much time last year with hand, thumb and wrist injuries. Unfortunately, he sprained his ankle early in camp so we didn’t get to see him play. We did get to see a lot of Carson McCusker in spring games. He was used frequently in late innings of big-league games. At 6-8 and 250 pounds, McCusker has a ton of power potential. Signed in 2023 after parts of three seasons in independent baseball, McCusker split 2024 between Wichita and St. Paul and hit .282 with 30 doubles, four triples and 19 home runs. 

Utility: Austin Martin (26), Jeferson Morales (25), Luke Keaschall (22), Anthony Prato (26)
Martin was the final player optioned by the Twins this week. He just turned 26, and it appears that the Twins don’t feel excessively comfortable with him in the infield or in center field. He played 93 games with the Twins a year ago and will likely spend more time there this year. The best thing for his career might literally be to make him as versatile as possible. Play him at four infield positions and three outfield positions. He isn’t going to be a great defender, but he’s a great athlete and could be adequate anywhere on the field. But, how will he be utilized in St. Paul and prepare to get back to the big leagues. 

Luke Keaschall jumped up prospect rankings with a strong offensive game through four-and-a-half months. He hit for average, took quality plate appearances and took walks, and showed a lot of doubles and home run power. He had Tommy John surgery, but he is now back to getting some time in the field. He should get time at first base, second base and maybe even some center field. 

Jeferson Morales was recently named the 2025 Sire of Fort Myers after putting up an impressive showing throughout camp. He played 20 games and hit .375/.460/.531 (.991) with two doubles and a home run. He played quality defense in both corner outfield spots and at second base. He was invited as a catcher and caught bullpens before full squad workouts began. He ended 2024 with 17 games in St. Paul where he posted a 1.018 OPS with seven doubles, a triple, and a home run. 

Injured List: Payton Eeles (25), Will Holland (26)  
Payton Eeles was the tremendous story of the 2025 Twins minor league season. Unfortunately, he had what some have called ‘minor’ knee surgery. He had a cartilage issue that needed to be worked on. We know that the Twins will be conservative in bringing him back. Hopefully Eeles is able to not push too hard to speed up the timeline. 

Will Holland was off to a strong start with the Saints a year ago. He missed about a month with a hamstring strain in May. He came back and continued to rake, showing power and, as always, speed. Unfortunately, his season came to an abrupt end in late June with an ankle fracture. He did play in some spring, big-league games this year, but he will begin the season on the Injured List. 

Twins Daily’s 2025 Top Prospects in St. Paul
#2: OF Emmanuel Rodriguez
#3: IF Luke Keaschall
#5: RHP Andrew Morris
#6: RHP Marco Raya 

It is exciting to see a Triple-A starting rotation filled with homegrown talent especially since 60% of the big-league rotation developed in the organization. Add in two of the top three hitting prospects in the organization and you've got a lot of reasons to spend a lot of time at CHS Field in 2024. 

As the summer moves along and things that happen during a baseball season happen, players will move up and down. There are likely to be injuries. But if that happens, then it is likely that Saints fans will see more of Cory Lewis and Christian MacLeod who each made one late-season start in St. Paul in 2024. Connor Prielipp could arrive in St. Paul relatively quickly. Other recent draft picks such as Kyle Jones, C.J. Culpepper, Ty Langenberg, and Tanner Hall could arrive later in the season. And, Walker Jenkins spent the final week of the 2024 season at Double-A Wichita, so he could play in St. Paul this year too. 

Take me out to the ball game! 

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[SD happy]

Starting pitching will be fun to follow. I’m a little surprised Alan Cerda is not on the roster.

[rdehring]

Thanks Seth.

Almost every year you would publish the Saints/Red Wings roster and I would shake my head as I reviewed the starting rotation.  Seems like nearly all of them were AAAA type guys who weren't going to excite anyone if/when they were called up by the Twins.

Well those days are over.  There is a ton of potential with this group.  And every single one of them was drafted by the Twins, is relatively young and an excellent prospect.  Still found myself shaking my head as I read this, but today it was with the joy of anticipation for what we are about to see at Target Field.

Go Twins!

[darin617]

Anyone else think St Paul might have better starting pitchers than the White Sox do?

[Guest]

Just googled Toby Gardenhire. I cannot fathom that he is 42 years old!!  For me, this is a baseball example of how time flies.  Hoping the best for him and his team.

[bean5302]

The starting rotation is interesting because of who is not part of the Saints. Keeping Paddack means both CJ Culpepper (a23) and Corey Lewis (a24 finished in AAA) will be back in AA. On top of that, there are no MLB retread/comeback stories blocking prospects this year.

When it comes to the catchers, I wonder how much playing time and leash they'll get? Cartaya and Camargo were both K machines in Spring Training while Winkour got a couple looks late in ST and managed to not be overwhelmed in ultra SSSS. Morales has no room for catching duty.

Infield is another major depth issue. I'd wager. With Holland, Eeles, and Lee all hurt, it sure does make the infield situation thin. Thinking Severino at DH, Ford at 1B, Alvarez at 3B, Prato at SS, and Keaschall at 2B?

The outfield looks pretty set. Emma CF, Morales LF, McCusker RF is my guess.

[DocBauer]

A little surprised to not see Lewis or Nowlin on the roster. I thought Lewis was ready and you could run some piggyback games early in the season. It appeared in ST that Nowlin is now a reliever, which i think is the right move.

Having so much depth that a couple guys are crowded out isn't a bad thing though.

I like the look of the Saints, but Eeles and Holland back provides a spark and increases depth.

But as previously mentioned, is Cerda injured? Thought he'd make the roster for sure.

[Palindrome Bob]

What happened to Jaylen Nowlin? He was a young (24) LH pitcher who seemed to be on the rise through the system last year, and had a scoreless spring, but now I don't see him on either the Saints or Wind Surge rosters.

[woolywoolhouse]

Can't wait to watch a Saints game with 8-10 of my friends, sharing a Land of 10,000 Calories 6' hot dog.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Palindrome Bob said:

What happened to Jaylen Nowlin? He was a young (24) LH pitcher who seemed to be on the rise through the system last year, and had a scoreless spring, but now I don't see him on either the Saints or Wind Surge rosters.

The Wichita roster list is old. They don't update it until they have the roster finalized. Nowlin will be there.

[FlyingFinn]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

A little surprised to not see Lewis or Nowlin on the roster. I thought Lewis was ready and you could run some piggyback games early in the season.

That Wichita roster is going to be good as well. Lewis, Culpepper, MacLeod, Nowlin for pitching. Jenkins, Rosario, Schobel, Oliver on the hitting side.

[Steve Lein]

What's the deal with Cory Lewis, he is included on the Saints official roster announcement?

[mikelink45]

The infield looks pretty thin without listing Keaschall and Eeles and pretty old.

With the talent coming up I think Martin needs to hope for a trade.

The BP looks interesting but if Dobnak can beat them out I certainly have lower expectations. 

[FlyingFinn]

I believe the best players on defense are E Rod, Keaschall and Holland. If none can play on D this weekend, that could hurt the team, and the pitching #'s.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

The BP looks interesting but if Dobnak can beat them out I certainly have lower expectations. 

Dobnak didn't beat them out. He's just with the Twins for mopup duty, a spot on the roster that is often not filled by the best available player. After his first extended outing, he will get DFA'd, nobody will take on his contract and he will be back with the Saints.

[Danchat]

I believe that's the most prospect value I've ever seen in our AAA rotation!

[DJL44]

5 hours ago, bean5302 said:

On top of that, there are no MLB retread/comeback stories blocking prospects this year.

At least not until they send Dobnak back to the minors.

[Seth Stohs]

6 hours ago, Steve Lein said:

What's the deal with Cory Lewis, he is included on the Saints official roster announcement?

Correct. I had him going to AA to start the year, ready to move up quickly when needed. But yes, he is on this list. I missed him. My bad.

[Seth Stohs]

4 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

I believe the best players on defense are E Rod, Keaschall and Holland. If none can play on D this weekend, that could hurt the team, and the pitching #'s.

Fitzgerald is pretty good defensively. Prato can play several spots. The evaluators will see if plays aren't made behind pitchers. 

[Seth Stohs]

10 hours ago, SD happy said:

Starting pitching will be fun to follow. I’m a little surprised Alan Cerda is not on the roster.

What has Cerda done that would have him start in AAA? Just curious. 

[Dman]

It is an awesome rotation when you include Lewis in there. That makes 5 legitimate guys who could reasonably start at the MLB level. They also have Prielipp in the wings at AA as sixth guy granted he will be building up, but nice to have that kind of depth. Culpepper if he gets rolling makes for seven deep. Some of those arms seem destined for the pen as they can’t all start, but that is a good problem to have.

 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

18 hours ago, bean5302 said:

When it comes to the catchers, I wonder how much playing time and leash they'll get? Cartaya and Camargo were both K machines in Spring Training while Winkour got a couple looks late in ST and managed to not be overwhelmed in ultra SSSS. Morales has no room for catching duty.
 

The Twins did not move Vazquez this offseason, I think that says a lot about how the Twins feel about this group of catchers.  They are hoping that one of these three steps up to fill the 2nd Catcher spot next year, otherwise they will go out and sign the retread veteran next offseason.

[twinstalker]

19 hours ago, darin617 said:

Anyone else think St Paul might have better starting pitchers than the White Sox do?

You clearly haven't seen the pitching the White Sox are putting together.

[twinstalker]

Why would Raya be on this staff and where is Lewis?  That seems very strange. Raya clearly needs AA work and Lewis is clearly ready for AAA.  Is he hurt?

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The Twins did not move Vazquez this offseason, I think that says a lot about how the Twins feel about this group of catchers.  They are hoping that one of these three steps up to fill the 2nd Catcher spot next year, otherwise they will go out and sign the retread veteran next offseason.

Or how other teams feel about a guy who is worse than a AAA replacement player.

[Trov]

This might be the deepest starting rotation on a AAA roster.  I do not know much about Adams but the rest all are expected to be MLB starters at some point. It will be fun to follow them and see who gets the first call up.  Sometimes it is about timing on who is on the right rest though. The offense has a few big names, but the pitchers are who I will be watching.

[SD happy]

11 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

What has Cerda done that would have him start in AAA? Just curious. 

I guess I was basing it on that he has had some major league experience and the few at bats I saw this spring it seemed like he hit the ball hard every time. That’s all. 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, twinstalker said:

Why would Raya be on this staff and where is Lewis?  That seems very strange. Raya clearly needs AA work and Lewis is clearly ready for AAA.  Is he hurt?

See above on Lewis.....

[darin617]

11 hours ago, twinstalker said:

You clearly haven't seen the pitching the White Sox are putting together.

Martin Perez is the #1 starting pitcher. Pretty sure I'd take Zebby or Festa over him.

Do you clearly know who is on the White Sox right now?

[Kenny Powers]

Looks like Kyle Bischoff hit 97.6 mph against his second batter last night.  Worth keeping an eye out on him.