Twins Minor League Report (3/27): Kaelen Culpepper and Alan Roden Lead Saints to Win in their Saints Debuts

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

Since the Saints are the only affiliate playing until next week, we’ll treat the minor league report as if it was a Twins Game Recap. We’ll include notes on the other affiliates as news breaks. In other words, this will be a bit more than just a regular summary and hopefully more detailed to give you more information.

As you know, the daily minor-league reports are a staple at Twins Daily. You’ve come to expect it and we sure enjoy writing it, even in the middle of the summer when all six affiliates have a game and a couple of them are doubleheaders. There is a great group of commenters who read the report daily, discuss fun topics (or not-so-fun topics), and ask questions. We really do appreciate you, and your input. Here’s to another fun-filled, exciting 2026 season! 

If you have any questions or comments, let us know in the comments or DM me. What are your favorite parts of it, and are there parts that seem unnecessary? We welcome your suggestions and look to continue making it a Must Read for fans. 

TRANSACTIONS
On Thursday, the Saints announced their Opening Day roster. That included playing Kendry Rojas, Julian Merryweather and Cory Lewis on the Injured List. 

Catcher Patrick Winkel, who has played with the Saints the past two seasons, has been released. A plus-defensive backstop, he could be a successful coach or manager if he chooses that direction when his playing career is done. At just 26, he could continue to play for several yeas with his knowledge of the game and defensive chops. 

RHPs Matt Bowman and John Brebbia have been added to the Saints roster. Bowman was a non-roster invite to big-league spring training. When told he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster, he elected free agency, likely hoping for a big-league opportunity. Not seeing one, he re-signed with the Twins. Brebbia has spent big-league time with five organizations over parts of eight seasons going back to his debut in 2017. After the 2025 season, he became a free agent and quickly signed with the Colorado Rockies on a minor-league contract. He remained in their spring camp until the last day. Like Bowman, he looked around and after not seeing a big-league job, chose to sign with the Twins.  

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 2
Box Score
Fast Start in the First
The Saints started the season with a strong first inning off of former Twins and Saints pitcher Noah Davis. Right 28-year-old right-hander pitched five innings over four appearances with the Twins last year and posted a 16.20 ERA. He posted a 3.78 ERA over 14 games and 16 2/3 innings. To be fair, he also earned a World Series ring because he pitched in five games for the Dodgers earlier in the season and in six innings posted a 19.50 ERA.

After Walker Jenkins led off with a pop out, Gabriel Gonzalez was hit by a pitch. Kaelen Culpepper singled to left in his first Triple-A at-bat. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with a walk to load the bases. Alan Roden came to the plate and lined a single to center that drove in the game’s and season’s first two runs. After Orlando Arcia struck out, Eric Wagaman singled to right field to drive in Rodriguez with the third run of the inning. 

Slow Start, Quick Turnaround
Connor Prielipp was given the Opening Day nod for the Saints. In a game that started at 42 degrees and after a long top of the first, it took the lefty a little while to find himself. In Connor vs Konnor: Part 1, the game’s top prospect (Konnor Griffin) walked. Prielipp followed with a strikeout, and Griffin stole second. The Password (Jhostynxon Garcia) followed with a walk, and Endy Rodriguez singled to drive in Griffin to make it a 3-1 game. 

At that point, Saints pitching coach Carlos Hernandez came to the mound to chat with his starter. Whatever the former big-league southpaw said, Prielipp listened. He recorded a strikeout and got a ground out to end the first inning. 

The Saints co-pitching coach, Ryan Ricci, said after the game, “We both just emphasized how efficiency is important for him, and how his stuff is too good to fall behind guys and let them run up his pitch count.” 

In the second frame, Prielipp got a ground out and two pop outs in the infield. In Connor vs Konnor: Part 2, the game’s top prospect checked his swing on a pitch, but too late. He made contact with the ball and it went out to second base for the ground out. Kind of a nice, easy out, except Griffin’s speed made it very close. The next two batters struck out. 

In the fourth inning, he got a grounder back to the mound, a ground out to third base, and followed it up with a strikeout.   

So again, after the Hernandez mound visit, Prielipp bore down and retired the next 11 batters he faced. Staying true to their plan with the talented lefty the past couple of years, his day was done after four innings, at 61 pitches. 

Ricci added, “He did a great job of adjusting the last three innings and thought it was awesome to see him get through four (innings) on his pitch count after being at 27 after the first.” 

Looking at his pitch-mix in the season opener, Prielipp threw 25 four-seam fastballs (41%), 18 sliders (30%), and 10 curveballs (16%). He added five changeups and three sinkers as well. His fastball averaged 95.4 mph and topped out at 97.0 mph. He averaged 95.6 mph in the first inning and 93.6 mph in the fourth inning. It’s also interesting to note that in 31 pitches against left-handers, he threw 16 fastballs (52%) while in 30 pitches against right-handers, he threw just nine fastballs (30%). 

Ricci noted, “His key to success was the command of his fastball and slider in the later innings, to get ahead, and getting back in the zone. I think he was able to execute some change ups late that also kept hitters off balance and kept them guessing.” 

Another Twins Tally Thanks to Top Picks
The Saints had more opportunities, but their only other run came in the top of the fifth inning when Kaelen Culpepper lined a single to right field to drive in Walker Jenkins to make it 4-1 Saints.   

The Bullpen Got the Job Done
Brian Dinkelman turned to the Twins minor-league veterans to close out the rest of the game. It started with Raul Brito who tossed two scoreless innings before giving up a run in the seventh inning when he gave up three hits including one to Griffin who scored Indianapolis’s second run. He walked the leadoff man in the bottom of the seventh, but Hernandez made another mound visit. Brito got an infield pop out and a strikeout. Grant Hartwig came on to face Griffin (representing the game-tying run) and struck him out to end the inning. 

Hartwig threw Griffin six pitches. One was a 94 mph sinker. He mixed that with five sweepers including the final pitch, his lone whiff. 

Dan Altavilla came on for the eighth inning. Many Twins fans were surprised one of the stars for Team Italy in the WBC did not make the team’s Opening Day roster. Instead, he is with the Saints. He struck out the first two batters he faced before a fly out ended the inning. 

He threw just 14 pitches. Nine were fastballs and averaged 96.4 mph. He hit 97.8 mph with one pitch. His primary pitch is his changeup, which he only threw four of them. He also threw one slider. He had just two whiffs, both by blowing fastballs past hitters. 

Still clinging to a 4-2 lead going to the bottom of the ninth, Dinkelman turned to another veteran, Matt Bowman, to close the door. Bowman got a ground out to second base, a fly out to center, and ended the game with a knee-buckling called third strike. 

Of those veterans, Ricci noted, "(It's) always good to have veterans like those guys around. Great for some young bullpen arms like (Marco) Raya and (Trent) Baker among others to learn from them and their experiences. They go about their business the right way, and it feeds off on the other guys for sure." 

Jenkins Replaced in the 8th Inning
With two on and two outs in the top of the eighth inning, Jenkins was due up to face former Twins minor leaguer, lefty Evan Sisk. Dinkelman called on Kyler Fedko to pinch hit for Jenkins. Normally that move is going to raise some eyebrows. 

However, when you consider that Jenkins’ spring training was shortened by a hamstring injury, and that he’s had similar injuries in the past, it may be wise to start him on this type of program for the first few weeks. They did that with Kaelen Culpepper in Cedar Rapids at the start of last season when he began his season after injuring his hamstring last spring. In addition, the game-time temperature was just 42 degrees, so certainly it was much cooler than that later in the game.

New Role, but Dinkelman Wins His Second Triple-A debut
For those of you who don't remember, Brian Dinkelman was drafted by the Twins in the eighth round of the 2006 draft out of McKendree University in his home state of Illinois.  He steadily climbed up the Twins organizational ladder. On Opening Day in 2010, Dinkelman played his first Triple-A game. Of course, the Twins Triple-A affiliate back then was the Rochester Red Wings. He batted ninth and played right field.  

Take a look at the box score and all the fun names from Twins 2000s History to make you smile, including on the Red Sox affiliate on the other side of the diamond. Dinkelman went 1-for-4 in the game. In the second inning, he flew out to left fielder Daniel Nava off of #OldFriend Boof Bonser. With two outs in the fourth inning and Danny Valencia on first base, Dinkelman singled to right field. Valencia advanced to third. The crowd rejoiced!  The Sox brought lefty Alan Embree into start the top of the sixth inning. Embree won that matchup by coaxing a ground out. In his final at-bat of his playing-days Triple-A debut, Dinkelman came to the plate with no one on base and two outs. He grounded out to MLB Network Radio's Kevin Frandsen who tossed the ball across the diamond to Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates for the out. 

So, I'm sure, in some small, quiet way, Brian Dinkelman is excited to get his first Triple-A win as a manager in his first Triple-A game as a manager. 

If we are talking about revenge, which we're not, but research is fun. 11 days later, The Woo Sox were in Rochester. In the fifth inning, Dinkelman hit his first Triple-A home run. It came against Chad Paronto. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Alan Roden (St. Paul): 1-for-1, 4 BB, 2 RBI. 

Pitcher of the Day 
Connor Prielipp (St. Paul): 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 61 pitches, 36 strikes (59.0%)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today.

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, K (played CF, batted 1st)
#2 - SS Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K (played SS, batted 3rd)
#3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, 2 K, (played RF, batted 4th)
#4 - C Eduardo Tait (TBD) - DNP
#5 - LHP Connor Prielipp (St.Paul) - 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. 61 pitches, 36 strikes (59.0%)
#6 - LHP Dasan Hill (TBD) - DNP
#7 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, R, BB, K (DHd, batted 2nd)
#8 - LHP Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - Injured List (hamstring)
#9 - SS Marek Houston (TBD) - DNP
#10 - RHP Charlee Soto (TBD) - Injured List
#11 - RHP Riley Quick (TBD) - DNP
#12 - RHP Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - DNP
#13 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (TBD) - DNP
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (TBD) - DNP
#15 - RHP Marco Raya (St. Paul) - DNP
#16 - OF Hendry Mendez (TBD) - DNP
#17 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (TBD) - DNP
#18 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (TBD) - DNP
#19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (TBD) - DNP
#20 - RHP James Ellwanger (TBD) - DNP

WEEKEND PROBABLES
Saturday:
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (3:05 pm CT) - RHP Zebby Matthews
Sunday:
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (12:35 pm CT) - RHP Andrew Morris 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 0-1
St. Paul Saints: 1-0

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!

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[nclahammer]

Ahhhhh...so good to see TD's minor league reports back, the best in the business.  Always fun to hear in detail about these kids who are going to be knocking on the door to the majors real soon.

[Fatbat]

What a loaded team! Good times in St. Paul this season!!! Probably see several of them make an impact across the river as well. 

[Jeff K]

Very pleased to see Kaelen get off to a hot start.  I hope he quickly proves himself at AAA and forces a cross town move!

[tony&rodney]

Enjoyed watching the game. Early season jitters and long counts with too many walks but playing in cold weather isn't exactly thrilling. There were some decent examples of solid skill levels for both teams.

Prielipp looked ready to go to 75 pitches but caution is a good decision with him early in the campaign. All of Gonzalez, Culpepper, Rodriguez, and Roden had several good plate appearances each. Rodriguez had two darts right to the first baseman and his typical long at bats. On the other side, Griffin is pretty quick at shortstop despite his size. He showed off his footwork in all directions and his arm. 

Love these reports.

[jmlease1]

I wasn't 100% sure where they were going to start Culpepper this season; it's great to see that they thought he was ready for AAA and even better for him to get out to a fast start. He's looking legit. The last step is the hardest, but Culpepper has smashed every challenge so far.

Prospect summary is off though: Rodriguez was 0-4 with a run, a walk, and a K, not 0-5 with 2 K's.

 

[rdehring]

So good to have you back for the start of another season.  Welcome back Seth.  And all of TD.

After a couple early walks, Prielipp seemed like the pitcher we hope he will be for the Twins.  If we can believe gameday, ball four on his first walk was strike three.  And three of the four balls on the second walk were strikes.  Seeing how little contact they made, his stuff has to be just plain filthy.  Both Culpepper and Roden had fantastic first games.  Expect they want the Twins to take notice of their intent on playing at Target Field.  And soon.  

The Strib said the game was on Twins.TV.  Unfortunately, it wasn't, so followed along on game day.  Didn't realize it was in the low 40's, which can affect how they handle the pitchers.  Several AAAA relievers had nice nights.  Will one of them work his way into being this year's pleasant surprise?  

TD should have some type of pool projecting how soon these six young guys will arrive at Target Field?  Can't be too soon for me.

 

[IndianaTwin]

It was definitely chilly, but fun to take in Opening Night. 

It was also fun to see a lineup topped by their Nos. 1, 7, 2 and 4 prospects, followed by five guys with MLB time. On the mound it was the No. 5 prospect starting, with excellent outings by Brito, Altavilla and Bowman.

Given the reality of injuries, I suspect all four of the pitchers will get a call up. There is skepticism on the MLB bullpen, but they will be able to swap out guys pretty quickly as needed.

Good seats were still available 20 minutes before game time (like, Row 4), making it a good spot to get some shots. Here’s Culpepper’s first AAA hit, a blooper in real life, but a line drive in the box score. 

[Linus]

Minor league reports - best part of Twins Daily!  Fun game to watch - the feed I was watching was the Indy announcers who I kind of enjoyed. Preillip has some swing and miss stuff for sure. He still has some work to do in terms of command but the talent is there. Culpepper looked good although he had some batted ball luck. This will be a fun team to watch this year. Kind of hoping Mendez ends up playing first base for the Saints soon. 

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, nclahammer said:

Ahhhhh...so good to see TD's minor league reports back, the best in the business.  Always fun to hear in detail about these kids who are going to be knocking on the door to the majors real soon.

The minor league report always elicits a smile. Good combo of kids and vets in the Saints clubhouse. 

[IndianaTwin]

I’d add that the three singles which led to the run off of Brito included one solidly hit single up the middle and two grounders into the 5.5 hole that were only hits because Culpepper was playing up the middle. The last was a definitely a dribbler, so a tough luck run. His first inning was especially sharp, just 10 pitches. 

[tony&rodney]

Quick note - games can be watched via milb.com. If one has an mlb.com account that includes any minor league games. I believe there is also a way to buy an inexpensive milb.com account, but I have not looked for it because I have the mlb.com version.

FWIW, I think a viewer has as good of an idea of the strike zone as the Gameday box. For yesterday's game I was 100% on the challenges. I still think the minor league umpires are less than enthralled with challenges, especially those pitches that are a paper width either way. Remember, these minor league umpires are not as good as the guys above them just as the players are not as accomplished.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I loved to see Culpepper hit behind the runner, to score Jenkins from 2B. The Twins could have used some hitting like that on Thursday. Prielipp was really good. Seth, your report was excellent. I had been excitedly anticipating this first Saints game report from you, Your excellent writing was a real treat.I assume you were at the game. Do you sit in the press box? Does the Saints  staff feed the folks in the press box? If so, what do they feed you? If not, why don't they feed you? It would make sense, be inexpensive and create more goodwill.  Thank you. for a wonderful read to begin my day. 

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Prielipp looked ready to go to 75 pitches but caution is a good decision with him early in the campaign.

Listened on radio online. Announcers said in the 1st inning that Preilipp's limit was 65 pitches and Jenkins will only play 7 innings.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I would like to ask those of you who attended the game, how Wagaman looked at defense at 1B?

[Yoke]

I could see Altavilla in the Twins pen by the end of April. Seems like he has the stuff. I was surprised he didn’t make it right away.

 

St. Paul will be a fun team to keep an eye on with all the prospects on the doorstep.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Boy do I feel dumb. The Saints game was in Indianapolis. My prior post assumed the game was in St. Paul. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

5 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I would like to ask those of you who attended the game, how Wagaman looked at defense at 1B?

I am not worthy. I am not worthy. The game was in Indiana. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

13 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I loved to see Culpepper hit behind the runner, to score Jenkins from 2B. The Twins could have used some hitting like that on Thursday. Prielipp was really good. Seth, your report was excellent. I had been excitedly anticipating this first Saints game report from you, Your excellent writing was a real treat.I assume you were at the game. Do you sit in the press box? Does the Saints  staff feed the folks in the press box? If so, what do they feed you? If not, why don't they feed you? It would make sense, be inexpensive and create more goodwill.  Thank you. for a wonderful read to begin my day. 

Seth, How did you write such a good report if you were not at the game? Was it on tv? Did you have a ticker tape to follow the play by play, like in the old days when Ronald Reagan was a broadcaster, as you wrote your summary? Your story was so well written, I assumed you attended the game. Amazing job of writing. 

[Linus]

1 minute ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Seth, How did you write such a good report if you were not at the game? Was it on tv? Did you have a ticker tape to follow the play by play, like in the old days when Ronald Reagan was a broadcaster, as you wrote your summary? Your story was so well written, I assumed you attended the game. Amazing job of writing. 

It was available as a minor league free game of the day or something like that. I like your observation about Culpepper hitting behind the runner. Don’t know if he did it on purpose but he used the whole field which was good to see. 

[mark sills]

I watched on milb app was free game of the day, butt with my mlb account can watch all.

[DataNerd]

31 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I would like to ask those of you who attended the game, how Wagaman looked at defense at 1B?

Watched on milb.com.  He had a nice scoop on a poor throw by the 3B.

[Rosterman]

Gonna be a fun team to watch. Snow balls for opening weekend?

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, rdehring said:

The Strib said the game was on Twins.TV.  Unfortunately, it wasn't, so followed along on game day.  Didn't realize it was in the low 40's, which can affect how they handle the pitchers.  Several AAAA relievers had nice nights.  Will one of them work his way into being this year's pleasant surprise?  

I watched it on Twins TV last night. 

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I loved to see Culpepper hit behind the runner, to score Jenkins from 2B. The Twins could have used some hitting like that on Thursday. Prielipp was really good. Seth, your report was excellent. I had been excitedly anticipating this first Saints game report from you, Your excellent writing was a real treat.I assume you were at the game. Do you sit in the press box? Does the Saints  staff feed the folks in the press box? If so, what do they feed you? If not, why don't they feed you? It would make sense, be inexpensive and create more goodwill.  Thank you. for a wonderful read to begin my day. 

Thanks for the kind words. 

The game was in Indianapolis, so nope, I didn't go there. 

I have gone to a couple of Saints games in the press box. They provide some press box food. The few times I have been there, it's been "real" food (as opposed to ballpark fare). Salad and some sort of pasta is one I can remember. I haven't been there for a couple of years. 

[bunsen82]

We made 3 minor trades in the offseason - 

1. Wagaman for Bragg

2. Alex Jackson for Payton Eeles

3. Orze for Kisting

Orze is up with the big leagues -  Jackson appears to be our #1 Catcher for AAA.  1 for 4 with 2 SO.   We need to see those strikeouts come down a bit more,  but with his glove any offense is a plus.   Wagaman is the 1st baseman for the Saints and honestly in spring training and 1 game - I think it is a really solid depth piece.  The defense has been better.   Went 1 for 4 and BB with an RBI.   A nice defensive snag.  

Now lets talk about Roden and Culpepper.  Roden was 1 for 1 - 2 rbi's and 4 freaking walks   LOL.   OBP  1.000.    Culpepper 3 for 5,  run and rbi - his 2 outs were SO.   Still those were the studs for the night.    

This AAA team is a nice blend of prospects-  Non prospects with some experience and upside,  and lots of veteran pieces in the bullpen.   Jenkins, Gonzalez, Culpepper, Rodriguez and Roden is a murderers row.  They are going to win a ton of games before these players start getting called up to the big leagues.  

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Seth, How did you write such a good report if you were not at the game? Was it on tv? Did you have a ticker tape to follow the play by play, like in the old days when Ronald Reagan was a broadcaster, as you wrote your summary? Your story was so well written, I assumed you attended the game. Amazing job of writing. 

I watched it on Twins TV and milb.com. 

To be fair, most of the game recaps will probably be a little less since they'll cover four or six games. We'll want to stick to multi-hit games, extra base hits, homers, key plays, highlights and pitching performances. Hopefully we can get occasional quotes, and our authors will find some unique angle to write about. 

[Danchat]

Yup, that AAA lineup is absolutely loaded. I'd like to go to a game before any promotions or injuries start hitting the lineup.

Too bad to hear Rojas is hurt, he needs all the innings he can get to build up if he's gonna be a major league starter.

[RpR]

[nicksaviking]

Great start, but disagree about pulling Jenkins. With the MLB team’s penchant for platooning all young left handed hitters, I’d vote for Jenkins to face as many left handed pitchers as possible in AAA. Off days come against righties. He pinch hits against left handed relievers. He LEADS OFF against left handed starters.

This roster destroying platoon nonsense has to stop, but it might take sacrificing AAA production and wins to do so.