2026 Wichita Wind Surge Roster Preview

Starting the year at Double-A means a prospect has the opportunity to make an impact on the major league roster in the near future. While this year’s Wind Surge roster doesn’t have any of the top prospects in the Twins system, there is still an interesting list to see which of these players will take the next step forward and see if they are able to put themselves in the Twins future plans. 

When prospects get to Double-A, this can be the first time they struggle in their professional career. The Wind Surge roster this year doesn’t have a top 5 Twins prospect but does have three of Twins Daily’s top 20 prospects, including Hendry Mendez, Kyle DeBarge, and CJ Culpepper. Mendez is the one who is on the 40-man roster out of the three.

Mendez was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline, along with pitching prospect Geremy Villoria, from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for outfielder Harrison Bader. Mendez hit well after being acquired, hitting for a .324/.461/.450 slash line after the trade. He has played in the corner outfield mostly but has been getting more work at first base recently.

DeBarge is a former first round pick, that has steadily climbed the minor league ladder and will be playing his age-22 season in 2026. He has played most of his time at second base, but has also seen time at shortstop, and in left field and center field as well.

Culpepper, when healthy, has looked very solid over the past few years. He pitched in 17 total games this past year and will look to have a healthy season after starting the 2025 season on the injured list with a pinched nerve. He throws up to seven or eight pitches, so he makes for a pitching prospect worth watching. 

Coaching Staff
The coaching staff in the minor leagues are key in helping develop the future major leaguers in any organization. The Wind Surge had a number of new coaches in 2025, and will be returning the some, but have some new coaches as well. Nico Giarratano will be the new manager, after former Wichita manager Brian Dinkelman was promoted to manage the Twins Triple-A affiliate. Giarratano was the manager for the FCL Twins in 2025.

Giarratano will be joined on the coaching staff by hitting coaches Andrew Cresci and Julian Gonzalez, pitching coaches Jesus Sanchez and Stephen Ridings. Meagan Vota will serve as the strength and conditioning coach, with Taylor Carpenter serving as the lead athletic trainer. Asja Morello will work closely with Carpenter as the Assistant Athletic Trainer, and to round out the staff, Chase Carder will serve as the Baseball Technology Coordinator.

Pitchers
RHP Sam Armstrong, RHP Spencer Bengard, RHP Kyle Bischoff, RHP Darren Bowen, RHP Ricky Castro, RHP CJ Culpepper, RHP Ryan Gallagher, RHP Ruddy Gomez, RHP Alejandro Hidalgo, RHP Ty Langenberg, LHP Jaylen Nowlin, RHP Jose Olivares, RHP Mike Paredes, RHP Luis Quinones, RHP Sam Ryan, RHP Logan Whitaker, RHP Jarret Whorff

Culpepper and Gallagher are the two highest ranked pitching prospects on this roster, with Culpepper sitting 18th on Twins Daily’s top 20 prospects. Culpepper is a former 13th round selection by the Twins back in 2022. Gallagher and Armstrong were acquired from the Chicago Cubs in return for utility man Willi Castro. They are both intriguing arms and will be worth watching this year as well. 

Bowen’s name might be familiar, as he was part of the Jorge Polanco trade, along with Justin Topa. He pitched at Double-A this past year. Olivares is another name that is recognizable, as he was signed back in 2021 and is ranked the #26 prospect by MLB Pipeline to start this season. 

Hidalgo has shown the ability to strike batters out at a pretty solid clip, most recently having 99 strikeouts over 84 2/3 innings pitched in 2025 between High-A and Double-A. If he’s unable to develop as a starter, a move to the bullpen could provide a path to Target Field in the future.

Quinones comes over from the Blue Jays organization, where he topped out at Triple-A in 2024, prior to missing the 2025 season with an injury. He’ll look to have a healthy and productive season this year. 

Catchers: Ricardo Olivar, Andrew Cossetti, Poncho Ruiz
Olivar was a Twins Daily Top 20 prospect at this time last year and has been left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft the past two years. He has played positions other than catcher as well, so the defensive versatility makes him a prospect to watch.

Andrew Cossetti will be returning to Double-A for his third straight year, and he is a bat-first catcher, who hit .226/.366/.432 in 2025, which was an improvement over his 2024 season numbers. Ruiz will be playing his age-24 season this year, after playing the 2025 season between Low-A and High-A. He also played in the Mexican Pacific Winter League this offseason, which allowed him to get some more experience. 

Infielders: Billy Amick, Hendry Mendez, Kyle DeBarge, Jake Rucker, Ben Ross, and Jose Salas
Salas might be a familiar name, as he came over in the Pablo Lopez/Luis Arraez swap a few years ago. At the time, Salas was mostly a shortstop but has transitioned into playing center field more regularly in recent years. Rosario is a very intriguing prospect and has shown more promise recently after struggling early in his professional career. He’ll need to show he can be more consistent against right-handed pitchers, as he crushed lefties to a .954 OPS this past season, in comparison to a more modest .794 OPS against righties.

Rucker has played the past three seasons at Double-A so he will need to start improving at the plate to not stall in the upper minors.

Ross is a versatile defender, having played shortstop, third base, along with left field and centerfield as well, just this past year. He’s also played first base and right field in his minor league career as well. The big question for him is if his bat will develop to make him an option for the Twins in the future. 

Outfielders: Garrett Spain, Hendry Mendez, Kala’i Rosario, Maddux Houghton
Mendez will likely see more time at first base this year after playing previously mostly as a corner outfielder. As previously mentioned, he is a prospect to keep an eye on and may move quickly depending on how he hits. He played the 2025 season at Double-A, and if he continues to hit, he will likely receive a call up to St. Paul this year, and we may even see him at Target Field before the end of the season. 

Spain was a minor league Rule 5 selection this past December out of the Milwaukee Brewers organization. A left-handed hitter, he will look to see if he can make adjustments with the Twins to break through in the upper minors. He showed more power in 2025, hitting 16 home runs. 

Rosario is an exciting prospect with a high ceiling. He was a 5th round selection in the shortened 2020 draft. He will play his second year with Wichita, where he hit 25 home runs this past season.

Houghton is not a heralded prospect but did play at four levels across the minors this past year, getting his first taste at Triple-A St. Paul. He has shown the ability to steal bases and shown some power over the past year, hitting 12 home runs and stealing 26 bases.

While the Wichita roster may not be as filled with high-end prospects, there are still plenty of intriguing players to keep an eye on and a few that Twins fans could see at Target Field in short order. 

Whether the players are playing at Double-A for the first time, or repeating the level, this season could be a springboard year to assert themselves as prospects and push themselves into the long-term plans for the big-league club. 

The Wind Surge will start their season on Thursday, April 2nd versus the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals Double-A), with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm.

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!