Penultimate… such a fun word! 

That’s right. On Saturday afternoon the Saints played the penultimate game of the Twins 2025 minor league schedule. The other affiliates have each been done for about a week, but the Saints got one more week of games. Sunday will be the final one.  

TRANSACTIONS
Before the second Twins game on Saturday, the Twins placed Pablo Lopez on the Injured List and recalled Mick Abel. 

Hear me out. What do you think of this idea? A few weeks ago, I wrote about five Twins minor leaguers who will become free agents at the conclusion of the World Series. One of them, RHP Cody Laweryson, was called up recently to take Justin Topa’s roster spot. 

Will Holland is another player on that list, and he is finishing out the season with the Saints. What do you think about the idea of calling up Will Holland for the final week of the season? Give him an extra $18-20,000 for that week as a thank you for what you’ve done in our organization since they signed him in 2019. There are several players on the IL currently that could be pushed to the 60-Day Injured List. There are a couple of guys that could be DFAd. 

Would a team do that in a pennant-chasing season? Of course not. Would it be potentially great for good will? Possibly. Consider the Twins have a Top 3 pick in next summer’s MLB draft. They convince a top talent in the draft to sign for a few million dollars under slot. But there are now agents that see that if the Twins draft a guy and he produces and stays in the organization for six full seasons without a big-league promotion, they just might find players in later rounds will to tell other teams that they won’t sign unless they get a certain bonus because they want to be drafted by the Twins, an organization that treats its players well and respects their work and longevity. A human-centered organization. 

Oh wait! They traded Louis Varland with five years of service time remaining. No one is buying that human-centered stuff anymore. 

But I would love to see Will Holland get one week in the big leagues. Call him up! 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 11, Memphis 3
Box Score

In his final start of the season, lefty Kendry Rojas started and gave up just one run over 3 1/3 innings. He gave up for hits and walked just two, but he had five strikeouts to help him out of some situations. 

In the fourth inning, Christian MacLeod got the final two on and two outs, but he kept the score at 3-1 Saints. 

Oh yeah, the Saints. They scored three runs in the top of the third inning. Noah Cardenas hit a one-out single. Will Holland (Call Him Up!) signed him to second. Next, Walker Jenkins singled which drove in Cardenas with the team’s first run. A rehabbing Christian Vazquez grounded out, but Holland scored the second run. Kyler Fedko and Jonah Bride reached on walks. With Emmanuel Rodriguez batting, Memphis starter Zach Plesac balked to score the Saints third run. Rodriguez’s plate appearance ended with a walk, but after a pitching change the half-inning ended. 

MacLeod gave up a run of his own in the fifth inning which made it 3-2, but the Saints responded right away in the top of the sixth inning. Jonah Bride led off with a single to center. Rodriguez delivered an opposite-field home run. It marked just his sixth home run of the season. Also, later in the innings, the Saints got singles from Tanner Schobel and Will (Call Him Up!) Holland! 

On the day, MacLeod went 2 2/3 innings and gave up the one run on two total hits. Erasmo Ramirez gave up a hit and a walk but got out of the seventh inning unscathed. 

At that point, the Saints just added on. In the top of the seventh, Kyler Fedko walked and stole second. Bride singled him to third, and Fedko scored on a fielders’ choice off the bat of Rodriguez. Rodriguez stole second and then scored on a Schobel single to make it 7-2. 

With one out in the eighth, Will (Call Him Up!) Holland walked and stole second. He scored on a Walker Jenkins single to center. Christian Vazquez followed with a two-run homer that made it 10-2 Saints. 

The Saints added on more in the ninth inning when Will (Call Him Up!) Holland walked with the bases loaded to drive in Rodriguez. 

Marco Raya tossed the final two innings. He gave up one run on two hits. Blaze Jordan hit a homer with two outs in the ninth. 

Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a walk, his sixth homer and his ninth stolen base. He also threw out a runner at the plate. Jenkins went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Bride was 2-for-4 with a walk. Schobel was 2-for-5. Vazquez went just 1-for-5 with a walk, but he drove in three runs. Also, Will (Call Him Up!) Holland was 2-for-3 with two walks and his 11th stolen base.  

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 3-for-4, BB, HR(6), 3 RBI, 3 R, SB(9),

Pitcher of the Day 
Christian MacLeod (St. Paul): 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 45 pitches, 26 strikes (57.8%)

 

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

#1– Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) – 2-for-5, HBP, 2 R, 2 RBI, K (played CF)
#2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) – Game 1: 1-for-3, 2B(13), Game 2:
#5 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) – 3-for-4, BB, HR(6), 3 RBI, 3 R, SB(9), (played LF)
#6 – Mick Abel (Minnesota) – 4 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 71 pitches, 39 strikes (54.9%)
#9 – Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) – 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 68 pitches, 45 strikes (66.2%)
#15 – Marco Raya (St. Paul) – 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 22 pitches, 15 strikes (68.2%)
#19 – Kyler Fedko (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, SB(12) K (played RF)

SUNDAY PROBABLES
St. Paul @ Memphis (1:05 PM CT) – RHP Andrew Morris (4-5, 3.69 ERA)

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 66-89
St. Paul Saints: 62-85
Wichita Wind Surge: 76-62
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 72-60 (finished 2nd in Midwest League playoffs)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 52-73
FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs)
DSL Twins: 24-32

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

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!

View Twins Top Prospects