Saints Prospect Rosario Ties Game with Three-Run Homer in Second Outing

Kala'i Rosario, the 23-year-old ranked No. 52 on MLB's prospect list, delivered his first Triple-A home run in just his second game at St. Paul, a three-run shot that tied the game for the Saints and offered the most concrete evidence yet that his plus-plus raw power carries at the highest level of minor-league baseball.

The homer wasn't an isolated moment. It arrived on the back of an encouraging debut and extended a power surge that defined Rosario's 2025 season: he slugged 11 home runs in 27 games during August alone, posting a 1.135 OPS over that stretch on the way to 25 homers in the Twins system. Pitchers at Triple-A throw harder and locate sharper than anything Rosario faced at Double-A; he answered on day two.

Baseball America grades his raw power at 60, above average on the 20-80 scouting scale. His arm checks in at the same grade, the kind of cannon that reads as MLB-ready before any other part of his game is. Those two tools are what scouts circled when he first emerged as the top prep prospect out of Hawaii in the 2020 draft, and both translated immediately at CHS Field. The 2023 Midwest League MVP and Arizona Fall League home run derby champion has always had the pedigree; now he has a Triple-A proof point.

The path to Minnesota is crowded but not closed. The Twins' 2026 outfield currently runs Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Austin Martin, and James Outman. Rosario isn't walking into a vacancy. What he can do is make himself impossible to ignore, especially given Buxton's historically fragile availability across a full season. The realistic window is a late-season callup if his bat forces the organization's hand, or a 2027 Opening Day candidacy if he makes the contact adjustments the development staff is waiting on.

The skill closest to MLB-ready isn't actually the power, which still needs a full Triple-A sample against quality breaking-ball pitchers; it's the arm, a legitimate deterrent that would play in right field from the first inning of any big-league appearance.

That's also where the two pressure points live, and pitchers at this level will probe them fast. First is Rosario's contact profile. Baseball America grades his hit tool at 40, below average, with a swing that carries significant miss risk against offspeed pitches low and away. Second is his discipline when behind in the count: Triple-A starters will work him with elevated fastballs early, then bury sliders to test whether he can hold his approach when the count turns against him.

He went unpicked in the Rule 5 draft despite being left unprotected, which speaks more to roster logistics than to talent. One three-run homer in game two doesn't answer those questions. But it puts 11-homers-in-27-games on notice that the stage has changed, and Rosario's bat showed up anyway.