St. Paul Saints Open 2026 With Four Top-100 Prospects on Roster

When the Saints begin their sixth season as the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliate Friday, March 27 in Indianapolis, the roster carries four Top-100 prospects by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, five of the Top 10 prospects in the Twins organization and nine of the organization's Top 30. No Triple-A team in the Midwest opens 2026 with that kind of consensus top-end talent on a single roster.

Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Kaelen Culpepper and Connor Prielipp are all consensus top-100 prospects, and each of them is healthy and ready to go, which is good news considering Jenkins missed time during Grapefruit League play with a hamstring injury.

The infield features Orlando Arcia, Kaelen Culpepper (ranked No. 3 in the Twins system and No. 74 overall by Baseball America; No. 2 and No. 52 overall by MLB Pipeline), Aaron Sabato, Tanner Schobel and Eric Wagaman. Culpepper jumps to Triple-A after less than 60 games at Double-A, a clear signal of how highly the organization views him. He was the organization's minor league player of the year in 2025 when he posted a 138 wRC+ between High-A and Double-A.

The outfield includes Kyler Fedko, Gabby Gonzalez (No. 10/No. 7 in the organization), Walker Jenkins (Twins No. 1, No. 5 overall by Baseball America; No. 1 and No. 14 overall by MLB Pipeline), Alan Roden and Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 2 and No. 57 overall by Baseball America; No. 4 and No. 74 overall by MLB Pipeline).

On the mound, the pitching staff is anchored by left-hander Connor Prielipp, listed by the club as the Twins' No. 4 organizational prospect with a No. 94 overall ranking, and right-hander Andrew Morris, ranked No. 13 in the organization by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. Right-handers John Klein (No. 24/No. 20) and Marco Raya (No. 21/No. 18) add further depth to a staff that also includes veterans Dad Altavilla, Trent Baker, Andrew Bash, Matt Bowman, Raul Brito, Grant Hartwig, Christian MacLeod, Zebby Matthews and Eduardo Salazar. With John Klein, Andrew Morris, Zebby Matthews and Prielipp already penciled in, the group manager Brian Dinkelman has at his disposal is strong.

The Saints will carry 27 players, one shy of the league maximum of 28, with a total of 13 pitchers, three catchers, five infielders, five outfielders and a utility player. The catching trio of David Bañuelos, Noah Cardenas and Alex Jackson rounds out the position players. The injured list opens the season with four players: RHP Matt Canterino (60-day IL, right shoulder surgery), RHP Cory Lewis (right rotator cuff), Julian Merryweather (left hamstring strain) and LHP Kendry Rojas (right hamstring strain).

The Opening Day opponent makes for an immediate marquee matchup. The game marks the Triple-A debut of No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin, who spent much of the spring competing for the Pirates' Opening Day shortstop job before just falling short. Only 19 years old, the 6-foot-3 slugger will likely be the youngest player on a Triple-A roster, but he has all five tools at his disposal. After he struggled to make consistent contact in the spring, he'll be on a mission to prove he can get the bat on enough fastballs. The Saints open the season at Victory Field against the Indianapolis Indians on Friday, March 27 at 5:35 p.m. CT.

Twenty members of MLB Pipeline's Top-100 prospects list will open the 2026 season as Major Leaguers, while baseball's No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin will begin at Triple-A alongside the 29 other Top-100 talents scattered across the level. St. Paul's collection of four of them, concentrated across the lineup and rotation, positions the Saints as one of the most prospect-loaded rosters in the International League heading into the new year.