Royce Lewis (2) Minnesota Twins Prospect - Minda Haas Kuhlmann/Creative Commons
On a sunny, clear day earlier this month, my brother Steve and I made a visit to CHS Field in St. Paul. This is the home of the Minnesota Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, the St. Paul Saints. You remember the Saints. The mascot pig. The sumo wrestlers. They even have a singing lawyer. Yes. games in St. Paul are still a fun, three-ring surface.
The other thing I wanted to mention right away is how nice it is to have the Major League team, and its top farm team in the same metropolitan area. The two stadiums are separated by a stretch of I94 and a little change in Downtown Minneapolis. This makes it very convenient for ballplayers, fans, media, and Twins management to keep tabs on both teams. In fact, earlier this season, outfielder Matt Wallner played a day game with the Saints and then a night game with the Twins.
As the game was about to begin, we did get disappointing news. Royce Lewis who is on a rehab assignment for the Twins was not in the lineup that day. The day before was his first game back and he celebrated in true Royce Lewis. He hit a home run to lead the Twins to a 14-4 rout of the Louisville Bats. Also not playing that day was the enigmatic outfielder Trevor Larnach.
Plenty of Twins Prospects
However, playing that day were three of the Twins’ brighter prospects. Starting at third base was the Twins’ number 1 draft pick from 2022, infielder Brooks Lee. Lee had just recently arrived from the Double-A Wichita club where he continued his meteoric rise through the Twins minor league system.
Also, in the lineup was the power-hitting catcher for the Saints, Jair Camargo. The Twins front office has started to any attention to the 24-year-old backstop. He has 18 home runs and 51 RBIs this season after hitting 18 round-trippers for three different minor league teams last year. He is also a solid defensive catcher as he is currently carrying a .989 fielding percentage
Other players of note in the lineup that day included infielder Austin Martin. The Twins acquired Martin along with starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson in the trade that sent Twins ace Jose Berrios to Toronto last year. And first baseman Yunior Servino has also just arrived from Wichita to play for the Saints. His season totals for the year include 28 home runs and 70 RBIs.
Martin is a Possible Call-up
As for the game itself. The Saints beat the Louisville Bats 6-3. Camargo hit a massive home run. Lee added a couple of hits and played splendid defense at third base. Martin also pitched in a hit and an RBI. Speaking of Martin, he has been mentioned as a possible September call-up by the Twins.
So, it was another enjoyable day at the ballpark. CHS Field is a wonderful ballpark with not a bad seat in the house. It’s also a great place to watch future MLB stars and some major leaguers who may be on a rehab assignment. See ya at the ballpark.
