Which St. Paul Saints Slugger Will Be Next to Get the Call From Twins?

The St. Paul Saints are nothing short of a home run factory. The Twins' Triple-A affiliate and Twin Cities neighbor has been launching balls out of the yard at a truly remarkable rate all season.

The Saints have hit 135 home runs in 74 games this season, which is the most of any professional baseball team in America. It's 21 more than the MLB-leading New York Yankees, 20 more than second place in the International League, and nine more than the next-closest minor league team (the Pirates' High-A affiliate in Greensboro, if you were curious).

Seven different Saints players are in double figures in homers this season. Kyler Fedko leads the way with 15, Kaelen Culpepper and Aaron Sabato have 14, Gabriel Gonzalez and Matt Wallner have 11, and Orlando Arcia and Royce Lewis have 10 each. Fedko and Lewis are currently on the Twins' roster, as are Alex Jackson (7 Saints homers) and Ryan Kreidler (5). Who might be next from St. Paul's collection of sluggers to get the call from the big-league club?

It probably would've been Culpepper, the Twins' No. 2 prospect, if he hadn't gotten injured a little over a week ago. Top prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez have also been hurt, although Jenkins is close to being back in the Saints' lineup. Gonzalez had a one-game cup of tea with the Twins earlier this year but hasn't had consistent success with St. Paul this season (.758 OPS).

It's not going to be Arcia, who had a .654 OPS in 19 recent games with the Twins. He doesn't offer anything the Twins aren't getting from Kreidler, who has been one of the big positive surprises of their first half. Arcia does deserve recognition for becoming the first player in Saints history to hit two home runs in one inning on Sunday at CHS Field.

HISTORY. Orlando Arcia becomes the first hitter in franchise history to homer TWICE in one inning. This three run homer give him 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 runs in the 4th inning as he puts an exclamation point on a nine run inning pic.twitter.com/J1NpLH7vEN
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 21, 2026

It's also unlikely to be Sabato, even if the Twins' 2020 first-round pick has been outstanding this season. The right-handed slugger has a .937 OPS to go with his 14 bombs. He'll get an MLB opportunity at some point, but the Twins are currently set at first base with Lewis, Josh Bell, and Kody Clemens.

Outside of Culpepper and his injury situation, two players stand out. One of them is Wallner, who is starting to put up Lewis-like numbers that show he's too good for the Triple-A level. After earning a demotion by putting up a .554 OPS in 34 games for the Twins this spring, Wallner got off to a slow start with St. Paul. But since May 31, he's hit 11 homers in his last 18 games. Wallner's slugging percentage in June is over .800, with his OPS at 1.200.

Make it 3 homers in the last 2 days and 11 long balls in the last 18 games for @Matt_Wallner. He came in to today slashing .353 (24-68)/.397/.809/1.206 in 16 June games pic.twitter.com/VAc64681HB
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 21, 2026

Wallner is doing to Triple-A pitching what you'd hope and expect to see from a player with prodigious power and a career 118 OPS+ at the MLB level. The question is how much it really matters. The difference in pitching quality between AAA and the big leagues is stark, so there are things Wallner can't really work on in a Saints uniform. One thing a Triple-A stint can do, though, is restore a player's confidence. Whether sooner or later, it feels like a safe bet that Wallner will be back in the Twins' lineup at some point.

There might be an even more intriguing call-up candidate in Alan Roden, who the Twins acquired in last year's now-infamous Louis Varland trade. Roden recently missed almost two months with a shoulder injury. Since coming back a week ago, he's gone 10 for 18 at the plate with four homers in four games. Triple-A is hardly a challenge for Roden, who has a career .951 OPS at that level.

If you like pitching, wait for another day. @alanster28 hits his second HR of the game, this one ties it at 11. He's 4-5 with 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored. It's now a 5 HR game for us, 136 on the season, 9 more than the next closest team pic.twitter.com/5G3NIdDvcT
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 21, 2026

Roden hasn't yet translated his success to MLB, but he's had just 153 plate appearances between Toronto and Minnesota. It's probably time to find out what he can do with more opportunities in a big-league lineup. Having the left-handed Roden take a roster spot from Kyler Fedko or Austin Martin would balance the Twins' outfield better, even if it wouldn't be ideal to demote Fedko after just a handful of MLB plate appearances.

The Twins, who are a run behind the Yankees for the AL lead, don't necessarily need to do anything to their roster right now. They're in a good spot in terms of their current offensive production and the reinforcements waiting for their turn at Triple-A.

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