The St. Paul Saints and the Pirates Triple-A team from Indianapolis faced off for an eight-game series in Minnesota this week and featured some of Minor League Baseball’s top talent. Let’s break down performances from some of the standout names in this series and some lesser-known players making a name for themselves.
Notable Dynasty Performances in St. Paul
Twins Triple-A Hitters Who Are Standing Out
Hitter 1: Carson McCusker
Stats from the last 2 weeks: .366/.422/.707/4 HR/10 RBI/2 SB/29.4 K%/8.1 BB%
You’d think something might have slowed Carson McCusker down since the last live look-in, but he continues to mash the ball for the St. Paul Saints in almost every game he’s playing. McCusker has improved upon his numbers extensively with his .366/.422/.707 slash line along with four home runs, 10 RBI, and a couple of stolen bases to add to his hot performance.
Two of his four homers from this last week came on Tuesday, May 6, the second he’s had this season and the fifth of his pro career. Some Twins fans and writers describe him as the ‘Poor man’s Aaron Judge‘, and his swing and stature do back up the lesser nickname he’s been given. His strength though, hasn’t been worrying too much about the stats on the scoreboard, but just swinging at the pitches he can tag far, and when he hits them over the fence, the exit velocity is almost never below 100 MPH.
“I’m just kind of staying within myself, not trying to do too much,” said McCusker on his multi-homer game Tuesday night. “I feel like, early in the year, you’re just trying to put up numbers and trying super hard to do that, instead of just letting it come to you, and I feel like I’m just staying under control right now.”
As long as McCusker keeps up his hot performance this season, it’s only a matter of when and not if he makes his MLB debut in 2025. The Twins only have two position players on the injured list right now, with Matt Wallner out with his hamstring injury at least until early June, and Luke Keaschall out until July with a broken forearm. But if anyone else goes down between now and Wallner’s return, McCusker might be the guy the Twins call up to take an open roster spot.
Hitter 2: Mickey Gasper
Stats from the last 2 weeks: .464/.545/.964/4 hr/6 RBI/1 sb/16.3 K%/16.3 BB%
It would be criminal not to mention the reigning International League Player of the Week, even if he’s only been back in the Minor Leagues for a week’s worth of games. But after Mickey Gasper was optioned back down to St. Paul by the Twins on May 5, he made a statement at the plate, crushing four home runs, including a walk-off on May 8, along with a 1.510 OPS to accompany his 13 hits and five walks, it’s no wonder why Gasper earned the honors.
“Just trying to keep it simple at the plate,” Gasper said about his approach with the Saints last week. “See it, hit it, is what I tell myself before every at-bat. Right now, I’m just getting pitches to hit, and I’m executing the game plan, and that’s what it comes down to, execution.”
Gasper has continued to build off his hot streak, going 3-for-10 in Iowa against the I-Cubs in the first two games of their series. Gasper, 29, may not be the ideal player for a dynasty league given his age and qualifying more as a Quad-A guy than Triple-A. But if he can bring to the Twins what he has been doing at the plate with their Triple-A affiliate, he could be an excellent player to have for a dynasty team over a two to three-week stretch or maybe even longer.
Visiting Hitters Grabbing the Attention
Hitter 1: Alan Roden
Stats from the last 2 weeks: .458/.480/.833/2 hr/ 6 RBI/ 1 sb/20 K%/4 BB%
Roden is almost in an identical boat to Gasper has been with the Twins. The only difference is that the Blue Jays gave Roden regular playing time after he broke onto their Opening Day roster, and Gasper was in a bench player role with Minnesota.
During his time in the Majors, Roden had a .178/.262/.260 (13-for-73) slash line with just one home run and five RBI. Since Roden joined the Buffalo Bison in Minnesota after the Jays optioned him on May 7, he’s been on an absolute tear, going 11-for-24 at the plate. Roden, 25, may have just had a case of a slow start for his first turn in the Majors, and because of that, he’s not a player dynasty owners should give up on. He’s off to a hot start in Triple-A and as long as he can maintain that to force the Blue Jays’ hand to get back up to the Majors when they need him, it’ll make him a favorable sleeper pick for any die-hard Blue Jays fan.
Notable Pitching Performances in St. Paul
Pitcher 1: David Festa
Festa has only made two starts since the Twins optioned him back down to St. Paul on April 24, but they’re not anything to be baffled at. Festa has gone 11 2/3 innings between his two starts, tallying 13 strikeouts, no walks, and a 2.31 ERA. The benefit to Festa being in Triple-A for the time being is it gives him full reign to experiment with his sinker so he can know how to best utilize it against Major League hitters the next time the Twins call him up.
“I think it helps with the efficiency over my last two outings, I’ve thrown a lot of them,” said Festa after his last start on Tuesday. “It helped me get through the sixth, obviously with seventy-some pitches, in a normal situation, I would have maybe gone seven, so it’s something we wanted to work on as soon as I was sent down.”
Festa’s next start is still TBD, but whenever he goes back on the mound, he’ll be shoving against Triple-A hitters and keep his stock up for any dynasty fantasy players who have faith in his upside.
Pitcher 2: Cory Lewis
While Festa has maintained his upside in the Minor Leagues, one pitcher who’s been having a shaky start to the 2025 season and can’t find a way to turn things around is Cory Lewis. Known best for his high-speed knuckleball that can touch up to 88 MPH, Lewis has moved into the Saints rotation in the last two weeks and has not seen things turn for the better compared to his time in the bullpen.
In three starts, Lewis has allowed 10 runs in 11.2 innings with six walks, nine strikeouts, and 19 hits allowed. His glaring weakness has been that the contact hitters are making on his pitches, which are inside the strike zone. Lewis still has an upside as a starter, but his pitch location is dropping his current prospect stock. He is only 24 years old and, as a knuckleballer, he can still maintain a long career with just one pitch, which is one reason not to completely give up on him for a dynasty team.
Other Dynasty Storylines to Follow
Right-handed reliever Michael Tonkin had a setback in his rehab assignment following his outing on Thursday, May 8. Tonkin had tendinitis in his right bicep and has been pulled from his rehab assignment. He’ll be resting for at least 2-4 weeks before it resumes.
Utility man Austin Martin returned to action on Tuesday, May 6, but aggravated his right hamstring as he tried to score on a double steal in the bottom of the first inning of the Saints game that day. Martin will be out an additional six weeks, and at least four to five weeks before he can resume baseball activities.
