The St. Paul Saints just added another big bat to an outfield that was already filling up fast.
With Walker Jenkins and Hendry Mendez back from the IL, 23-year-old Kala’i Rosario has moved up from Double-A Wichita to give St. Paul even more depth and more power.
Rosario arrives with a résumé that already stands out. In 2023, he was named Midwest League MVP with the Cedar Rapids Kernels after hitting 21 home runs, driving in 94 runs and posting a .252/.364/.467 slash line. Since then, the power has only kept showing up.
He spent nearly two and a half years at Double-A after opening the 2024 season in Wichita, and last year he put together a loud season for the Wind Surge: 25 home runs, 83 RBI, 92 runs scored and a .256/.358/.487 line in 130 games. Those 25 homers and 92 runs scored led all of Double-A, and that performance earned him his first spring training invite in February.
Rosario said that experience stuck with him.
“Just being around a lot of the veteran guys, and just trying to put myself in their shoes, just trying to see myself at the next level, and try to take everything I could from them,” Rosario said. “I learned a lot from the older guys, from their experience, and just try and take that into my season and not being up here, learning a lot from the veteran guys to make it to the next step and make it to the next level.”
This season, Rosario has kept producing, even with Texas League pitchers now well aware of what he can do. He’s hitting .239/.389/.450 with 11 home runs, 33 RBI, nine stolen bases and 41 walks. In 221 plate appearances in the first half, he set a career-high walk rate of 18.1% and drew those 41 walks.
For Rosario, the approach is simple.
“I always try to keep everything as simple as possible,” he said. “You know, the game is hard enough, so I don’t try to overcomplicate things.
But when I go through struggles, I really try to get some extra swings in, defensive-wise, just get some extra work in. Practice makes perfect.
You’ve heard that all these years, and it’s true.”
Saints manager Brian Dinkelman knows exactly what kind of hitter St. Paul is getting.
“Rosy, good player, unbelievable pop off his bat, can drive the ball out of the ballpark anywhere,” said Saints manager Brian Dinkelman. “He was coming along well in Wichita there, and I know he was excited to get out of there, having been there for parts of three years. So we’re excited to have him here, having him at multiple positions in the outfield so he can provide some thump in the lineup.”
The move also reunites Rosario with familiar faces. He’s back alongside old roommate Ben Ross, plus Walker Jenkins, Gabriel Gonzalez and Kaelen Culpepper, a group that spent last year together in Wichita.
Rosario and Culpepper in particular have built a strong clubhouse connection, with both players describing themselves as “goofy guys.” The jokes come easy, and that looseness has been part of how they’ve handled a long season.
“We laugh a lot, we joke around all the time,” Culpepper said regarding Rosario. “The guy, I mean, he can smash the ball, so I’m always joking around with him, saying how much harder I can hit a ball than he can, but he knows that’s not true.
We have a really good relationship, I think. I love him as a teammate; off the field, he’s a better person, plays the game hard.”
“[He’s] definitely a goofball,” said Rosario, “but I mean, that’s a big part of how you get through a full season is you have a great group of guys, and you’re out here, you’re just having fun playing baseball. You’re not out here just treating it like a job.
We’re out here and understand that we’re blessed to play this game. So I think going out there and just having fun with your friends, that’s a big reason of how you get through a full season.”
Rosario has only appeared in two games for St. Paul so far and is 3-for-8. But at CHS Field, where power plays, that number figures to grow quickly.
He had only been to Minnesota once before this latest Saints homestand, when he joined a few other prospects for an offseason workout at Target Field. The Hawaii native said he would have preferred to reach Triple-A earlier, though he’s also relieved not to be fighting the cold and rain that hit his teammates early this season.
Now he’s a short drive down I-94 from the next step. And Rosario knows what’s waiting ahead.
“It’s definitely exciting to be back,” he said. “Target Field is right there, so one step closer, and I’m super excited for that.”
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Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, Hendry Mendez, Gabby Gonzalez, Matt Wallner, Alan Roden, Ben Ross, Kala'i Rosario, Aaron Sabato and Tanner Schobel have all helped keep the lineup productive, and manager Brian Dinkelman has pointed to the clubs upbeat, connected atmosphere as a big reason it keeps winning. For the Twins, the Saints success is a reminder of how much talent is bubbling just below the majors, with five players already having been pulled up from St. Paul and more still knocking on the door. [Read more 🡒]