These 2 prospects kickstarted Twins' future hype in St. Paul’s Opening Day win

The St. Paul Saints, the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliate, gave Twins fans reasons to be excited after Minnesota's disappointing Opening Day loss.

The Saints opened their season on the road against the Indianapolis Indians, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple-A affiliate, on Friday night. With an absolutely stacked lineup that included three top-100 prospects (per MLB Pipeline) in Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodríguez, and a highly regarded pitching prospect, left-hander Connor Prielipp, making the start on the mound, St. Paul defeated Indianapolis 4-2. Adding to the game's excitement, the consensus No. 1 prospect, shortstop Konnor Griffin, was in the lineup for the Indians.

Top prospects Kaelen Culpepper, Connor Prielipp kickstarted Twins' future hype in St. Paul’s Opening Day win

Every player in the Saints' starting lineup reached base, with Culpepper, MLB's No. 52-ranked prospect, collecting three hits, one run and one RBI. Culpepper is coming off his first spring in big-league camp, where he slashed .316/.381/.368 over 21 plate appearances. If Culpepper continues to rake, he should be in the majors within the next few months.

Prielipp, the Twins' top-ranked pitching prospect, gave Twins fans something to be excited about on the pitching side, allowing just one run on one hit and two walks with five strikeouts using 61 pitches across four innings. Minnesota's rotation already has plenty of depth. Still, Prielipp could find himself in the majors later in the year, especially if another Trade Deadline sell-off occurs, as Joe Ryan would likely be dealt in that situation.

Left fielder Alan Roden also had a strong performance for the Saints yesterday, collecting a two-RBI single in the first inning before walking four times. Many thought Roden, whom the Twins acquired along with left-handed pitcher Kendry Rojas from the Toronto Blue Jays for right-handed pitcher Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France last summer, deserved to be on the Twins' Opening Day roster after he hit .302/.362/.395 in 47 plate appearances during spring training. Roden, a strong defender, should be back in the majors at some point this season.

As for the rest of the Saints' lineup yesterday, designated hitter Gabriel Gonzalez walked and scored, Rodríguez walked and scored as the starting right fielder, second baseman Orlando Arcia hit a single, Eric Wagaman hit an RBI single and collected a walk, third baseman Ryan Kreidler had a single and a walk, and catcher Alex Jackson collected a single.

After Prielipp's strong four innings, righty Raul Brito hurled 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk while collecting four strikeouts. Righty Grant Hartwig closed out the seventh inning with a strikeout, then righties Dan Altavilla and Matt Bowman each threw a perfect inning, respectively, to end the game.

While it was just one game, the Saints' collective performance should have fans hype for the future of Twins baseball.