Josh Winder of the Saints will represent the Twins organization in the Futures Game on Sunday, July 18, in Denver. The game, for top prospects, will be played two days before the All-Star Game at Coors Field.
Winder, a righthanded pitcher, was 3-0 with an 1.97 ERA in 10 starts at Class AA Wichita before this week's promotion to Class AAA St. Paul.
Former Twins pitcher LaTroy Hawkins will manage the American League prospects for the seven-inning game. St. Paul Saints pitching coach Cibney Bello will be the AL's bullpen coach, and former Twins players Brian Buchanan (Royals Class AAA coach), Jamey Carroll and ex-Twins pitching coach Garvin Alston (Giants Class AAA coach) are also on Hawkins' staff.
Baseball's top prospect, Wander Franco, was recently promoted to the Tampa Bay Rays, but the game will include No. 2 prospect Adley Rutschman, a catcher in the Baltimore organization; No. 3 Spencer Torkelson (Tigers infielder) and No. 4 Jarred Kelenic (Seattle outfielder), along with top Royals prospect Bobby Witt Jr., considered a can't-miss shortstop.
The rosters are here.
Winder made plenty of progress since being drafted in the seventh round in 2018 out of VMI. His fastball can reach the 96-97 mph range, which has helped his changeup and breaking pitches. In 54⅔ innings at Wichita, Winder had 65 strikeouts and 10 walks, so his command is a good sign.
In 2019, Winder was 7-2 with a league-low 2.65 ERA for Class A Cedar Rapids. With the 2020 season wiped out because of the pandemic, Winder applied himself during workouts, added some mph to his fastball and impressed Twins officials during instructional workouts. They now have a pitcher who could crack their top 10 prospect list next season — as well as the Twins' rotation.
"Josh is one of the most diligent workers that we have in the entire organization, said Alex Hassan, the Twins' director of player development. "He fully took advantage of the time off last season by working his tail off in the weight room and staying consistent with his throwing schedule. He's worked hard on his delivery during instructional league and we're seeing the fruits of the labor this season."
