Six Wichita Wind Surge prospects who could end up playing in MLB for Minnesota Twins
.jpg "Matt Canterino was the opening night starter for the Wichita Wind Surge and a top prospect for the Minnesota Twins.")
The Wichita Wind Surge is concentrated on making another push for a Double A league championship this summer after winning the regular-season title but falling short in the playoffs in its inaugural season.
But winning isn’t the only draw for fans of Wichita’s new minor league baseball team: there’s also the chance of watching a future MLB player in Wichita before they earn the call-up to the majors to play for the Minnesota Twins.
The Wind Surge opened their 2022 season with a 5-4 loss to the Tulsa Drills and will wrap up the opening series with Sunday’s 1 p.m. game at Riverfront Stadium.
Here are the six players who are beginning the season in Wichita that could wind up seeing time with the Twins later this summer.
Austin Martin
The 23-year-old shortstop is ranked as the No. 2 top prospect in the Twins’ organization and regarded as a top-50 prospect across MLB. He was billed as the “best pure hitter” in the 2020 draft class and was picked No. 5 overall by the Toronto Blue Jays after he helped lead Vanderbilt to the 2019 College World Series championship. The Twins acquired Martin in a deadline deal last summer and he spent the rest of the summer playing for the Wind Surge, posting a .254 average with a .399 on-base percentage with three home runs, 19 RBIs, 24 runs and five stolen bases in 37 games.
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Matt Canterino
The 24-year-old starting pitcher is shooting up the rankings now that he’s finally healthy. After earning a reputation as a stikeout artist in a three-year career at Rice, Canterino was selected by the Twins in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft. But he’s only been able to make 13 career starts before this season due to the coronavirus pandemic and then a forearm strain that limited him last season. When he has thrown, Canterino (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) has continued to miss bats routinely — he has 76 career strikeouts in 48 innings. He earned the opening-night start for Wichita in his first experience at the Double-A level.
Simeon Woods Richardson
The 21-year-old right-hand starting pitcher is one of the most promising arms in the farm system, as he is ranked as the No. 8 top prospect for the Twins. He was a second-round draft pick by the New York Mets in the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school and was acquired by Minnesota in the same trade that brought Austin Martin to Wichita. His start in Wichita was delayed because he was picked up by Team USA to compete in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he earned a silver medal. Woods Richardson (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) compiled a 3-5 record with a 5.91 earned run average with 77 strikeouts in 53⅓ innings pitched.
Spencer Steer
The 24-year-old infielder wasn’t considered much of a power hitter after a three-year career at Oregon, where he hit .349 with a .456 on-base percentage his senior year to become a third-round draft pick in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Twins. But the 2021 season was a breakout year for Steer, who hit 24 home runs in 110 games combine — 14 of those bombs came in 65 games in Wichita last summer. If he can continue hitting with that kind of power, Steer could be moving up in the farm system quickly. He is currently ranked as the No. 11 top prospect for the Twins.
Matt Wallner
Wallner is making his Double-A debut this season in Wichita after the Twins selected him No. 39 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft following a standout, three-year career at Southern Miss where he hit 58 home runs to become the program’s all-time home run leader. That power has translated to the minor leagues so far, as the the 24-year-old outfielder finished with 15 home runs and a .504 slugging percentage last summer. He is considered one of the best power hitters in the farm system for the Twins and is a name to watch this summer in Wichita’s lineup.
Louie Varland
The Twins didn’t have to look far for this diamond-in-the-rough prospect, as Varland is from St. Paul and was a standout pitcher at a local college. After being picked by the Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Varland has made quite the impression already: being named the Twins’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2021 after compiling a 10-4 record with a 2.10 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 103 innings in 18 starts split at the Single-A level. He’ll look to make the same impact in his Double-A level debut in Wichita as a 6-foot-1, 24-year-old right-hander.
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