Cedar Rapids Kernels 2023 opening-day roster: Ballyhooed, but babies

CEDAR RAPIDS — You want high draft picks? You want prospects?

You got ‘em with this Cedar Rapids Kernels team.

The Kernels begin the 2023 Midwest League baseball season Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Peoria. The home opener is Tuesday night against Beloit.

The club arrived in town in two shifts Sunday and Sunday night, and has been practicing outdoors and in the two batting cages in a newly constructed auxiliary building that sits in the lower parking lot immediately adjacent to Veterans Memorial Stadium. The roster has, well, high draft picks and prospects.

“Honestly, I already love this team,” said Kernels shortstop Noah Miller. “I think we’re going to have a good shot to win a couple of games here and there. I think we’ve got a good shot. A lot of us were on the (low-A) Fort Myers team last year, and we played really well together. We’ve got some new additions, too. I’m excited about it.”

Miller is one of those high draft picks. The 20-year-old Wisconsin native was a first-round sandwich pick in 2021 (36th overall).

Infielder Keoni Cavaco was the parent Minnesota Twins’ first-rounder in 2019 (13th overall). Infielder Tanner Schobel and pitcher Connor Prielipp were second-rounders last year.

Depending on whose list you want to use, there are prospects galore in the newly enlarged and enhanced home clubhouse. There are nine of Minnesota’s top 30 on the Kernels roster, if you use MLB.com’s list.

That includes No. 3 prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, a 20-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic. He signed as an international free agent in 2019 for a $2.5-million bonus.

Left-hander Prielipp is Minnesota’s No. 5 prospect according to MLB.com. He didn’t pitch last year at the University of Alabama, recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery but looked healthy and good in spring training, according to Manager Brian Dinkelman.

Infielder Jose Salas checks in as Minnesota’s ninth-best prospect. He was acquired in a big offseason trade that sent American League batting champ Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins.

Salas, 19, played some last season in high-A ball in the Midwest League for Beloit. He originally signed as an international free agent from Venezuela for $2.8 million.

Miller checks in at 14 on MLB.com’s list, Schobel 17, outfielder Misael Urbina 22, pitcher Alejandro Hidalgo 23, infielder Ben Ross 29 and pitcher Jaylen Nowlin 30. Urbina signed out of Venezuela in 2018 for $3 million.

He’s just 20 years old. That’s the thing about this team from a position-player standpoint: ballyhooed but babies, especially for high-A.

“We’re going to be a young team,” Dinkelman said. “We’ve got five guys, I think, who are under 21. We’ve got some good players, both hitting wise and on the pitching side. Not many returning guys from last year. Some new guys, new faces in the league, so it will be interesting to see how we start out.”

Dinkelman, whose coaching staff includes Cedar Rapidian Corbin Day (hitting), said you can expect to see Miller and Salas up the middle defensively on the infield most days. Guys like Shobel, Cavaco and Ben Ross will play a lot.

Rodriguez will play center field and some right field. Urbina and Kala’l Rosario will see a lot of time in the outfield as well, with second-year Kernels Kyler Fedko and Willie Joe Garry Jr. also available.

Noah Cardenas will catch three or four times a week, Dinkelman said, with returnees Charles Mack and Jeferson Morales also at the position. Ernie Yake provides a sixth listed infielder.

The starting pitching rotation will include Prielipp, Nowlin, Hidalgo and Kyle Jones. Hidalgo was acquired in an offseason trade that sent big league infielder Gio Urshela to the Los Angeles Angels. To fit that youth theme, Hidalgo is 19.

The pitching staff also includes several other guys who pitched at least once for the Kernels last season: Malik Barrington, Regi Grace, Miguel Rodriguez, Orlando Rodriguez, Matt Mullenbach, John Stankiewicz and Matthew Swain. Mullenbach is a Waukee High School graduate from Urbandale who was the starting pitcher in last year’s game against Quad Cities at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville.

“I feel like the whole team was down there by the middle of February,” Dinkelman said. “Got them working, did some live BPs, then we started playing games March 12 or 13, something like that. Spring training was good, we came out of it pretty healthy, so I think we’re good to go.”

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