Schlechter living out 'dream come true' with Saints
Shawn Schlechter grew up a die-hard fan of the Minnesota Twins.
The Burnsville, Minn. native and former NIACC catcher and assistant baseball coach used to emulate former Twins' closer Joe Nathan in his driveway as a child.
Now, Schlechter is the hitting coach for the St. Paul Saints – the Triple A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
"I think the easiest phrase to use is that it is a dream come true," Schlechter said recently in an interview in Des Moines when the Saints were in town to play the Iowa Cubs. "When I was young, I'd go to the Metrodome and watch Brad Radke pitch and see guys like Torii Hunter, the M&M boys (Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau) and Johan Santana.
"And all the talks of guys like Paul Molitor, Tony Oliva and Rod Carew. This was never something that I could have imagined getting myself into. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I'm in spring training and my locker is next to Tony Oliva and Rod Carew. I'm in the cages talking to Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer. It's those moments that I will never take for granted."
Schlechter, who joined the Twins' organization in 2020, is in his first season as hitting coach with the Saints. He spent the 2023 season as the hitting coach for the Double A Wichita Wind Surge.
Schlechter, whose first two seasons were spent with the Twins' rookie league squad, was with the Class High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2022.
Several of the players on this season's Saints' squad have made the jump on the same path with Schlechter through the Twins' minor league system.
"That's been a constant," Schlechter said. "It's been guys that I have good relationships with.
"That piece has been extremely valuable for me to make pushes and add value in any way to get guys to where they want to be and that's the big leagues. With that being said, there have been some new challenges this year working with some guys that have not been on my roster and having to build those relationships and have to build trust with what I see to get them on the right track to get them to the big leagues. At the end of the day it's people connecting with people. The biggest piece to that is continue to build trust and relationships."
One player that Schlechter has connected with and has followed the same path through the Twins' organization is top prospect Brooks Lee, who recently was called up to the Minnesota Twins. After Monday's win over the Chicago White Sox, Lee has 11 hits in his first six major league games, which is the second most in Twins' history trailing only hall of famer Kirby Puckett's 14 hits in his first six games.
Lee, a switch-hitting infielder, was the eighth overall pick by the Twins in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.
"I've been with (Schlechter) him my whole career," Lee said. "It's been a really special bond that I have with him and he's obviously done a great job.
"He knows my swing probably better than anyone else in the organization. It's just been a cool, unique experience. I started out in High A and that's where he was and then Double A and then Triple A this year. It's been a really cool journey that we've both been on. I trust him with the baseball side of stuff and definitely the life side, too. Yeah, it's been a lot of fun."
While several players that Schlechter coaches on the Saints are players that are trying to make that final jump to major league baseball, at times, he also works with current Minnesota Twins that were with the Saints for a short time on a rehabilitation assignment.
Current Twins' Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Royce Lewis all had short rehabilitation stints with the Saints this summer.
Schlechter admits he handles current major leaguers only with the Saints for a short time a bit different than his Saints' regular hitters.
"Those types of guys, the Buxtons and the Keplers, are very in tune with what their process is and what they need," Schlechter said. "It's more so just being a sounding board and listening to them talk through things and let them navigate through it.
"Another piece to it is that we are in constant communication with the big-league staff and they have tabs on everything that those guys are doing and what they should be doing. So, it's mainly being a resource for them whether it being putting the ball on the tee or feeding the machine."
St. Paul Saints' manager Toby Gardenhire, the son of former long-time Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, said he likes what he is seeing out of his first-year hitting coach.
"He has really good knowledge of the analytic side of the game," Gardenhire said of Schlechter, "but then, he also blends it with having a good feel for hitters' swings and that's what you need as a hitting coach right now."
Gardenhire, who is in his fourth season as manager of the Saints, said that Schlechter has gained a lot of knowledge at every level of the Twins' organization.
"At the lower levels, you are working with young kids and understanding their swings," Gardenhire said. "As you move up to Triple A and are closer to the big leagues, you are talking through a lot of approach at the plate and different things like that and not as much swing technique."
Schlechter is now in his fifth season of professional baseball and has settled into his role as a hitting coach. He is comfortable working with players that are just one step away from realizing a dream that he once had as a young kid in Burnsville, Minn.
"I thought I'd only be watching them through a television screen," he said, "but now I'm on the ground with them.
"It's fun but there are also times that I definitely have to pinch myself."
One thing is for sure, no matter what level of hitter that Schlechter is working with, the former NIACC catcher will never take for granted the opportunity that he has been given with his hometown team.
"My job is just to continue to be where my feet are and try to provide as much value as I can for the players and the organization," Schlechter said. "I can't say I envisioned that I would be getting this opportunity but I am super grateful for it."
Note: Next week, read about how Schlechter's time at NIACC from 2011 to 2019 helped him get where he is at today as the St. Paul Saints' hitting coach.
