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AA St. Paul Saints

Saints Turn to Local Talent for a Pair of Arms

April 2, 2012 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN (April 2, 2012) - There will be a lot of local flavor on the St. Paul Saints roster this season. On Monday the Saints agreed to terms with two pitchers who have Minnesota ties. They inked right-handed pitcher Matt Schuld, who went to Robbinsdale Armstrong High in Plymouth and St. Thomas University, and right-hander Chris Odegaard, from Glencoe, MN and a Minnesota State-Mankato graduate. Of the 18 players on the current roster, one-third have a Minnesota connection.

The 24-year-old Schuld spent his first two seasons in professional baseball with the Minnesota Twins organization. Last season he split time between Single-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain. He went 6-3 with a 5.51 ERA and one save in 32 games, 16 starts. In 111.0 innings pitched he walked just 40 and struck out 73.

Schuld was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Minnesota Twins in 2010 and spent that season with the GCL Twins and Fort Myers Miracle. He had a solid season going 2-1 with a 3.11 ERA and three saves in 17 games. In 37.2 innings he walked only seven and struck out 28.

In 2009 Schuld was a star on the National Champion University of St. Thomas team going 12-1, including four postseason victories. Along with the National Championship he was a part of four MIAC championship teams. He was named as a first team All-American and third team Academic All-American in 2009.

In 2010 Schuld was the College Division Academic All-American of the Year in baseball as the top achiever of the 34 honorees on the ESPN the Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-American Team. He was the fourth St. Thomas athlete to receive the elite honor. With his impressive stats Schuld was named the MIAC Pitcher of the Year.

Schuld became the first MIAC pitcher to reach 30 career wins. His 30-5 record included a 22-2 record over his last two seasons. He closed with 239 strikeouts in 264 innings to finish third in UST history behind Dick Washburn (263 from 1963-66) and his 2010 head coach, Chris Olean (246 from 1996-99).

The 24-year-old Odegaard has spent his three professional seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization and last season split time between Single-A South Bend and High-A Visalia. He went 5-1 with a 3.86 ERA and two saves in 40 games. In 63.0 innings pitched he walked 35 and struck out 50.

Odegaard was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 23rd round of the 2008 June Amateur Draft, but elected not to sign. In 2009 the Diamondbacks selected him in the same round. He spent that season at Low-A Yakima and pitched all of 2010 in South Bend.

During his three years at Minnesota State-Mankato he went 13-8 with a 4.23 ERA in 159.2 innings. His 192 strikeouts ranked seventh on MSU's career list. He was a team captain in 2009 and was an All-Region and All-North Central Conference performer.

The Saints roster currently stands at 18, eight pitchers and 10 position players. They have re-signed six players this offseason, agreed to terms with one player and signed seven free agents. Along with those 13 players the Saints picked up the option on five others.

The Saints begin their 20th season on Thursday, May 17 with a 7:05 p.m. game against the Gary SouthShore Railcats. Single game tickets, group tickets and specialty seating areas are on sale by contacting the Saints office at 651-644-6659 or visiting saintsbaseball.com.

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