A Healthy Jair Camargo Is Bringing ‘Big Energy’ Back to St. Paul

The St. Paul Saints clubhouse is full of contagious energy because they are rolling on a 10-game win streak.

Matt Wallner, Brooks Lee, and Diego Castillo’s hot hitting has ignited the offense, while Randy Dobnak and David Festa have produced quality starts in the rotation. However, this winning streak started when the Saints got reinforcement for their lineup from Jair Camargo, who had been out for over a month.

“It felt great,” said Camargo on rejoining the Saints last week. “Especially for a guy like me, I’m always high-energy when I come into games. It was frustrating being out of games, especially with something that only started out for one day then rolled into a bigger thing.”

“It’s great having him back,” said Saints manager Toby Gardenhire. “He’s one of the leaders in our clubhouse.”

A right forearm strain had kept Camargo out since May 1. As he said, the injury started day-to-day but flared into a longer stint on the shelf. Sitting out for a month was challenging for him, but once the Twins gave him the green light to go to Fort Myers and resume baseball activities, things looked up for the 24-year-old catcher.

He spent a week with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels before rejoining the Saints and went 7-for-23 (.304/.360/.478) in six games with the Twins' low-A affiliate. But Camargo didn’t just spend his time in Fort Myers getting back into shape. He took advantage of his time around younger Twins farm hands, especially the Latino players, and provided them with mentorship on the upper levels of the minor leagues.

“That’s a motivation, too,” said Camargo. “At the end of the day, you’re trying to share what you’ve learned in the past. This journey is so long but, at the same time, is so worth it in the way that you can help some other guys achieve their dreams.”

The mentorship Camargo provided young players also helped him because it kept him from dwelling on the negatives of being sidelined for a month.

“You want to be an extra coach and try to help the young guys get on the right path, try to make their life easier, like some older guys did for me,” Camargo said. “Mentally wise, I was trying to live in the present and try to help the other guys, the new generation. I feel like you never stop learning, and that’s why I went out to those games.”

Most lower-level minor leaguers who have gravitated to Camargo and used him as an extra coach were Latino. However, even Minnesota’s No. 1 prospect, Walker Jenkins, became acquainted with him and listened to his advice.

“He’s a great dude, a great young guy,” Camargo said about his impressions of Jenkins. “He’s willing to learn and to listen, that’s good.”

“Most of the young Latino guys, it’s a big impact for them,” Camargo added. “It’s way different coming from Latin America to the States, especially having their first full year here. Maybe some of them, they’re not playing that much, others they’re playing and struggling so helping them mentality-wise on how they can get better.”

Many of the Minor Leaguers in Ft. Myers during Camargo’s stay got their first taste of that high energy he brings to the field and clubhouse each day. But Festa has become familiar with Camargo’s personality, and he couldn’t be happier with his battery mate’s return. Camargo caught the Twins top pitching prospect during his last start on Thursday night.

“His energy is great, and his compliments really make him nice to pitch to,” said Festa. “He gives you some conviction on the mound, and his energy is contagious.

In his return from the injured list, Camargo has played in nine games with the Saints and has been behind the plate for six of them. Thursday night was Camargo’s first time catching Festa since April 23. Festa struggled with his pitch location in the 4th inning, surrendering four straight hits and three runs. Still, he commended his catcher for the job he did to keep him in control of the rest of his outing.

“He does a great job of reading the hitters throughout the game, not only before the game but during [it],” Festa said. “Overall, I thought it was a good job by him calling the game, I just need to do better.”

It’s taken no time for Camargo to catch back up to speed behind the plate. However, his swing is still adjusting to Triple-A pitching after going a full 42 days without being in a game with the Saints. He’s gone 7-for-38 in his nine games since returning, posting a triple slash of .184/.205/.421. Still, he has two home runs and 11 runs batted in.

Despite the current results, Gardenhire and Camargo aren’t concerned with his swing. They know what he’s capable of as a hitter and what will come as he gets more plate appearances.

“He’s been swinging, he’s been working at it, and [Camargo is] going to go through some stuff since he hasn’t had at-bats in a long time,” said Gardenhire. “But he’s looking good at the plate to me.”

“You know, I was kind of struggling a little bit on my timing hitting-wise, so I’m just trying to adjust to it and adjust to the level,” Camargo said. “My swing is feeling good, it’s just my timing, like my leg kick, so I’m just trying to figure that out again. Thank god we have great coaches, especially like Toby, that have known me for a year or so now, so he can speak to me straight up on what I need to work on.”

There’s still a lot of speculation on when Camargo could get another opportunity with the Twins again following five days with the major league club in April. Christian Vázquez continues to be a defense-first catcher, hitting .190/.213/.268 in 44 games this season. Still, it appears Camargo may not get another opportunity with the big-league club unless Vázquez or Ryan Jeffers get hurt.

Despite these circumstances, it’s not something Camargo concerns himself with much, because it’s out of his control. So, like many players in Triple-A, he will focus on what he can control and remain patient until he gets his next opportunity in the majors.