As a light-hitting, defense-first catcher at Burnsville High School and then North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) with no legitimate aspirations for playing professionally, Shawn Schlechter had a lot of work to do to qualify for his current position — hitting coach for the Saints.

“I really wanted to figure out why I wasn’t any good at hitting,” Schlechter said.

That curiosity soon turned into a passion after an injury ended his playing career, and Schlechter accepted a position on the NIACC coaching staff. Seven-and-a-half years later, in the fall of 2019, his work led to an offer to join the Twins’ organization on the player development staff.

He has since moved up the organizational ladder as a hitting coach, with this being his first season in St. Paul.

Schlechter credits NIACC head coach Travis Hergert and hitting coach Pete Lauritson with igniting his interest in coaching and teaching him the intricacies of the game. Both have since gone on to coaching for major-league organizations — Hergert with Philadelphia and Lauritson with Cleveland.

Schlechter said he also was influenced by his oldest brother, Steven, the former boys hockey coach at Burnsville High School.

“What’s gotten me here is learning from people who were better (hitting teachers) than me,” Schlechter said prior to the Saints’ 6-0 loss to the Iowa Cubs on Friday night at CHS Field.

“Constantly grabbing things and trying to be as curious as possible. I’m always looking for ways to gain an edge and to be able to give these guys what they need to ultimately get what they want, and that’s to make it to the big leagues.”

Schlechter said he has three key philosophies when it comes to hitting, which he said mesh well with what the Twins were looking for when they transitioned him to the position of hitting coach.

“Recently, we’ve seen a lot of power baseball,” he said. “Impacting the baseball is important, and we’ve seen that in Twins baseball in recent years. There’s more homers being hit, and I think that is a value.

“The other thing I think we do a great job at — and I take very seriously — is making guys understand how to leverage information in their at-bats and have a good plan so they control the strike zone.

“They’re aggressive on pitches they know they can handle, and when they do make contact they are hitting line drives. The third thing is, we’re making the most contact that we can. Strikeouts are up in the game, and that’s something we are constantly trying to improve.”

As a coach at the Triple-A level, Schlechter’s goal is not any different than that of the players — get to the big leagues. To be a member of the staff of the team he grew up rooting for would only add to the thrill.

“It’s a dream of anyone in this profession to go work with the best athletes in the world,” he said. “But the reality is, I’ve gotten to this point in my career by just being where my feet are, and making sure that every day I am ready to make an impact on someone.

“To get guys to be creative thinkers and to problem solve. Right now, that’s where I’m at, and I pursue that pretty vigorously every day. If that opportunity comes one day it will be fun, but right now it’s about being the hitting coach for the St. Paul Saints.”

Briefly

Simeon Woods Richardson was scratched as the Saints’ starting pitcher for Saturday as he as added to the Twins’ roster for today’s doubleheader in Detroit..

The Saints collected seven hits but had two runners thrown out at the plate on hits to the outfield. In both cases, it took an exceptional throw on close plays.

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