It can take a little while for fans to figure out what a new coach is all about on their favorite team. For instance, it took a while into last season for Twins to hear about James Rowson’s hitting theories, both with Byron Buxton’s struggles and rebound as well as Eddie Rosario’s development as a hitter.

Now imagine how long it takes for a coach to learn about all their pupils. That’s even more true of new Twins pitching coach Garvin Alston, whose team is coming off using 36 pitchers last season -- if you count Chris Gimenez, anyhow -- and is already headed toward using its 19th -- if you count Ryan LaMarre, anyhow -- of the year with John Curtiss being added to the roster on Monday.

Not only did Alston have to prepare for the expected Opening Day roster -- which even still saw additions all offseason and into spring training with Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn -- but he also had non-roster invitees and other key players in the minor leagues to prepare for.

Alston, who got a cup of coffee in the big leagues with the Colorado Rockies in 1996 and spent eight years in pro ball altogether, figured he better get to work quickly.

“You’re absolutely correct,” Alston said of the process being a little daunting at first when the Twins brought him on last November. “Once I got the job, and I got all the information and the new computer came in, I was able to get into our system here. I started going about an hour, or an hour-and-a-half per day of picking a person and watching film on them. I did that with everyone on the roster and some of our non-roster invitees who came in.”

Now that’s just the prep during the winter. Once spring starts, he can put his eyeballs to work in real-time, watching guys go through their workouts and in-game action once Grapefruit League games begin.

“Through spring training, you kind of watch and see the same things you saw on film, and you kind of get an idea from there what they can and cannot do well,” Alston said. “You kind of let them go from there. It’s been more about learning the person and the personality right now. That’s been my biggest challenge. So we go to dinner to dinner together and talk quite a bit in the clubhouse.”

Everyone has beliefs about pitching foundationally, and obviously, Alston is no exception. Pitching coaches range from the nameless and faceless to the legends like Dave Duncan, Leo Mazzone, Mel Stottlemyre, Rick Peterson, Don Cooper and Ray Searage to name some of the more well-known recent guys.

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