Report From The Fort: Home Run Derby

* Home runs have been a problem for Phil Hughes frequently throughout his career, and certainly over the past couple of underwhelming seasons. He led the league with 29 allowed in 2015 and coughed up 11 in just 59 innings last year.

Today, Baltimore’s lineup took him deep three times en route to this final pitching line: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Outside of the homers, it was mostly an encouraging outing. And afterward he noted that two of the three came on changeups, a lesser pitch he’s been working on extensively this spring. His fastball showed some life, flashing 92 on the gun several times, and finally the righty started to generate some whiffs. He had struck out only one batter total in two previous Grapefruit League appearances.

“Obviously I have a tendency to (allow) home runs, so people are going to say what they’re going to say in spring training about it,” Hughes said, “but I did what I wanted to do. You’re going to make mistakes with a pitch you don’t throw very often.”

* Asked how his arm strength feels relative to this point last March, Hughes explained that this was the first start in which he really would have noticed a difference.

The symptoms of his thoracic outlet syndrome, which was surgically repaired last year, would typically set in over the course of a game when he would be sitting between innings and going back out. As his first two official spring starts were only two innings apiece, that didn’t really come into play.

So, how did he feel about today’s five-inning assignment?

“I felt good. I didn’t have any of the tingling and numbness in my fingers, which is obviously a good sign. I’d say I feel a lot better than I did."

* Byron Buxton led off the game with his first home run of the spring and it was a no doubter, sailing well beyond the wall in left-center and bouncing off the concourse. Buxton worked the count to 2-2 before turning on a 93 MPH fastball from Orioles righty Dylan Bundy and obliterating it. He later added a double.

“He continues to be in attack mode, seeing the ball good,” said bench coach Joe Vavra, serving as acting manager with Paul Molitor and the split squad facing the Pirates in Bradenton. “That’s encouraging."

* Jorge Polanco’s defense at shortstop has been the subject of much scrutiny, and that will continue to be the case, but there aren’t many questions surrounding his bat. He has been stinging the ball consistently this spring, and in the second inning today launched a grand slam from the left side, pushing his team-leading RBI total to 11.

Does Vavra, a former hitting coach, like the infielder’s swing better from either box?

“I don’t know,” he said pensively. “Pretty good from the right side, that’s his natural side. But from the left side, he handles that bat pretty well. Obviously the reps he’s had from the left side over the years are a lot more.”

* In Mexico, World Baseball Classic pool play rolled on with Puerto Rico taking on Italy. Jose Berrios got the start, his WBC debut, and worked five innings. The rotation contender gave up only two hits, but Italy made them hurt, putting up three runs with a pair of homers.

One of those came off the bat of old friend Drew Butera in the second inning. But all in all, the Twins are probably happy with what they saw. Berrios worked ahead and proceeded efficiently, needing only 62 pitches to get through five frames and placing 43 of them in the zone (69%). He stuck out six and walked only one.

Yesterday, I asked Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey about the challenge presented by evaluating players like Berrios and Kennys Vargas, who are heavily in the mix for roster spots, from afar. He said he feels that seeing players compete at a high level, at this point in the year, is a good thing.

“I like the idea that they’re going and playing in a really competitive environment,” Falvey stated. “It’s not that spring training isn’t competitive and guys don’t want to do well, but we all know that as the games wear on it’s a little bit more of a practice environment.”

“We have scouts at each of the WBC events, so we’re getting reports from them. We’re also really well involved with the leaders of those teams."

* Tomorrow, the Twins will host the Tampa Bay Rays at Hammond Stadium. Starting for the Rays? None other than Jose De Leon, the young right-hander who was of course at the center of Brian Dozier trade talks between the Twins and Dodgers before Los Angeles dealt him to Tampa for Logan Forsythe.

De Leon has been limited by back tightness this spring and has made only one appearance, in which he gave up four runs while recording only two outs. He’ll look to get on track tomorrow. Wonder if Dozier will be in the lineup?

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