Twins Video
The Twins keep demonstrating they hope Buxton’s speed also applies to his developmental timeline. In their six spring training games, Buxton has four of the starts in center field, and the other two have been split one apiece for Danny Santana and Max Kepler. This is clearly not a competition, or at least not yet. It’s Buxton’s job to lose, and the Twins hope that Buxton shows them enough to bring him north with the team. It’s not at all clear that he has so far. He struck out in four of his first five at-bats and is 2-10 this spring with no walks.
Speedy was also the adjective best used to describe the pace of the game early. Before the game was an hour old, the Twins were already batting in the fifth inning. That’s when Oswlado Arcia used his speed to move himself around the bases on a stolen base and passed ball and scored the Twins first run. This is the second time in two days I’ve had to talk about Oswaldo Arcia’s speed, but I just checked : no sign of four horsemen anywhere to be seen.
That game’s pace was driven by Phil Hughes who speedily dispatched nine Orioles hitters in ten plate appearances. He struck out nobody, but only gave up one hit, to Adam Jones. Trevor May followed him and struck out the side in the fourth inning, though he struggled with his command more in the fifth and beginning of the sixth. He still managed to retire seven and leave the game with only one hit and no runs.
We saw more speed from an unlikely source: Miguel Sano. He scored from first base on a Trevor Plouffe ground ball double down the third base line. He also started in right field, but really didn’t get to showcase that surprising speed much; the only fly ball he had to catch was hard hit but hit almost right at him.
While we’re beating this speed theme into the ground, I’ll add a couple more. Left-handed reliever Randy Rosario made very quick work of closing out the sixth inning, getting Adam Jones to fly out to center field and then made left-handed slugger Chris Davis look helpless for the third out. I think that’s his first action this spring. Relief pitcher Ryan Pressly showed quick reflexes when he fielded a drive right up the middle, and then threw to first base promptly to pick off a runner for an inning-ending double-play. Finally, minor league shortstop Engelb Vielma came in late and displayed his speed, effortlessly legging out a standup triple in the ninth inning.
Really, all that was missing was one of those power arms, like reliever Nick Burdi or Alex Meyer. Never fear, with split squad games tomorrow, their turn should come around, uh, quickly.
Some Slower Notes
Left-handed reliever Fernando Abad pitched the seventh inning for the Twins. Abad is a minor league signing who struggled last year after having success previously and is one of the better candidates to break camp as the Twins left-handed relief specialist.
It’s the first time I’ve seen him, and he throws hard enough, but what struck me was his softest pitch. He threw a couple of 74 mph offspeed pitches (I think a curve ball) that locked up two batters and got him ahead in the count to each batter.
It’s Spring Training For Me, Too
Finally, I should mention that I learned something new. In the eighth inning, one of the Twins backup catchers hit a run-scoring double. I didn’t realize until I looked him up that Juan Centeno is a new addition to the organization who is 26 years old and has had a dozen or so games in the majors each of the last three years. He’s not one of the three catchers on the 40-man roster, so it will be an uphill battle for him to make an appearance with the Twins this year, but it’s nice to see him making a good impression.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now