Twins Sign, Introduce Tyler Jay

Terry Ryan talked a little about the past process, including how Jay climbed up their draft board and how difficult it was to scout a college reliever since they can pitch in any game the team has. And Jay did a lot of pitching as a reliever, racking up more than 66 innings as he was often deployed as a traditional 'fireman,' used for several innings until he finished out the game.

Two big questions surround the pick. The first regards the wisdom of drafting a college reliever with a top ten pick in the hopes of turning him into a starter. Ryan talked about what they liked, referring to the same traits we have heard before: He has good velocity, four good pitches, control and he's left-handed. But Jay gave some hints as to why he remained a reliever as he made his way through his college career. It sounds like it was mostly seniority.

"Our Friday guy was a three-year starter," explained Jay. "We had Drasen [Johnson] who was a three-year starter. Then [John] Kravetz, who started all four years and then a midweek guy who ended up being drafted. All four-five of our starters ended up signing to play pro baseball. So you can't complain."

That willingness to accept his role for the good of the team is something that Ryan clearly admired. "I think you call that unselfish and teamwork. And that’s one of the reasons -- probably more than just one of the reasons. We talk about makeup all the time. Usually the guys with makeup are the guys that that excel. And he seems to have that as part of his DNA."

The second question is what his future role will be. Ryan made it clear that Jay will start the season in High-A and that he'll pitch out of the bullpen, mostly in one-inning stints. But given the chance to limit expectations for Jay helping the Twins later this year, Ryan chose not to.

"Every guy that goes out you expect and you give them that little carrot there: 'Why don't you pitch your way out of that affiliate?' " said Ryan. "The next stop would be Chattanooga. But it's up to the player. We can't dictate a guy's progression. Ultimately, you've got to go down and produce and perform. Let's see what he does when he gets down there. But I've talked to him about that: 'If you want to prove that we have you at too low of a level, go out and show us on the mound.' We're not trying to hold people back, here."

OK, but with 66 innings already on Jay's arm, how realistic is that? Is there an inning limit in mind?

"We don't want to get too carried away with innings," replied Ryan. "I'm not going to give you a number. We're certainly going to monitor it. Because I know that I'm going to hear from you guys if I give you a number and he goes 1/3 over it. I'm going to keep it at that. We'll monitor his innings."

Given the shortage of quality left-handed relievers in the upper levels of the Twins organization, so will we, Terry. So will we.

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