Bowen making progress

BY JASON WILLIAMS
Pioneer Press

For the Twins, carrying four catchers on the big-league roster isn't just buying time for Joe Mauer.

It's buying time for Rob Bowen, too.

This is a big season for Bowen, the club's second-round draft pick in 1999. The Twins are hoping Bowen can get a full season in with Class AAA Rochester to afford him the opportunity to fully prove to the organization whether he can provide big-league depth at the position in the future.

As of Friday, Bowen had played in 11 games after battling a wrist injury to start the season — and showing offensive and defensive improvement. Bowen, 24, was batting .250 with one home run and five RBIs, and he had thrown out 56 percent (9 of 16) of runners attempting to steal.

"He's getting the chance to play now, and he's making progress," said Jim Rantz, director of the Twins' minor leagues. "Right now, he just needs to catch regularly and get 400 at-bats. He just hasn't fully reached his potential, because he's been interrupted by a (call-up) situation."

Depth issues forced the Twins to call up Bowen from the minors for brief stints in 2003 and 2004, even though he wasn't ready to play in the majors. He sat the bench most of the time, impeding his progress.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said during spring training the Twins couldn't risk doing that this season, with Mauer's surgically repaired knee still causing concern. The Twins decided to keep Corky Miller to give them some insurance if Mauer endured any setbacks.

The biggest concern with Bowen is his bat: He hit just .197 in 77 games with Class AA New Britain last season and has a .108 average (4 for 37) in 24 career big-league games. That's not much worse than Miller, who has a career .193 batting average, including an 0-for-12 start this season.

But Miller, 29, is more advanced defensively, and defense is what the Twins need most out of an insurance-policy catcher. Bowen has thrown out just 7 percent (1 of 14) of runners attempting to steal in 22 big-league games .

Ex'Span'ding

Class A Fort Myers center fielder Denard Span, whom Rantz said is "probably the fastest guy in the organization," has been working a lot on his bunting in an effort to take advantage of his speed.

Developing that skill would only make the 2002 first-round draft pick that much more of an offensive threat. Despite battling a hamstring problem, Span was tied for the Florida State League lead with five stolen bases through Thursday's games. That day, he went 5 for 5 with a double and two RBIs to increase his batting average to .373. He is the first Miracle player to record five hits in a game since James Tomlin did it on May 15, 2003.

Briefly

Hot prospect Francisco Liriano of New Britain has 34 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched after Friday's 6-5 loss to New Hampshire. The left-hander ranked fourth in the Eastern League in strikeouts.

New Britain pitcher Colby Miller allowed his first two earned runs of the season in a start last Monday against the Reading Phillies. But the right-hander still picked up the victory to improve to 2-0. He had a 0.72 ERA through four starts.

Dave Gassner on Thursday made his first start since the Twins optioned the left-hander back to Rochester on April 21. Having struggled mightily in his last outing with the Twins, the control-oriented Gassner seemed to return to form by allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings in the Red Wings' victory over Syracuse. Gassner is 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA with Rochester.

It appears Rochester outfielder Michael Ryan has been confident at the plate recently. He had a three-run home run in three games last week and was batting .309 with five home runs entering Friday. But don't look for him to be recalled to the majors any time soon, with switch-hitting infielder Terry Tiffee still at the top of the list to be recalled once the Twins make roster space for a left-handed bat off the bench.