Twins guarding pitching prospect

BY JASON WILLIAMS
Pioneer Press

Twins general manager Terry Ryan says it is an "understatement" to say pitching prospect Francisco Liriano has exceeded the organization's expectations.

Liriano has been in the spotlight recently, having been coveted by some teams leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline last Sunday. The 21-year-old left-hander is 6-1 with a 1.62 earned-run average in nine starts for Class AAA Rochester. He was the deal breaker in trade discussions with Texas involving Rangers all-star second baseman Alfonso Soriano, as the Twins refused to part with him.

Twins scouts saw Liriano in the Instructional League in 2003 while he was in the San Francisco Giants' system, but he still was recovering from an injury to his left side that derailed most of that season. Liriano was one of two minor league pitchers the Twins acquired from the Giants along with reliever Joe Nathan in exchange for all-star catcher A.J. Pierzynski in November 2003.

"The reason he was available is he was hurt," Ryan said of Liriano, whom Baseball America rates as the best pitching prospect in the International League. "We got very lucky. … There were some flashes that he showed, but I think it'd be a little misleading to tell you that we thought he'd develop into what he has."

Though the timing of Liriano's emergence may be surprising, his rise to being a legitimate prospect is not. Ryan mentioned that Liriano was a "high-profile" prospect when the Giants signed him as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in September 2000.

Barring injury, Liriano almost certainly will receive a call-up when major league rosters can be expanded to 40 players in September. The Twins view Liriano as a starter, but he could work out of the bullpen before joining the rotation, as reigning Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana did early in his career.

"I'm not opposed to that," Ryan said.

Packing power

Rochester slugger Garrett Jones continues to be among the top power hitters in the International League, having reached the 20-home run plateau last week.

With the Twins needing punch in their weak-hitting lineup, could the left-handed hitting first baseman help? Not yet. Jones, 24, has not shown consistent patience at the plate, among other flaws. He had 94 strikeouts in 104 games entering Saturday, and his batting average was .239.

"Knowing the strike zone and adjusting to left-handed pitching, there's a lot of things there (he needs to work on)," Ryan said.

The Twins have not determined whether Jones will receive a September call-up. But he is thought of in the organization as a legitimate prospect.

Injury updates

Rochester starting pitchers J.D. Durbin (rotator cuff tendinitis) and Dave Gassner (elbow inflammation) remain sidelined. Durbin has not pitched in more than a month, but the right-hander could return next weekend, according to a report in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Rivas update

Things aren't improving much for Rochester's Luis Rivas, who was pinch hit for in a game last week by light-hitting Augie Ojeda. Rivas entered Saturday batting.231 in 14 games since the Twins optioned the once-promising second baseman to the minors last month.