Burns starts hot in rookie league

When you're selected in the middle rounds of baseball's amateur draft, it can pay dividends to make your new team notice you right away.

That's what Deacon Burns, the Twins' 26th-round draft pick last month, is doing in the first 20 games of his professional career playing for the Twins' rookie league affiliate in Elizabethton, Tenn.

Burns, who played football and baseball at Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D., leads the Appalachian League in batting average (.422), hits (35) and doubles (9). The 5-foot-8, 185-pound outfielder, who is described as having a build similar to a young Kirby Puckett, is second in his league in slugging percentage (.771).

"He's left-handed and has a very aggressive swing," said Jim Rantz, the Twins' director of minor league operations. "Deacon is a guy that's tough for pitchers to throw to, because they can't get their braking balls over in his small strike zone."

Burns, who has six home runs in Elizabethton, is from Brownwood, Texas, and landed at Northern State so he could play two sports.

Last spring, he led the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in batting average (.495), hits (45), runs scored (37), slugging percentage (1.000) and on-base percentage (.548).

He was a running back in football, where he was projected to be the starter this fall until he signed a contract with the Twins.

In 2003, he gained 493 yards rushing with two touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 362 yards and three scores.

Burns, who can play all three outfield positions, mostly is being used in right field.

Bartlett's back: Shortstop prospect Jason Bartlett on Thursday played his first game for Class AAA Rochester since breaking his right wrist May 10.

Bartlett completed a five-day rehabilitation program with the Twins' rookie Gulf Coast League team before returning to his normal spot on the left side of Rochester's infield. He was in line to be called up to the major leagues in May, but the broken wrist, courtesy of a pitched ball, delayed his progress.

Bartlett was hitting .339 before the injury.

Shuffling the deck: Relief pitcher Pat Neshek, a 1999 graduate of Park Center High School and the Twins' sixth-round draft pick in 2002, was sent from Class AA New Britain to Class A Fort Myers last week.

The Twins want Neshek to be the closer in Fort Myers. He wasn't getting the chance to close in AA because of the presence of Bobby Korecky, whom the Twins picked up in the Eric Milton trade with Philadelphia.

Neshek was 2-1 with a 3.82 earned-run average in 26 appearances for New Britain.

The Twins also moved middle reliever Victor Moreno from Class AAA to AA.

Briefly: Second baseman Luis Maza committed an error last week for New Britain. It was only his second error in 87 games this season.

Elvis Corporan, a catcher for Fort Myers, was placed on the disabled list because of heart palpitations. He will undergo more tests.