Perkins might get midyear promotion

La Velle E. Neal III
Star Tribune

The minor leagues are nearing their All-Star breaks, which is about the time organization officials think about players to promote.

The Twins are no different.

The organization recently promoted lefthander Francisco Liriano from Class AA New Britain to Class AAA Rochester.

So who's next?

Class A Fort Myers lefthander Glen Perkins might force the organization's hand. On June 11, he held a good-hitting Lakeland team to one run over seven innings on three hits and one walk while striking out 14.

On Thursday, with Twins director of minor leagues Jim Rantz in attendance, Perkins, 22, tossed a complete-game, six-hit shutout at Clearwater, striking out seven.

Perkins' 91 mile per hour fastball is backed up with a good changeup and curveball. The former Gophers star is among candidates for promotion at Fort Myers, along with righthander Nick Blackburn and lefthander Errol Simonitsch.

"Well, the All-Star Game is coming up for the Florida State League," Rantz said. "We'll let it play out for a week."

It appears that the Twins will leave outfielder Denard Span, 21, and third baseman Matt Moses, 20, at Fort Myers. Span, the Twins' first-round pick in 2002, leads the FSL with a .337 batting average. Moses, the Twins first-round pick in the 2003 draft, is fourth at .324.

If a pitcher is promoted to New Britain, the Twins might send Class A Beloit righthander Anthony Swarzak to Fort Myers. Swarzak, 19, entered the weekend 7-3 with a 2.78 ERA for the Snappers.

No one else at New Britain, for now, is expected to be promoted. But outfielder Alex Romero entered the weekend with a seven-game hitting streak.

Anderson opts out of contract

Lefthander Jimmy Anderson, signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent earlier in the season, pitched six innings on Tuesday, giving up five runs on five hits in the first game of a doubleheader.

In between games, Anderson told Red Wings manager Rich Miller that he was exercising an out clause in his contract, thus becoming a free agent.

Many minor league free agents with major league experience have such clauses written in their deals. Anderson, 4-4 with a 2.90 ERA for Rochester, is expected to sign with another organization.

Around the system

Terry Tiffee, after being sent from the Twins to Class AAA Rochester, is in a 4-for-40 skid.

Lefthander Jose Mijares, a product of the Twins' Venezuelan academy, was sent to Beloit a few weeks ago when the Snappers were hit by pitching injuries. Mijares, 20, picked up three relief victories and is 3-0 with a 3.79 ERA in six outings, including one start.

The Twins' short season leagues in Fort Myers and Elizabethton, Tenn., will begin over the next few days. One player to watch is righthander Johan Pino, another Venezuelan product. Pino, 21, was 10-1 with a 0.53 ERA last season in the Dominican Summer League and almost was sent to Beloit this season. Pino has been assigned to Elizabethton.

Infielder Juan Portes, the Twins' 15th round pick last year who briefly left the organization to deal with family issues, will be assigned to Elizabethton.

One more E-Town player: Toby Gardenhire, son of the Twins manager. "I saw him play in a [mini camp] game," Rantz said. "He grounded out 6-3 [short to first] in his first at-bat."