Bowyer is feeling Minnesota

By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance

When it comes to pitching, the Minnesota Twins have a need for speed.

A scan of their bullpen - with cannon-armed closer Joe Nathan and hard-throwing set-up men Juan Rincon, Grant Balfour and Jesse Crain - suggests the organization has a preference for pitchers who can throw gas.

Big Island native and former Liberty High star Travis Bowyer hopes to be the next flamethrower in line.

Bowyer, one of the Twins' top pitching prospects, routinely throws in the mid-90s and topped out at 99 miles per hour last season when he split time between Single-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain. He'll mix in a slurve (a hybrid of a slider and curveball) or a changeup every now and then, but he knows what his money pitch is.

"I usually just throw a lot of fastballs," Bowyer said, laughing.

It's worked. Bowyer had a combined ERA of 1.42 in 91 innings at both levels last season, striking out 97 batters. If it weren't for his erratic control (he walked 55 batters last year), the 23-year-old might be closer to the big leagues right now.

Still, those numbers aren't bad for someone still adjusting to a bullpen role.

A starter at Liberty High under famed coach Jim Cutler, Bowyer did the same with the Twins after signing out of high school. He was taken in the 20th round of the 1999 draft.

Success didn't come easy.

"I played in E-town (rookie league Elizabethton) in 2001 and I just struggled," Bowyer said. "I just couldn't get it done. I was real inconsistent. I think I was on the verge of being released and they moved me to the bullpen and I just took off from there."

Bowyer's bullpen switch came at the end of 2002 and coincided with an increased velocity with his fastball. He credits most of his speed increase to Twins minor league pitching instructor Rick Knapp's workout schedule, which consists of long toss (sometimes as far as 200 feet) and a rigorous weights and cords program.

The results of the Minnesota bullpen speak for themselves. Nathan and Balfour both topped 100 on the same weekend in Detroit last season. Rincon and Crain are routinely up around 95.

And Bowyer? He's gone from a 6-foot-3, 190-pound draft pick struggling to hit 90 on the radar gun to a 210-pound hot prospect that's on the verge of triple-digit heat.

The reduced load of being a reliever helps, too.

"I think it's just the mentality," Bowyer said. "I get out there and I'm real aggressive. And when I was a starter I would come out and pace myself. But I come out of the bullpen and just go after guys."

Bowyer is on the bubble between starting the season at Double-A New Britain or Triple-A Rochester. Wherever he starts, it's already been a whirlwind year.

He got a brief taste of major league action this spring when was at the Twins' big league camp for the first three weeks of spring training.

Bowyer has never pitched in an actual Major League game, so he soaked in whatever knowledge he could.

Bowyer was struck with how down-to-earth everyone was. He remembers centerfielder Torii Hunter, as close to a superstar position player as the Twins have, welcoming him and 42-year-old reliever Terry Mulholland helping out the younger players.

"All the guys over there are real nice," Bowyer said. "Everybody talks to you."

Prior to that, from November to January, he pitched in a winter league in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. It was a different experience to say the least.

The fields were a little rough around the edges, but the atmosphere was electric. The fans had a passion for the game, music constantly blared over the sound system and girls danced in the outfield between innings.

Bowyer stuck out like a sore thumb.

"I'd walk in the streets a couple times and everybody would look at me like I'm crazy," he said. "I looked different and unique."

The level of play was something different, too. The league was stocked with Dodgers shortstop Cesar Izturis, Marlins outfielder Miguel Cabrera and Phillies outfielder Bobby Abreu, all Venezuela natives.

"I got my ass handed to me," Bowyer said bluntly. "They hit me pretty hard. But I had a great time. It was almost like the big leagues."

Fellow Twin and native Venezuelan Johan Santana did not pitch in the league, but the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner was a fan favorite nonetheless, with good reason.

"There are a lot of great players down there that they are crazy about, but Johan is probably the most popular," Bowyer said.

"They asked me if I played with him. I said, ‘Naw, he's in the big leagues. Hopefully one day he'll be my teammate.'"

With a heater like Bowyer's, that may be sooner rather than later.