Where's the smoke? In the Twins' bullpen

La Velle E. Neal III
Star Tribune

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Twins General Manager Terry Ryan doesn't believe he has a bullpen full of prototypical, here-it-is, try-to-hit-it fireballers.

Still, he admitted that his team has evolved when it comes to procuring and developing pitchers who throw hard.

"About 10 years ago we did not have that much velocity in the organization." he said, "but now we have a few guys who have that."

Quite a few. With a major league bullpen full of hard throwers, led by closer Joe Nathan, and a minor league system that includes Travis Bowyer and Francisco Liriano, the Twins have pitchers throughout the system who can rear back and finish off hitters with a good fastball.

"No. 1, it's a tribune to our scouting department for bringing these types of pitchers into the organization," Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said. "What you like about the power arms is that you don't have to worry about matchups as much."

Nathan, Juan Rincon, Grant Balfour and Jesse Crain -- all of whom can hit 95 miles per hour on the radar gun -- gave opponents fits last season.

They also brought a little swagger to a bullpen that was untested heading into last season. Twins relievers struck out 445 batters last year, fourth best in the American League. The bullpen's 3.97 ERA was fifth best in the league.

Ryan also considers lefthander J.C. Romero, who reaches 93 mph at times, a power pitcher.

"Because he's lefthanded," Ryan said. "There aren't many lefthanders who can throw 93."

Twins starters are more confident than ever that the bullpen can finish what they begin.

"It's good to know that you have those guys right behind you," lefthander Johan Santana said. "We have a pretty good bullpen. I think it's one reason why we led the league in ERA.

"Everyone can throw, and they can blow you away with fastballs. Not just fastballs either."

Nathan, whose first pitch in the majors was 97 mph, threw a pitch in Detroit last season that was recorded at 100 mph on the Comerica Park scoreboard.

A reporter suggested the next day that the park's radar gun was malfunctioning.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Nathan yelled, playfully, at the reporter.

The next game, Grant Balfour was clocked at 101, muting Nathan.

"It's all right here, Joe," Balfour boasted while pointing at his bicep.

Twins relievers have other above-average pitches to go with the fastball. Nathan (44 saves last season) and Crain (3-0, 2.00 in 27 innings) have good sliders and curveballs. Rincon (11-6, 2.63) and Balfour (4-1, 4.35) also have good sliders.

"It's not just with the fastball," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We've got guys who can spin it up there, too."

Nathan is the only one of the group who came up through a different organization. Several years ago, the Twins made an effort to identify more pitchers with good velocity.

Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff said that in most cases the club looks for starting pitchers, as Balfour, Rincon and Romero were before they settled into bullpen roles.

"We have a velocity development program," Radcliff said, "We believe that if you get the right type of body and arm action, you can increase velocity in time."

Bowyer, a righthander in his first major league camp, is the best example. A 20th-round pick in 1999, Bowyer entered the organization throwing 86-88 mph. Now 6-3 and 215 pounds, Bowyer hit 99 mph more than once last year at Class AA New Britain. He was 6-3 with a 1.76 ERA in 31 games there, and he struck out 65 in 61.1 innings.

"He's the poster guy," Radcliff said.

Liriano, a lefthander acquired with Nathan in 2003 for catcher A.J. Pierzynski, struck out 125 batters in 117 innings at Class A Fort Myers before being promoted to Class AA New Britain, where he was 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in seven starts with 49 strikeouts in 39 innings. Some in the organization feel he'll consistently hit 94-95 mph by the time he reaches the majors but needs to work on his control.

Liriano will have to learn the same lessons that Rincon, Crain and other hard-throwing Twins relievers have had to learn as they developed. It's great to make batters swing at a vapor trail, but it won't matter if it's not near the plate.

"Velocity helps you out a lot, no question," Rincon said, but only if you know how to use it.

"You try to throw as hard as you can, but if you're not hitting your spots, it's no good. That's what happened to me the first couple of years."

How fast do they throw?

Heat The miles-per-hour range of some hard-throwing Twins pitchers:

93-97 -- Joe Nathan
93-96 -- Jesse Crain
92-95 -- Grant Balfour
93-95 -- Juan Rincon
91-93 -- J.C. Romero

Twins pitchers power up

Twins pitchers in the majors who are hard throwers (2004 stats):

Current Twins	W-L	ERA	IP	SO	BB	MPH range
Grant Balfour	4-1	4.35	39.1	42	21	92-95
Jesse Crain	3-0	2.00	27	14	12	93-96
Joe Nathan	1-2	1.62	72.1	89	23	93-97
Juan Rincon	11-6	2.63	82	106	32	93-95
J.C. Romero*	7-4	3.51	74.1	69	38	91-93

Hard-throwing pitchers in the organization:

The future	W-L	ERA	IP	SO	BB	MPH range
Travis Bowyer (AA)	6-3	1.76	61.1	65	38	94-96
Francisco Liriano (AA)	3-2	3.18	39.2	49	17	92-94
Kevin Cameron (AA)	1-3	1.94	46.1	47	21	90-92
Justin Olson (A)	7-7	2.88	78	85	46	94-95

Draftees who can spot the fastball (rookie league stats):

2004 draftees	W-L	ERA	IP	SO	BB	MPH range
Kyle Waldrop	2-0	3.24	25	25	3	90-91
Jay Rainville	3-2	1.83	34.1	38	3	90-92
Anthony Swarzak	5-3	2.63	48	42	6	90-92