It's always fun watching new guys.

If you check out the page with the Twins' active roster page, you'll find the latest addition:  one Justin Huber, infielder, number 19.  Welcome back to the bigs, Mr. Huber.

Huber was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Mets back in 2000, as a catcher.  He made his professional debut the following summer, playing 47 of his 52 games for Kingsport, New York's rookie league squad.  Just 18, he batted an impressive .314/.415/.528 with 17 walks against 42 strikeouts.

The next summer, 2002, the Mets started him in A-ball.  He complimented good power for a guy his age (and at his position) with good strike zone judgement and more than a adequate penchant for taking a walk, and he followed up a brilliant rookie year with a .291/.408/.470 campaign.  After 95 games there he was promoted to high-A ball, where his numbers weren't as impressive but still showed a lot of promise for a 19-year old kid:  .270/.370/.400 in 28 games.  The power had disappeared, but it was only an outage, not a cut.

Starting at high-A St. Lucie in '03 he picked up where he left off, and was promoted to double-A halfway through the season after posting an .884 OPS.  A good but unimpressive stint there meant he would start a second cosecutive season in St. Lucie in '04, but that lasted all of 13 games.  By July of 2004 the 21-year old Huber (22 by the time he got there) was getting his first taste of triple-A.  That stint lastest three games, as he was traded to the Royals at the deadline (for Jose Bautista of all people).  Unfortunately for Huber (and the Royals), torn cartilage in his knee ended his summer.  He went under the knife, and as a result his career as a catcher came to an end.

If there were any adverse effects the following year, Huber didn't show them.  Starting in double-A for the Royals, the 22-year old now-first baseman raked.  The patience was there, as were his raw hitting skills, but the best news was that he displayed the power that he'd shown throughout his first few years in the minors.  It was exactly how you'd want a guy like Huber to perform following a surgery.  Over 88 games he belted a .343/.432/.570 line in 335 at-bats, notching 16 homers, 22 doubles and 51 walks.  It couldn't get much better than that, and he was promoted to Kansas City's triple-A squad (.274/.374/.531) before getting called up to the majors for the first time.

In his age-22 season, Justin was 23 by the time he saw his first plate appearance for the Royals, but he was exactly on-track for where a hitter of his abilities should have been.  Sadly, back in 2005 professional softball player Matt Stairs was getting most of the time at first base for the Royals.  Stairs wasn't exactly an offensive threat, but with Mike Sweeney in the midst of his last productive year of his career to date, Stairs actually led the team's qualifying hitters with a .373 OBP.  I can understand how the Royals wanted him in the lineup, but he was 37.  For whatever reason, Huber was only awarded 85 plate appearances that year, and he struggled.

Over the next two seasons, Huber's OPS at triple-A would be solid (.838 in '06, .853 in '07), but he only saw 21 plate appearances with the Royals in that span.  Doug Mientkiewicz and newly-acquired slugging pospect Ryan Shealy saw most of the time at first base in the former, while Shealy and Ross Gload bogarted the time in the latter.  So as for the reason why Huber never had a chance, I have no answer.

In March of 2008 the Padres purchased the contract of Huber, where he managed to hit his first major league career home run off of Randy Johnson.  He was granted free agency following the season, and joined the Twins.

It's been another typical season for Huber at triple-A, hitting a "pedestrian" .273/.354/.483 with 22 homers, 22 doubles and 49 walks in 439 at-bats.  His wOBA?  An impressive .361.  In his age-26 season, Huber is about to see time with his fourth franchise and should get another opportunity to get his long overdue major league career off the ground.

Since 2006 Huber has been shifted between first base and the outfield defensively, while maintaining very good power numbers.  His isolated power has consistently scored out higher than .200 in the minor leagues with few aberrations, including this summer with Rochester (.209).

There's a lot of raw hitting talent about to be sitting on Minnesota's bench tonight, and although he hasn't really shown anything at the major league level so far, he hasn't really been given a decent chance.  Huber could be seen as just "another one of those guys", in the mold of a Garrett Jones or Randy Ruiz, and I wouldn't blame you for thinking that.  But his potential for plate discipline and ability to consistently adapt to better competition as he came up through the minors gives me hope for something better.

Welcome to the Twins, Mr. Huber.

Who else we've met in 2009:  Luis Ayala, Jose Morales, Sean Henn and Bob Keppel

After having the luxury of being able to watch the Twins run off a streak of wins before taking a major league mound for the first time, tonight Armando Gabino will become the tenth pitcher to start a game for Minnesota in 2009.

Gabino's career began quietly, signing with the Cleveland Indians as an undrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2001 when he was 17.  He was also a third baseman originally, and was converted to a pitcher in 2003.  In 2004, the 20-year old right-hander made his debut in the State-side Indians' system, pitching a decent but unimpressive 19 innings for Burlington, a Cleveland rookie-league squad.  He allowed just one home run on 20 hits, walking five and striking out 12.  He allowed 13 runs, but only nine were earned.

Left unprotected, the Twins nabbed him in the Rule 5 draft after the season.  Whatever he may have shown in those 19 innings, Minnesota must have seen something that caused them to take a flier.  They may have even liked him prior, as he played in the Dominican.  Making his Twins-system debut in '05, Gabino made just three starts in 17 appearances and was hammered.  45 hits and 12 walks in just 30 innings led to 28 runs, and suffice it to say the Twins started in rookie league for the third consecutive season in '06.

This time, however, five good games (including one start, his last until this season in Rochester) earned him a promotion almost immediately.  He spent most of 2006 in Beloit, appearing in relief 16 times while not experiencing significant fluctuations in walk or strikeout rates.  His groundball rate did rebound, which helped keep balls in the park.

Excellent walk rates, allowing less than a hit per inning and keeping the ball in the park earned him a promotion after just 22 innings with Beloit in 2007.  In Fort Myers, now 23, Gabino continued to excel:  27 hits in 37 innings, just one home run and 25 strikouts earned him his second promotion of the year.  In 16 innings in New Britain, Gabino didn't allow a run.  He retired 14 on strikes, and generally was on fire.

Minnesota kept him in double-A for the whole of 2008, where he made 49 relief appearances and accumulated 81.1 innings, to the tune of a 3.10 ERA.  The walk rates had doubled since Beloit, but he was still excelling at keeping the ball in the park.

This season saw him dropped into triple-A for the first time at 25, eight years after signing with Cleveland.  His first 31 appearances were all out of the bullpen, but with Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak in Minnesota the Red Wings were in need of starters.  In those five starts, Gabino compiled a 2.16 ERA.  Impressive, to be sure.

Owning what's been called a "heavy" fastball in the low to mid-90's, a breaking ball and an off-speed pitch, Gabino's "stuff" might actually be better than Swarzak's.  When he makes his debut tonight, watch the movement he displays not just on that slider, but on his fastball as well.  Right now, the Twins are in desperate need of a guy to step up and fill some empty shoes, and if Armando can strike while the iron is hot, then this will becomes his job to lose.

Good luck tonight, Armando.  Pitch your tail off.

Armando Gabino

#63 / Pitcher / Minnesota Twins

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 31, 1983

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Browse more photos »

Delmon is on another one of his streaks.

Over the last few days we've seen the best of what Delmon Young has to offer.  For the first time in a while the Twins are giving Young consistent playing time, and while his aggressive approach hasn't changed the results have been solid.  After last night's RBI extravaganza Delmon has now blasted four impressive looking home runs in his last eight games, and he's hitting .302/.333/.651 over his last 11.

The realist in everyone should be saying well, we've seen streaks like this from Young before.  Over 12 games from April 25 - May 8 he hit .405.  But just like last season, when he picked it up in the second half after a slow start, we're seeing evidence of Delmon finding his unique style of a stride.  Since June 3, Young is hitting .293/.307/.483 with eight doubles and six home runs.  Those four walks aren't impressing anyone, but we already know what kind of a hitter we're talking about.

This latest hot streak, over the last few games, has seen Young making some good contact.  He's getting around quicker and getting the head of the bat to make contact, and he's also using his legs to help him get something behind his swings.  I'm not about to say that these mechanics are somethig that Young can duplicate going forward, but right now something is definitely working.  Either Delmon is just riding hot, which we've seen before and has just as much to do with luck as it does talent, or we're seeing him get better at reading pitches and taking advantage.

Anyone who approaches a plate appearance like Delmon will always be subjected to hot and cold streaks of productivity, moreso than more patient or at least more selective swingers.  The result is that, at his best, he can provide Joe Crede-like power while walking like Christian Guzman, finishing the season with a respectable but relatively empty batting average.

Right now, I'd love for Delmon to turn into that player on a regular basis.  If Young can be the guy he's been since June 3, the Twins would be looking at a very valuable bat who can comfortably hit right behind the boys in the middle of the order.

Keep your eye on him.  Maybe this is something he can carry forward the rest of the season, maybe it's not.  But when Justin Morneau started reading pitches a few years ago and understanding how we was being approached by pitchers, it was rewarding to watch him bloom into the hitter he is today.  It didn't happen overnight, but it happened quickly and you could see the results in his at-bats almost immediately.  If Delmon does ever catch on, and any hot streak could be the time, you'll want to take notice.  It's a special thing to watch a hitter come into his own.

While browsing minor league numbers for the Twins this afternoon, I came across a pitcher by the name of Joe Testa.  Who is he?

This is his page at MiLB.com.  No profile picture.  Check out those numbers, though.  He's currently pitching with the Miracle in Fort Myers, having appeared in half a dozen games and 10.2 innings.  Testa's struck out 14, walked three and allowed eight hits.  Nobody's scored yet.  He's sporting a 1.44 FIP according to FirstInning.com, although they haven't logged two of his appearances, which probably means that FIP is even lower.

For the majority of this spring and summer, Testa was quietly blowing away hitters as a pitcher for the Beloit Snappers, Minnesota's low-A ball affiliate.  He started just one game, appeared 24 times in relief, and accumulated a substantial 45.2 innings.  Strikeouts:  63.  Hits:  26.  The walks weren't quite as impressive, with 23 earning a free pass.  That's a 1.07 WHIP, 2.56 ERA (FIP 2.70), and a .161 opponent average.

Testa is a 23-year old southpaw, undrafted out of Wagner College in 2008.  Wagner College is in Staten Island, New York, and has been part of the NCAA since 2003.  Until recently, in the history of the school only Curt Blefary has had a major league career ('65 - '72), although a couple of guys did make it to triple-A.  In 2006, the Oakland Athletics drafted Andrew Bailey, a teammate of Testa at Wagner in '05 and '06.  Baily is now blowing people away as a rookie relief pitcher with the A's.

Bailey, now 25, was a big strikeout pitcher for Wagner.  But it's Testa that holds school records in games started (44), wins (19), innings (299) and strikeouts (308).  Naturally this isn't to say that Testa is a better pitcher than Bailey, or to say that Testa is destined for the majors, but both were four-year collegiate players from the ages of 19-22, and it does make for an interesting comparison.

In 2008, Testa was the Northeast Conference's Pitcher of the Year, in addition to being a conference All-Star.  This was just last summer, and immediately afterward joined the Twins rookie club in Gulf Coast.  In 28.1 innings between the GCL and Fort Myers he struck out 30 in 28.1 innings, allowing just 23 hits and 10 earned runs.

You already know what he's been doing this year.

If there's any caveat in what we've seen from this unknown lefty, it's that to this point he's been pitching to some very young hitters.  The good news is that if he keeps pitching like this, he will be promoted again before the end of the year.  If he can finish the season in New Britain, and keep pitching well, Joe Testa could be a Twin by next summer.

Be sure to check out this Q & A with Testa from Seth  (Sounds like Testa throws a fastball, cutter, changeup, curve and slider; the fastball (low to mid-90's) and the cutter are his "out pitches".)

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

Browse more photos »

We know his bat has really come around, but what about the glove?

It's been a rough year for Minnesota's middle infielders.  Between offensive futility, defensive inconsistenicy, injuries and a severe lack of focus and understanding, it's been hard for fans to get behind the guys starting at second and short, and just as hard for Ron Gardenhire to fill out a lineup card on a daily basis.

It was easy to include Brendan Harris into that group.  On the morning of May 26, Harris was hitting .255/.294/.353.  Not encouraging.  But in his next 26 games, Harris has failed to reach base just once; June 14.  In the 102 intervening at-bats he's put together a triple slash of .324/.389/.451.  That's a world of difference no matter how you look at it, and it's all come at just the right time.  With Alexi Casilla (.467 OPS), Nick Punto (.570) and Matt Tolbert (.484) being offensive black holes, and other guys missing time for one reason or another, Harris' sudden flourish with the bat has helped Gardy give the top of his batting order a bit of...order.

So Harris has been the only middle infielder of use with the bat so far in 2009.  This we know, you didn't need me to point it out.  The interesting comparison is the defensive one.

RZR/150:  UZR runs above average per 150 defensive games.
OOZ:  Plays made outside the zone of that position.

Obviously there are some sample size issues, but there are a couple of things that are pretty clear.  First, nobody plays defense at second base very well.  Second...Harris has actually done well at shortstop.  At least, he's done better there than anyone else this season.

When the Twins signed Punto to his two-year contract over the winter, Gardenhire said they were signing him to play shortstop.  And that was fine, because considering what we knew about these guys coming into the season Punto was probably the best equipped to handle the spot.  But after what we've been witness to, and considering the pretty large gap between how everyone has performed between second base and shortstop, it's about time to re-evaluate how to best deploy the assets that we have.

So we can rip on Harris for his glove, but he's the best option at short that we have.  And the fact is that he may not be exceptional, but he's definitely doing okay.  Let's hope he keeps it rolling.

Your replacement man for Luis Ayala, who gets a trip to Rochester stamped DFA.

A few days after his 27th birthday, the Mets' 2000 first-round draft pick is getting his first opportunity with what is already his fifth organization.  Drafted right out of high school, the Mets liked Keppel for his penchant for strikeouts and his ability to keep the ball on the ground.  He reached New York's triple-A affiliate by his fifth season in the minors, losing strikeout numbers but doing a solid job of keeping the ball in the park.  Unfortunately for Keppel, the Mets weren't impressed enough to keep him on the 40-man roster and had to release him.  He wasn't reaching his potential ceiling, and with a group of young hurlers coming up through the system New York cut their losses and let him loose in May of 2005.

Over the following three seasons Keppel signed with three different franchises, garnering 38.1 major league innings with two of them.  Nobody must have been too impressed, because he was always granted free agency in the end.  And not always before the season itself reached conclusion.

In his last three appearances for the Red Wings, Keppel logged 21 innings, striking out 14, walking just one and surrendering seven runs.  On that positive note, Keppel has now compiled 996.2 minor league innings, with a 1.41 WHIP and a 4.53 ERA.  His strikeout rates are pedestrian (5.2 K/9), and even the home runs haven't been as top rate as once advertised (0.8 HR/9).

It's hard to speak for what he's thrown in Rochester this year, but over his brief time in the majors he offered a standard arsenal:  fastball, slider, curve, changeup.  Nothing stands out, with the fastball topping out around 90 and the curve being the slowest pitch in the mid to upper-70's.  In those 38 innings opponents have hit the ball hard (23.5% line drive rate), and the home runs rates have actually jumped to significantly above average...in the bad way.

But there have been some positive results from Rochester.  In fact, there's quite a discrepancy between the small-sample-size of his major league results, and how he's performed with the Red Wings.  His HR/9 is just 0.2 this season; over the last two months his ground-ball rates have been over 60%.  In spite of all this, his strikeouts continue to dwindle, managing to retire just 4.5/9 via the punch-out.

That's Keppel's profile.  But what are we to expect?  Worst-case scenario he's a AAAA pitcher, gets knocked around a little bit, and eventually gets replaced.  Best-case scenario, Keppel starts at the back end of the bullpen and induces a great deal of ground balls, minimizing extra base hits and limiting his damage; maybe by late July or August has earned enough respect to appear in a few more high-leverage situations.

If he's used right and doesn't shoot himself in the foot, Keppel could be useful.  That's the beauty (and curse) of a bullpen role--small sample sizes can either make you look brilliant or destroy your reputation.  Clearly Keppel doesn't look like much more than a replacement-level pitcher, but you never know.

Wish him luck.

With Craig Breslow getting claimed off waivers by Oakland, Minnesota's latest pitching prospect gets his shot.

Minnesota's second-round choice in the 2004 draft, Anthony Swarzak has had a steady climb through the farm system.  Rookie ball in '04, Beloit and Fort Myers in '05, New Britain in '07 and a late promotion to triple-A Rochester last year.  Now, after seven encouraging starts there this season, he's picking a uniform number for the Twins.

Glen Perkins and Matt Tolbert are the only two other players from that draft to breach the majors so far for the Twins.  Other pitchers from that draft class, like Matt Fox, Jay Rainville and Kyle Waldrop haven't moved quite as quickly or been quite as good as Anthony; Rainville and Fox have each missed entire seasons and are now both in New Britain, while Waldrop was there last year but took a step backward and is struggling in Fort Myers this season.  It was a promising class early, a class that also included Eduardo Morlan and Tim Lahey, but Perkins and Swarzak are the only two appearing to reach their potential on schedule.

Anthony, 24, will get a couple days to take in the atmosphere before getting his first major league start against the Brewers on Saturday.  If you're in Minneapolis, be sure to get out there and show your support.

There's a lot to like with Swarzak, and Baseball America (who have ranked him a Top 10 Twins prospect every season since '05) agrees.  Walk rates are on the positive side of average, walking just 2.8 batters per nine innings over the course of his minor league career.  The strikeout rates aren't over the top, but the ability is there; 7.9 K/9, although that's a bit higher than his 6.5 rate in Rochester this year.  Balls stay in the park (just 42 home runs in 636.2 innings).

Back in 2007 Swarzak served a 50-game suspension for a "drug of abuse", but since then has re-focused  Some have speculated that the drug of abuse was marijuana; as disappointing as that can be, it's not exactly a performance-enhancing drug.  I'm not encouraging it, but it's supposed to impair judgment.  So, it's not cheating.  It's just...bad judgment.

With all that behind him and his MLB future ahead of him, there will be a lot of people watching Swarzak's progress this summer with great interest.  Right now he has to be the pitcher with the most upside coming from the '04 draft class, and right now, the Twins pitching staff could use a little upside.

More meat for the grinder?  Or a miracle cure?  I'd settle for something inbetween.

Once upon a time, in the long long ago of 2000, Sean Henn was a no-expectations 26th-round draft choice.  In retrospect he may have been the Yankees' best selection of that draft, considering the three guys drafted in front of him that actually made the major leagues are either out of baseball or haven't been above triple-A since 2005 (Matt Smith, round 4; Jason Anderson, round 10; Brad Halsey, round 19).

Baseball America showed a little love for Henn early on, ranking him New York's number six prospect in 2002 and following that up with a number ten ranking in '03.  In fact, coming out of 2003 the only numbers that could give you reservations about Henn were the walks.  He was a strikeout threat, didn't give up a lot of homers and allowed less than a hit per inning.  After spending all of 2004 on the Yankee double-A squad, he started '05 at the same place with excellent results.  Henn pitched more than 25 innings and allowed just two runs, earning him an early promotion to triple-A.

Getting to triple-A and just having turned 24, Henn was right on track and had to have been a pleasant surprise considering how late he was drafted.  He even made three starts for the Yankees in '05, in place of an injured Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown.

His major league experience since his debut that season have been marred by something less than mediocre performance.  He walked too many guys, he gave up too many hits, and in spite of nabbing the 25th roster spot coming out of spring training 2007 he couldn't stick.  Henn bounced between the majors and triple-A until he hit the disabled list in the spring of '08 and was designated for assignment while on a rehab stint.  San Diego claimed him off waivers but once again, in spite of the ability to miss bats, he also missed the strike zone.  The Padres out-righted him to triple-A just one month after claiming him.

This past December, the Twins took a flyer.  Henn has responded with surprising results, saving six games for the Red Wings over 24 innings.  He's struck out 32, allowed just a pair of homers, and has limited his base runners.  It's certainly encouraging, but it's also what you expect out of a 28-year old pitching to triple-A hitters for the fifth consecutive season.

Henn may not have long to make an impression with the Twins.  The Twins will decide who to call up as a fifth starter as Glen Perkins' turn comes up in the rotation this weekend, meaning Sean may have all of two chances to impress.  If he does, either Luis Ayala or R.A. Dickey may find themselves either looking for work or working in triple-A.  Should Henn not deliver, he'll likely be sent back to the minors when Minnesota makes a move on Kevin Mulvey or Anthony Swarzak.

In the mean time, Henn needs to be able to locate his plus fastball.  It comes in around 92-93, and he compliments it with a slider and a changeup.