La Velle E. Neal III
Star Tribune
Numbers can be deceiving. Twins farmhand J.D. Durbin is 6-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 14 starts at Class AA New Britain since being promoted from Class A Fort Myers.
There's some inconsistency in the numbers, however. For instance, Durbin gave up four runs over six innings on Thursday. In those six innings, Durbin walked three and gave up seven hits. That's 10 baserunners, which isn't good.
Durbin, one of the Twins' top pitching prospects, had several outings like this lately. While there was some talk about him getting a September call-up, the belief is that Durbin is better off pitching at New Britain as the team heads for the playoffs. His fastball tops 90 miles per hour and he throws a slurve -- a slider/curve hybrid.
"As you move up the ladder, hitters are more selective and he's getting behind in the count and has thrown too many pitches by the fifth and sixth innings," said Jim Rantz, the Twins director of minor leagues. "He's got good stuff. Hitting spots and having good command is what we are looking for."
Wasted picks?
Before Joe Mauer, there was righthander Adam Johnson, outfielder B.J. Garbe and pitcher Ryan Mills. Those three -- who collected a total of $7.25 million in bonuses -- were the Twins' first-round picks in 2000, 1999 and 1998.
There's a chance all three will be major leaguers, but none of them are close to matching their draft status.
Johnson, who pitched for the Twins in 2001, recently returned to the starting rotation at Class AAA Rochester out of necessity and threw seven shutout innings on Thursday. The organization thinks Johnson (6-11, 5.35 ERA) can make the bigs as a reliever.
Garbe, who has missed a chunk of the year because of a broken wrist, is batting .176 at Class AA New Britain. He's a very good outfielder and could make it as a reserve. He will go to instructional league this fall to work on his hitting.
Mills, who has had injuries and severe control problems during his minor league career, is 5-1 with a 4.01 ERA at Rochester and is showing promise as a reliever.
"All three are still legitimate guys to get to the big leagues," Rantz said. "All three have some ability and are working to improve. They still have a uniform, so what the heck, we're going to be patient."
E-town title
Led by a pitching staff that posted a 3.13 ERA, the Elizabethton Twins won the Appalachian League title, their sixth in 31 years.
Righthander Evan Meek went 7-1 with 2.47 ERA. He throws 90 mph and has a good breaking ball. Lefthander Errol Simonitsch was 5-1 with a 1.76 ERA and walked only six batters in 46 innings.
Webposted 08/31/03
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