Twins Preview 09
It's fitting that I preview the bullpen last because they are the players that come in last to finish out the game and the Twins have one of the better stopper in the entire major leagues. The rest of the bullpen is a question mark with side arm slinger Pat Neshek out for the season after surgery. The key to the Twins season is this bullpen and if they can compete and pitch effectively the Minnesota Twins will be AL Central Champs again.
Joe Nathan - Closing Pitcher
Nathan has become a top closer in the major leagues after the Twins aquired him in the AJ Pierzynski trade (thank you San Fransico). In fact, I believe that only Mariano Rivera has more saves since 2004, Nathan's first year as closer. Not only is Nathan an outstanding closer, he is coming off a career year. While his save numbers were down his era was under 1.5 and pitched his least amount of innings so he must be fresh for this coming year. It is nice to not have to worry about blowing a game when it is crunch time. Stand up and shout!
Jesse Crain - RHP
First, I want to say that I was a Jesse Crain fan for oh, one year. After that he has been on my "not so much" list. He has a nice fastball (95 mph range) but it's not so nice when it is straight and hitters have an easy time picking it up. Crain used to have a nice slider but after he was injured the slider has not came back and you need more then a fastball to be a major league pitcher. I hope he can be productive and revert back to the young Jesse Crain because he will most likely get the first crack at being the 8th inning setup guy.
Matt Guerrier - RHP
What can be said about Matt Guerrier? In the first half of the season he looked very good and got some big outs for the team. In the 2nd half of the season he couldn't get a guy out and ended up with a 5+ ERA. In Guerrier's defense he did pitch the most innings for the Twins out of the bullpen last year but it is not like he has never pitched 76 innings in a season before whether it be in the minors or in high school. Guerrier needs to rebound in the worst way this season and we'll see how Gardy decides to use him this year.
Craig Breslow - LHP
Breslow was a mid-season pickup for the Twins and he became one of the better pitchers in the bullpen last season. Doesn't have overpowering stuff but picks his spots and its very crafty. Although he is a left handed pitcher, he can also get right handed hitters out with a swooping breaking ball and a sneaky fastball.
Luis Ayala - RHP
Ayala is the Twins new free agent pickup. He is a good arm out of the bullpen that has closer experience. His ERA was a bit high for my liking last year but he has not been in the league long and hopefully working with Rick Anderson he can correct this problem
Brian Duensing - LHP
Duensing is on track to make his first big league roster. The Team USA pitcher is a nice young left handed arm that knows how to pitch and pitches well. Formerly a starter in the minor leagues, Duensing will first get his shot in the Twins Pen. He could develop into a 4th or 5th starter later in his career whether it be with the Twins or not.
Well there you have it...your 2009 Minnesota Twins preview. Now I can get back to other topics such as the NCAA Tournament (bracket busted) and possibly some NBA talk to go along with a MLB season preview
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