Tom Schreier

We haven't done anything [yet], but we've put ourselves in good position. -- Twins general manager Terry Ryan, 5/25/15 The Minnesota Twins are within striking distance of the AL Central lead in May for the first time since 2010. At 26-18, they are eight games above .500, the first time they have been three or more games above .500 since the 2011 season. They are getting contributions from hitters up and down their lineup, the starting pitching is holding its own, and yet fans remain jaded after four years of losing baseball.After playing only three of their last 14 games at home, the Twins are in the middle of a six-game homestand against two AL East foes, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, giving people the opportunity to make a judgment on this surprising team with their own two eyes. “You can always trace back to the fact that our starting pitchers are giving us a chance almost each and every day, and the people that we bring in our bullpen have certainly held up their end,” said manager Paul Molitor before the first game against the Boston Red Sox. “And offensively, you can look at our stat sheet and see that it's a mixed bag. We've got a lot of guys doing a lot of things -- scoring runs, driving in runs -- and that's kind of what we need. It's not like we have those couple of guys that are locked in there at four and five that are gonna carry us for any given time, it's been well spread out.” Make no mistake, there is reason to be skeptical about this team, given that the Twins are coming off four straight 90-loss seasons following the team’s 94-win campaign in 2010. Gone are the likes of Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span, as well as manager Ron Gardenhire. Yet top prospects like Oswaldo Arcia, Kennys Vargas and Josmil Pinto are in Triple-A. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, the Glimmer Twins, have lost some of their luster following injury and inconsistent play in the minors. And Alex Meyer, a 25-year-old, 6’8”, hard-throwing pitching prospect who was traded straight-up for Span, has been moved to the bullpen in order to try to straighten him out. Promise resides in youth, and yet most of the team’s best young talent can’t crack the major league roster. The team’s winning ways remain a mystery, which lends credence to the notion that this really is a 75-win team that is bound to regress at some point unless they get a serious push from their best young players. Some people believe that Minnesota has wins “banked” because of the unexpected games won early in the season, while others feel that this team is due for a 10-game losing streak at some point in the season that will even things out. To be fair, this team isn’t all just low-ceiling veterans. Aaron Hicks, 25, appears to have turned things around, at least in some capacity, and Eddie Rosario, 23, should benefit from the major league experience he’s getting right now, just as Trevor May, 25, did when he floundered last year and was able to get his feet under him before this season. Danny Santana, 24, has committed 10 errors at shortstop, however, and his .233/.253/.320 line indicates he’s coming back to earth after hitting .319/.353/.472 in 403 plate appearances last year while holding his own defensively last year as he was playing out of position at center field. Vargas has already been sent down to Triple-A in order to try to find his power swing again. “He wasn't driving the ball, they were pitching him tough,” general manager Terry Ryan said, explaining Vargas’ demotion. “If you're gonna be in the DH role, you're gonna ultimately have to be some kind of run producer.” The difference between this year and last year’s club, Ryan believes, is in the team’s ability to win the close games. “The last three or four years we've found ways to lose those games,” he said before the team’s most recent series against the Red Sox. “This year we've just found ways to win instead of lose.” Certainly having Mike Pelfrey, a first-round pick in 2005 who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, play to his capabilities helps, as does Kyle Gibson’s improved consistency -- the team’s first-round selection in 2009 is suddenly looking like the player analysts though he could become when they rated him as a Top 100 prospect in 2010, ‘11 and ‘13. The Twins have also gotten surprisingly good outings from Blaine Boyer, a 33-year-old journeyman, and of course they have the reliable Glen Perkins closing games for them following a season that ended in injury. “I'm not gonna tell you that I'm shocked that we're winning games,” said Ryan. “I said way back in February or March that we kind of like this club, and no one believed us, I know that, because we didn't give you any reason to believe. Now we're starting to win them, and people are starting to see a little bit, 'Hey, maybe they're a little better than we thought.' That's a good feeling.” Even way back in November, when the Gardenhire firing was still fresh, Ryan was talking about playoffs. Following the Nov. 4 press conference announcing the hiring of Molitor, Ryan told the media he expected the team to make the postseason. “As everybody in this game should be pointing towards the playoffs, we are too,” he said in a heated exchange, during which he vowed to supplement the starting rotation. “I expect to get into the playoffs every year. Why should we take the diamond?” A month later he inked Ervin Santana, a notoriously durable 32-year-old free agent, to a 4-year, $54 million contract. At the time, he emphasized the team’s depth in the starting rotation while downplaying the need for a bona fide ace. “Well, I’m not sure you need a true No. 1 to get to the postseason,” Ryan said on Dec. 15 following the signing. “We have not had a true No. 1 in many of those years that we got there, so if you’ve got the five solid, you’ve got a pretty good chance to get there, and then let the playoffs dictate exactly where you’re headed. This sounded insane at the time. Ryan already had the Twins in the postseason, and it sounded like he was making the ace expendable, as though the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals spent upwards of $200 million on Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer just for the hell of it. On top of that, Pelfrey and Ricky Nolasco were not living up to their free agent deals, Gibson was still inconsistent, May was a wild card, and Tommy Milone had not finished the season well after coming over from the Oakland A’s in exchange for outfielder Sam Fuld. At the very least, Ryan has his glut of pitchers now, even with Santana suspended 80 games for PED use. Pelfrey and Gibson are the team’s best two pitchers, Phil Hughes appears to have turned things around following a bad start, May is pitching like a top prospect should and Nolasco went 7.2 innings to earn his 100th win in a 7-2 victory over Boston to kick off the homestand. Milone was sent down to Triple-A following a string of uninspiring performances, only to register a 0.28 ERA and 41 strikeouts in four starts with Rochester. When asked about how he’s going to go about bringing Milone back into the fold, Ryan essentially shrugged his shoulders, saying he’ll just see how it plays out. “Things are good, everything is going fine, and his opportunity will arise,” said Ryan. “I don't think there's any question whether or not it's in the next few weeks, but I suspect it will come about. It never fails.” Essentially, pitchers get hurt or go in slumps; it’s nice to have the depth. Ryan’s words in the offseason have proven prescient so far, but only time will tell if the Twins can keep this pace up. It’s only six games in a 162 game season, but these next few home games matter if only because fans can see this team up close and personal as they close in on Kansas City for the AL Central lead. With Minnesota, a team that hasn’t had a winning season since Target Field opened in 2010, sometimes you have to see it to believe it. Click here to view the article

We haven't done anything [yet], but we've put ourselves in good position. -- Twins general manager Terry Ryan, 5/25/15 The Minnesota Twins are within striking distance of the AL Central lead in April for the first time since 2010. At 26-18, they are eight games above .500, the first time they have been three or more games above .500 since the 2011 season. They are getting contributions from hitters up and down their lineup, the starting pitching is holding its own, and yet fans remain jaded after four years of losing baseball. After only playing three of their last 14 games at home, the Twins are in the middle of a six-game homestand followed against two AL East foes, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, giving people the opportunity to make a judgement on this surprising team with their own two eyes. “You can always trace back to the fact that our starting pitchers are giving us a chance almost each and every day, and the people that we bring in our bullpen have certainly held up their end,” said manager Paul Molitor before the first game against the Boston Red Sox. “And offensively, you can look at our stat sheet and see that it's a mixed bag. We've got a lot of guys doing a lot of things -- scoring runs, driving in runs -- and that's kind of what we need. It's not like we have those couple of guys that are locked in there at 4 and 5 that are gonna carry us for any given time, it's been well spread out.” Make no mistake, there is reason to be skeptical about this team, given that the Twins are coming off four straight 90-loss seasons following the team’s 94-win campaign in 2010. Gone are the likes of Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span, as well as manager Ron Gardenhire, and yet top prospects like Oswaldo Arcia, Kennys Vargas and Josmil Pinto are in Triple-A. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, the Glimmer Twins, have lost some of their luster following injury and inconsistent play in the minors. And Alex Meyer, a 25 year old 6’8” hard-throwing pitching prospect that was traded straight-up for Span, has been moved to the bullpen in order to try and straighten him out. Promise resides in youth, and yet most of the team’s best young talent can’t crack the major league roster. The team’s winning ways remain a mystery, which lends credence to the notion that this really is a 75-win team that is bound to regress at some point unless they get a serious push from their best young players. Some people believe that Minnesota has wins “banked” because of the unexpected games won early in the season, while others feel that this team is due for a 10-game losing streak at some point in the season that will even things out. To be fair, this team isn’t all just low-ceiling veterans. Aaron Hicks, 25, appears to have turned things around, at least in some capacity, and Eddie Rosario, 23, should benefit from the major league experience he’s getting right now, just as Trevor May, 25, did when he floundered last year and was able to get his feet under him before this season. Danny Santana, 24, has committed 10 errors at shortstop, however, and his .233/.253/.320 line indicates he’s coming back to earth after hitting .319/.353/.472 in 403 plate appearances while holding his own defensively last year considering he was playing out of position at center field last year, and Vargas has already been sent down to Triple-A in order to try and find his power swing again. “He wasn't driving the ball, they were pitching him tough,” general manager Terry Ryan said, explaining Vargas’ demotion. “If you're gonna be in the DH role, you're gonna ultimately have to be some kind of run producer.” The difference between this year and last year’s club, Ryan believes, is in the team’s ability to win the close games. “The last three or four years we've found ways to lose those games,” he said before the team’s most recent series against the Boston Red Sox. “This year we've just found ways to win instead of lose.” Certainly having Mike Pelfrey, a first round pick in 2005 who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, play to his capabilities helps, as does Kyle Gibson’s improved consistency -- the team’s first round selection in 2009 is suddenly looking like the player analysts though he could become when they rated him as a Top 100 prospect in 2010, ‘11 and ‘13. The Twins have also gotten surprisingly good outings from Blaine Boyer, a 33 year old journeyman, and of course have the reliable Glen Perkins closing games out for them following a season that ended in injury. “I'm not gonna tell you that I'm shocked that we're winning games,” said Ryan. “I said way back in February or March that we kind of like this club, and no one believed us, I know that, because we didn't give you any reason to believe. Now we're starting to win them, and people are starting to see a little bit, 'Hey, maybe they're a little better than we thought.' That's a good feeling.” Even way back in November, when the Gardenhire firing was still fresh, Ryan was talking about playoffs. Following the Nov. 4 press conference announcing the hiring of Molitor, Ryan told the media he expected the team to make the postseason. “As everybody in this game should be pointing towards the playoffs, we are too,” he said in a heated exchange, during which he vowed to supplement the starting rotation. “I expect to get into the playoffs every year. Why should we take the diamond?” A month later he inked Ervin Santana, a notoriously durable 32 year old free agent, to a 4-year, $54 million contract. At the time, he emphasized the team’s depth in the starting rotation while downplaying the need for a bona fide ace. “Well, I’m not sure you need a true No. 1 to get to the postseason,” Ryan said on Dec. 15 following the signing. “We have not had a true No. 1 in many of those years that we got there, so if you’ve got the five solid, you’ve got a pretty good chance to get there, and then let the playoffs dictate exactly where you’re headed.” This sounded insane at the time. Ryan already had the Twins in the postseason, and it sounded like he was making the ace expendable, as though the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals spent upwards of $200 million on Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer just for the hell of it. On top of that, Pelfrey and Ricky Nolasco were not living up to their free agent deals, Gibson was still inconsistent, May was a wild card, and Tommy Milone had not finished the season well after coming over from the Oakland A’s in exchange for outfielder Sam Fuld. At the very least, Ryan got his glut of pitchers now, even with Santana suspended 80 games at the beginning of the year for PED use. Pelfrey and Gibson are the team’s best two pitchers, Phil Hughes appears to have turned things around following a bad start, May is pitching like a top prospect should and Nolasco went 7.2 innings to earn his 100th win in a 7-2 victory over Boston to kick off the homestand. Milone was sent down to Triple-A following a string of uninspiring performances, only to register a 0.28 ERA and 41 strikeouts in four starts with Rochester. When asked about how he’s going to go about bringing Milone back into the fold, Ryan essentially shrugged his shoulders, saying he’ll just see how it plays out. “Things are good, everything is going fine, and his opportunity will arise,” said Ryan. “I don't think there's any question whether or not it's in the next few weeks, but I suspect it will come about. It never fails.” Essentially, Pitchers get hurt or go in slumps; it’s nice to have the depth. Ryan’s words in the offseason have proven prescient so far, but only time will tell if the Twins can keep this pace up. It’s only six games in a 162 game season, but these next few home games matter if only because fans can see this team up close and personal as they close in on Kansas City for the AL Central lead. With Minnesota, a team that hasn’t had a winning season since Target Field opened in 2010, sometimes you have to see it to believe it. This article was originally posted on the Cold Omaha section of 105TheTicket.com. Tom Schreier can be heard at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays with Ben Holsen and Mike Morris and co-hosts a morning show 8-10 a.m. on Sundays. <a href="https://twitter.com/tschreier3" class="twitter-follow-button"

This isn’t exactly the blueprint that we had in mind, going out and signing a guy to $55 million. The ideal is to have them keep coming through the system. – Twins GM Terry Ryan after signing Ervin Santana, 12/15/14 Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan said some intriguing things this offseason, chief among them were: 1) That he wants to make the playoffs this year (“I’m trying to be realistic. Our expectations in that clubhouse should be to make the postseason.” — Nov. 11).2) That the team is fine with five strong and no ace (“I’m not sure you need a true No. 1 to get to the postseason. We have not had a true No. 1 in many of those years that we got there, so if you’ve got the five solid, you’ve got a pretty good chance to get there, and then let the playoffs dictate exactly where you’re headed.” — Dec. 15). 3) That the team still adheres to a draft-and-develop philosophy, but their hand was forced and they had to sign expensive veterans like Ricky Nolasco and Ervin Santana in consecutive offseasons (quote above). For as much as Ryan and the Twins can be fairly criticized for poor trades — some of which were executed by Bill Smith, who still works under Ryan — and hemorrhaging talent (the two are not mutually exclusive) you’ll get straight talk from Minnesota’s GM. While he does often protect his players and occasionally refute a line of questioning, Ryan didn’t hold anything back heading into this season knowing that the Target Field honeymoon was over, the All-Star Game had come and gone, and the team was looking more and more like the mid-2000s Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles than fans and management would like to believe. No taxpayer wants to contribute two-thirds of the cost of a $545 million ballpark, only to have it be home to a perennial 90-loss team. Ryan has not been smug about his team, which has surprised everyone by getting off to a 21-17 start with a starting rotation that has been, well, competent to start the season. Ryan came under fire for giving Mike Pelfrey a two-year, $11 million contract extension after a season in which he went 5-13 with a 5.19 ERA in 29 starts. The former first-round pick looked like he couldn’t pitch after coming off of Tommy John surgery, but has given Minnesota a handful of strong starts this season. Blaine Boyer, a 33-year-old journeyman reliever, broke camp with the team and hasn’t given up a run since April 12. And after a slow start, Torii Hunter is showing glimpses of his younger self: hitting home runs, flipping bats and swallowing fire. So much for the people who didn’t like the Twins filling their roster with low-ceiling veterans instead of high-upside veterans to start the season, I guess. So much for the people who wrote this team off after a 1-6 start that including a 12-3 dismantling by the Kansas City Royals in the home opener. So much for the people who thought he shouldn’t call up Eddie Rosario, who hit a home run in his first at-bat. Or thought Aaron Hicks, who is currently on the roster after hitting .336/.415/.561 to begin the season at Triple-A Rochester, was a first-round bust after struggling in the last two seasons. Or wanted to write off Joe Mauer, currently hitting .283/.344/.366 with two triples, as simply dead weight on the payroll. All are legitimate gripes in some sense, but in the end it’s the wins and losses that count. All of those players, and more — like Shane Robinson, who was a replacement-level player in the St. Louis Cardinals system, and Trevor Plouffe, who has had trouble adapting to third base in recent years — have been critical to the team’s hot start. And all of them have been roundly criticized recently: Pelfrey’s contract was puzzling, Hunter’s defense was awful last season and Mauer is owed $23 million a year. To be fair, Pelfrey has had a few duds, Hunter’s defense isn’t what it once was, and Mauer is not hitting for power, but collectively this team is doing enough to surprise everyone who's not in the Twins organization. Ryan could be smug about this, but everyone knows that a 21-17 start doesn’t matter if the Twins lose 90 games again this year, and it is up to Twins management to keep that from happening. Players will have their ups and downs, of course, and Ryan emphasized being five-deep in the starting rotation, rather than relying on an ace, and he’s got just that. Santana will be coming off of his suspension soon, Tommy Milone has struck out 20 hitters in two starts with Rochester, and Alex Meyer is a highly-rated 25-year-old prospect who still hasn’t pitched in the majors yet. But there’s still cause for concern with this team. Oswaldo Arcia is flawed at the plate and isn’t a great outfielder. He is hitting .257/.350/.427 with 10 strikeouts against righties and .304/.320/.304 with five strikeouts against lefties and if he can’t play in the outfield he’s going to create a logjam at first base and designated hitter. Kennys Vargas has been sent down to Triple-A to clear his head despite hitting .248/.295/.362 with three home runs this year. And it is probably do-or-die for Hicks after two failed attempts to get him hitting at the major league level in the past couple years. As far as the bullpen goes, the team needs a youth movement in order to keep games from getting out of hand. Veteran reliever Tim Stauffer, 32, was supposed to throw three innings in a Class AAA rehab stint, but was removed from the game when he gave up two runs on four hits, had two walks and only recorded four outs. Brian Duensing, 32, owns a 10.57 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched. And setup man Casey Fien, 31, is coming off the disabled list. While Fien and Glen Perkins, 32, are pretty secure in their spots as the eighth and ninth inning guys, sustained success in the bullpen will likely come from the team’s prime-age relievers. Aaron Thompson, 28, is a former first rounder who owns a 3.32 ERA and 1.062 WHIP. Ryan Pressly, 26, is a Rule 5 pick from the Boston Red Sox system who has impressed Ryan since his call up in early May. “Pressly’s got so many good pitches,” said the GM around the time of the call-up. “He’s got enough experience. I was disappointed that he didn’t make this club out of spring training. I’m not surprised, because we’ve seen him do well up here; I’m surprised he didn’t make our club out of camp.” Lester Oliveros — the player to be named later in the Delmon Young trade — is turning 27, has major league experience and owns a 2.08 ERA and 0.923 WHIP in Class AAA this year. And two 25 year olds, J.R. Graham and Michael Tonkin, have major league stuff that they have to hone in order to gain manager Paul Molitor’s trust in high-leverage situations. Hope for a better future ultimately resides in the development of the so-called Glimmer Twins, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, who are supposed to be the team’s Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, but their success will be predicated, in part, on what kind of environment they are in once they reach the major leagues. If they are surrounded by low-ceiling veterans and failed prospects, they will likely fail to reach lofty expectations. If they are surrounded by players in their mid-20s, a handful of veterans and a team on the rise, they will likely provide a boost to a team that’s starting to see its season-ticket holder base, and therefore attendance, dwindle as a result of four losing seasons. For a person deciding whether or not they want to purchase a season-ticket holder package — or just show up to a few games a year knowing beer, food and parking are expensive — they must decide for themselves if they believe in this team’s ability to identify and develop talent. Is Hicks a bust, or is the third time a charm? Is Arcia simply going through growing pains, or is he the next Chris Parmelee, a first round pick in 2006 that is no longer with the team? Is Meyer simply anxious about being on the cusp of the major leagues and therefore not throwing strikes, or are fans going to wish that they could get a refund for Denard Span? Time will tell, but the same people who are handling these three young players right now are also the people who are in charge of developing Sano and Buxton. At heart, the Twins are a homegrown organization, and if they can’t turn their prospects into stars, they won’t be reversing their fortunes any time soon. This story was originally posted on the Cold Omaha section of 105TheTicket.com. Click here to view the article

This isn’t exactly the blueprint that we had in mind, going out and signing a guy to $55 million. The ideal is to have them keep coming through the system. – Twins GM Terry Ryan after signing Ervin Santana, 12/15/14 Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan said some intriguing things this offseason, chief among them were: 1) That he wants to make the playoffs this year (“I’m trying to be realistic. Our expectations in that clubhouse should be to make the postseason.” — Nov. 11). 2) That the team is fine with five strong and no ace (“I’m not sure you need a true No. 1 to get to the postseason. We have not had a true No. 1 in many of those years that we got there, so if you’ve got the five solid, you’ve got a pretty good chance to get there, and then let the playoffs dictate exactly where you’re headed.” — Dec. 15). 3) That the team still adheres to a draft-and-develop philosophy, but their hand was forced and they had to sign expensive veterans like Ricky Nolasco and Ervin Santana in subsequent offseasons (quote above). For as much as Ryan and the Twins can be fairly criticized for poor trades — some of which were executed by Bill Smith, who still works under Ryan — and hemorrhaging talent (the two are not mutually exclusive) you’ll get straight talk from Minnesota’s GM. While he does often protect his players and occasionally refute a line of questioning, Ryan didn’t hold anything back heading into this season knowing that the Target Field honeymoon was over, the All-Star Game had come and gone, and the team was looking more and more like the mid-2000s Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles than fans and management alike would like to believe. No taxpayer wants to contribute two-thirds of the cost of a $545 million ballpark, only to have it be home to a perennial 90-loss team. Ryan has not been smug about his team, which has surprised everyone by getting off to a 21-17 start with a starting rotation that has been, well, competent to start the season. Ryan came under fire for giving Mike Pelfrey a two-year, $11 million contract extension after a season in which he went 5-13 with a 5.19 ERA in 29 starts. The former first-round pick looked like he couldn’t pitch after coming off of Tommy John surgery, but has given Minnesota a handful of strong starts this season. Blaine Boyer, a 33-year-old journeyman reliever, broke camp with the team and hasn’t given up a run since April 12. And after a slow start, Torii Hunter is showing glimpses of his younger self: hitting home runs, flipping bats and swallowing fire. So much for the people that didn’t like the Twins filling their roster with low-ceiling veterans instead of high-upside veterans to start the season, I guess. So much for the people who wrote this team off after a 1-6 start that including a 12-3 dismantling by the Kansas City Royals in the home opener. So much for the people that thought he shouldn’t call up Eddie Rosario, who hit a homerun in his first at-bat. Or thought Aaron Hicks, who is currently on the roster after hitting .336/.415/.561 to begin the season at Triple-A Rochester, was a first-round bust after struggling in the last two seasons. Or wanted to write off Joe Mauer, currently hitting .283/.344/.366 with two triples, as simply dead weight on the payroll. All are legitimate gripes in some capacity, but in the end it’s the wins and losses that count. All of those players, and more — like Shane Robinson, who was a replacement-level player in the St. Louis Cardinals system, and Trevor Plouffe, who has had trouble adapting to third base in recent years — have been critical to the team’s hot start. And all of them have been roundly criticized recently: Pelfrey’s contract was puzzling, Hunter’s defense was awful last season and Mauer is owed $23 million a year. To be fair, Pelfrey has had a few duds, Hunter’s defense isn’t what it once was, and Mauer is not hitting for power, but collectively this team is doing enough to surprise everyone that’s not in the Twins organization. Ryan could be smug about this, but everyone knows that a 21-17 start doesn’t matter if the Twins lose 90 games again this year, and it is up to Twins management to keep that from happening. Players will have their ups and downs, of course, and Ryan emphasized being five-deep in the starting rotation, rather than relying on an ace, and he’s got just that. Santana will be coming off of his suspension soon, Tommy Milone has struck out 20 hitters in two starts with Rochester, and Alex Meyer is a highly-rated 25-year-old prospect that still hasn’t pitched in the majors yet. But there’s still cause for concern with this team. Oswaldo Arcia is flawed at the plate and isn’t a great outfielder. He is hitting .257/.350/.427 with 10 strikeouts against righties and .304/.320/.304 with five strikeouts against lefties, and if he can’t play in the outfield, he’s going to create a logjam at first base and designated hitter. Kennys Vargas has been sent down to Triple-A to clear his head despite hitting .248/.295/.362 with three home runs this year. And it is probably do-or-die for Hicks after two failed attempts to get him hitting at the major league level in the past couple years. As far as the bullpen goes, the team needs a youth movement in order to keep games from getting out of hand. Veteran reliever Tim Stauffer, 32, was supposed to throw three innings in a Class AAA rehab stint, but was removed from the game when he gave up two runs on four hits, had two walks and only recorded four outs. Brian Duensing, 32, owns a 10.57 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched. And setup man Casey Fien, 31, is coming off the disabled list. While Fien and Glen Perkins, 32, are pretty secure in their spots as the eighth and ninth inning guys, sustained success in the bullpen will likely come from the team’s prime-age relievers. Aaron Thompson, 28, is a former first rounder who owns a 3.32 ERA and 1.062 WHIP. Ryan Pressly, 26, is a Rule 5 pick from the Boston Red Sox system that has impressed Ryan since his call up in early May. “Pressly’s got so many good pitches,” said the GM around the time of the call-up. “He’s got enough experience. I was disappointed that he didn’t make this club out of spring training. I’m not surprised, because we’ve seen him do well up here; I’m surprised he didn’t make our club out of camp.” Lester Oliveros — the player to be named later in the Delmon Young trade — is turning 27, has major league experience and owns a 2.08 ERA and 0.923 WHIP in Class AAA this year. And two 25 year olds, J.R. Graham and Michael Tonkin, have major league stuff that they have to hone in order to gain manager Paul Molitor’s trust in high-leverage situations. Hope for a better future ultimately resides in the development of the so-called Glimmer Twins, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, who are supposed to be the team’s Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, but their success will be predicated on what kind of environment they are in once they reach the major leagues. If they are surrounded by low-ceiling veterans and failed prospects, they will likely fail to reach lofty expectations. If they are surrounded by players in their mid-20s, a handful of veterans and a team on the rise, they will likely provide a boost to a team that’s starting to see its season-ticket holder base, and therefore attendance, dwindle as a result of four losing seasons. For a person deciding whether or not they want to purchase a season-ticket holder package — or just show up to a few games a year knowing beer, food and parking is expensive — they must decide for themselves if they believe in this team’s ability to identify and develop talent. Is Hicks a bust, or is the third time a charm? Is Arcia simply going through growing pains, or is he the next Chris Parmelee, a first round pick in 2006 that is no longer with the team? Is Meyer simply anxious about being on the cusp of the major leagues and therefore not throwing strikes, or are fans going to wish that they could get a refund for Denard Span? Time will tell, but the same people who are handling these three young players right now are also the people that are in charge of developing Sano and Buxton. At heart, the Twins are a homegrown organization, and if they can’t turn their prospects into stars, they won’t be reversing their fortunes anytime soon. This story was originally posted on the Cold Omaha section of 105TheTicket.com. Tom Schreier can be heard at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays with Ben Holsen and Mike Morris and co-hosts a morning show 8-10 a.m. on Sundays. Follow Tom on Twitter @tschreier3.