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For the first time in his professional career, Fernando Romero found himself on multiple national prospect rankings. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked Romero as the 68th best prospect while Baseball Prospectus saw him sneak into the top-100 at number 97. ESPN’s Keith Law has him just inside his top-50. Most of this buzz is coming off of his potential to be a starting pitcher but he’s done very well this spring as a relief pitcher. Entering play on Sunday, Romero had yet to surrender a hit in five innings pitched. He continued that streak and added three more hitless innings to his resume. https://twitter.com/MikeBerardino/status/972921086634549254 One of the knocks on Romero has been his command. During his breakout 2016 campaign, he seemed to put it all together. He posted a 0.90 WHIP and a 1.5 BB/9. Last year, his WHIP bumped up to 1.35 and his BB/9 more than doubled (3.2 BB/9). This spring he has been focusing on attacking hitters. Even with that focus he was only successful on getting ahead of three out of the nine batters he faced on Sunday. When Seth interviewed Romero earlier this off-season, he made it clear that fastball command is where it all starts. “That’s all we do. Try to command the fastball and get them out with the slider or change up. Doesn’t matter.” With a fastball in the mid to upper 90s and a devastating slider, one has to wonder if Romero could help the Twins this season in a bullpen role. Former Cy Young winners like Johan Santana and David Price got their starts as relief pitchers. Romero has only pitched over 100 innings once in his career. If the Twins are in the playoff hunt, a shift to the bullpen could be one way he helps the club in 2018. Obviously, the ultimate goal is to have Romero near the top of a rotation. A one-two punch of Jose Berrios and Romero could be quite the homegrown tandem. Twins coaches, including Ivan Arteaga, have been working with Romero to refine his delivery. During the 2017 campaign, Romero was getting into the habit of falling off toward the first base side of the mound. This impacted his control as one can see from the numbers listed above. Coaches like Arteaga have helped him to focus on finishing with his momentum heading toward home plate. “He doesn’t need to overthrow,” Arteaga told the Pioneer Press. “He’s got velo. He’s got power. He just needed to understand that, which I think he did over time. Watching some video and working in the bullpen, he put a lot of effort into following the plan that we have for him.” Romero has impressed this spring and it seems like he could be destined for Target Field this season. Will it be as a starter or as a reliever? Only time will tell…

After another strong season, Trevor Hildenberger is joining some lofty company. Last year, Jose Berrios won the second of his back-to-back Minor League Pitcher of the Year awards before making his big league debut. Now Hildenberger hopes to follow the path laid by Berrios as he has been named the organization’s best minor league relief pitcher for the second consecutive season. Hildenberger got a jump start on his 2016 campaign by competing in the 2015 Arizona Fall League. He made eight appearances and allowed three earned runs on 13 hits. Over 12.2 innings, he struck out 12 and didn’t walk a batter. When reflecting on his AFL season, Hildenberger said, “My experience in the fall league was eye opening to say the least. I distinctly remember the first two pitches I threw in my very first outing out there were both fastballs away that got barreled up and spanked into the outfield for singles (one of them by Daniel Palka). So immediately I realized how important it would be for me to mix speeds and location no matter the batter, the score, or the inning.” He went on to say, “I was coming into that fall straight from A ball and quickly everyone in those lineups had immense talent 1-9. I think working my way through the first half of the fall league helped me learn how to get more advanced hitters out and the second half, maybe my last 6-7 innings, was much smoother. So coming into 2016, I knew if I wanted to continue having success, I needed to mix speeds out of the gate, use my changeup against hitters from both sides of the plate, and utilize my over the top arm slot.” In the AFL Championship Game, he took over for fellow Twins pitcher Taylor Rogers and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. The Scottsdale Scorpions would go on to win the game. As the 2016 season commenced, the Twins took notice of Hildenberger’s AFL performance and brought him over from the minor league side of spring training. This was one of his first opportunities to impress the major league coaching staff. Paul Molitor told the Pioneer Press, “I just know a lot of people have pretty high expectations of what he might be able to do eventually.” In one appearance, he faced off against the reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper. He tried to get ahead of Harper with a fastball but Harper pounced on it for a double to the gap. Hildenberger would get Ryan Zimmerman to finish the frame on three pitches. After the game he told the Pioneer Press, “It was a ton of fun. I hope to draw a lot from it. The experience of warming up and getting the jitters out of the way and facing those two really good hitters- big name guys- and getting one of them out, I feel like that’s a little bit confidence building.” He used that confidence as the 2016 season got underway. During his first six appearances with the Miracle, he allowed one earned run over 9.1 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. By the end of May, he made his Double-A debut. In two of his first five appearances, he allowed two home runs while holding batters to four hits in 6.0 innings. This would be just the start of something special. Over his final 27 appearances, Hildenberger went on an unbelievable run. He allowed one earned run in his last 32.2 innings (0.28 ERA) with a 39 to 5 strikeout to walk ratio. Opponents hit .150/.193/.159 against him during that stretch. “It was a lot of fun pitching during those few weeks when I felt extremely comfortable on the mound,” Hildenberger said.”I was trusting my catchers, both [stuart] Turner and [Mitch] Garver, to call what they felt appropriate and I had the ability and confidence to shake them off (which was rare).” He went on to say, “During that stretch, I was throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters; I felt really comfortable challenging them early in the count because of my confidence in the defense behind me. This led to a lot of quick outs and therefore quick innings. Being able to execute with two strikes and put hitters away was important too, it shortened at bats and innings. Pitching is way more fun when you have the confidence to execute any pitch at any time, and I was lucky to stay that sharp for a portion of the summer.” Lots of coaches have helped Hildenberger to be able to put together this dominate run. “I've been in the Twins organization two and a half years now and I've learned a lot from numerous coaches. You kind of take bits and pieces of what a coach says and work with what helps you the most. For example, the way one coach talks about mechanics and body awareness may click with you more than another coach.” “Personally, Henry Bonilla and Ivan Arteaga have been the pitching coaches that have helped me the most in my pro career. They have been the only two coaches I've had the past two full seasons and have helped me be more aggressive, patient, and calm against increasingly better hitters.” “Henry helped me discover what I can be good at when I was in Cedar Rapids, and how to attack hitters with my strengths. He also helped my mechanics become more repeatable and reliable. Building off that, once I wasn't competing against myself when I was on the mound, Ivan has helped me identify and exploit hitters weaknesses in order to keep getting good hitters out. I think he has a way of getting his pitchers to make adjustments and learning to make those adjustments on their own that is crucial to development.” Besides coaches, pitchers and catchers also have to build a strong relationship. When asked about his battery mates, Hildenberger said, “I've been lucky enough to throw to several good defensive catchers throughout the system. Rainis Silva was my main catcher in the GCL who is a young guy with a rocket arm and controlled the running game well.” “I threw to Brian Navarreto during my time in Cedar Rapids in 2015 and the early part of 2016 with the Miracle. He is another stud who seems to throw out everyone that tries to steal a base. His receiving is what I enjoyed the most because of his ability to get below the ball and bring some fastballs back up to the strike zone which is important for a sinkerballer like me.” Other catchers have also left their mark with Hildberger. “All the defensive praise Stuart Turner receives is true and accurate, but my favorite part about throwing to him was how smart he is. I miss throwing to him since he's with the Reds now. He helped me get hitters out late in games when he remembered their previous three at bats, and possibly more from the night before.” “Mitch Garver is my favorite though, we have always been on the same page whether it be in Fort Myers, the Fall League, or Chattanooga. He has a great feel for how a hitter is feeling in the box, what they are looking for, and how to exploit it. He knows how to get a lot of different kinds of hitters out, and I'm very comfortable throwing to him. Obviously it helps that he threw out close to 50% of attempted base stealers this season. All these guys are so good at controlling the running game that it helps a pitcher worry less about the guys on bases, and focus on the guy in the box.” Hildenberger’s last appearance during the 2016 season was on July 27. He was diagnosed with tendinosis or tennis elbow in his throwing elbow which can result from chronic overuse of the elbow. After undergoing an MRI, doctors found no structural damage and his ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament associated with Tommy John surgery, looked good. At the time of the injury, he told the Pioneer Press, “The ligament is great.” He went on to say, “My flexor tendon has some wear and tear, so I’m shut down for the season.” This winter Hildenberger said, “My arm feels fantastic and I'm ready to enter spring training 100% and ready to compete. I spent the first couple months this offseason down in Fort Myers rehabbing my forearm with Chad Jackson and Corey Dietze. I did a throwing program and got off a mound before coming home to California right before Thanksgiving and it felt great. Like I said, I'm healthy and ready to compete.” Teams have to be cautious with players returning from injury. Each player is going to move at their own pace. Hildenberger has already worked through multiple hurdles and this has helped him to focus on the 2017 campaign. “I have a few goals for the upcoming season: including staying healthy the entire year, pitch in the playoffs, and improve over the course of the year,” Hildenberger said. “But my number one goal is to debut in the big leagues in 2017.” “Trevor had a great year,” said Twins Minor League Director Brad Steil. “He posted dominant numbers in Ft. Myers the first few weeks of the season and then improved on those numbers when he was promoted to Chattanooga.” Steil went on to say, “The most important aspect of the season for Trevor was that he continues to improve in all areas. Both his slider and change-up have improved, and he continues to attack hitters. His competitive focus and work ethic are important factors in his success.” When asked about how it felt to be a back-to-back winner of this award, he said, “It's always nice to be recognized and to be acknowledged like this two years in a row is an honor. I appreciate you guys taking the time to recognize minor league players and their accomplishments. Twins Daily does a good job of keeping up with the Twins affiliates for the diehard Twins fans out there so again, thank you again for this recognition. Back to back is nice and all, but I have no interest in the three peat, hopefully I've graduated from the minors by that time.” Hildenberger is looking to join a Twins’ bullpen that pitched the most innings in the American League in 2016. As Minnesota looks to get back in contention, young arms like Hildenberger will be key to turning the organization around. He has been fantastic for two consecutive seasons and expectations are high for him to make his debut before the end of 2017.

Pitchers in the first part of the 20th century could – and did – legally throw a spitball. Even after the spitter was outlawed, pitchers continued to do whatever they could get away with to gain an advantage over the batter. Roughing up the ball became popular. Now umpires toss baseballs out of the game the moment there’s the slightest scuff noticed on the surface of the sphere. Even legal pitches have come in to, and fallen out of, favor among professional pitchers. Recently, writer Pat Jordan posted an article at SportsOnEarth.com entitled, The Decline of the Curve. Jordan talked to a number of big league pitching coaches about why fewer pitchers are throwing a curveball than was the case in previous eras. Some of the coaches he talked to indicated that their organizations dissuade pitchers from throwing the traditional curve and others indicated that they don’t teach the pitch to their pitchers. Since I’ve observed a number of Cedar Rapids Kernels pitchers throwing curve- balls, I was curious about whether the Twins organization and, in particular, Kernels pitching coach Ivan Arteaga, have any established policy aimed at discouraging use of the curve or any other pitch. Over the past weekend, Arteaga graciously agreed to talk to me about the subject. I started out by asking whether the Twins have any kind of established policy concerning the subject of Jordan’s article, the curveball. “We actually encourage it,” Arteaga said. “We believe in having a complete mix. I believe, this is my opinion, mix creates value. “For example, I’ve got (Ricky) Nolasco this week here. He’s got five different pitches. Throws a slider, he throws a curve, he throws a split, he throws a straight change-up, he’s got a two-seamer. And he throws low-90s. “We were having a conversation and one thing we agreed on was that pitchers in the big leagues actually have to reinvent themselves time and time again. “So that being said, the curve is a pitch that is high-to-low, 12-to-6, you name it. It’ll give you depth. It’ll make your fastball better. It’ll save your arm a little bit. “So we encourage it. If you have the curve, great. If you don’t, we’ll try to teach you one. Hopefully, you can get it." Some of the coaches that talked to Jordan blamed the shrinking strike zone for the demise of the curveball. Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan could throw fastballs at the letters and get them called strikes, which set up their devastating curves. Umpires today won’t call that high pitch a strike and Arteaga agrees that the strike zone getting smaller has had an effect on the choices pitchers have made when it comes to their arsenal. “Over time, pitchers started to throw the change-up more, moving back and forth,” Arteaga observed. “I remember in the 80s and 90s, the split-finger fastball was the pitch to learn and then came the slider. That’s the pitch these days being taught. “Those pitches are basically strike zone down, strike zone right or strike zone left. The curve actually starts up away from the strike zone and it gets in to the strike zone at the end with some depth. “So if you have that pitch, the hitters are so used to looking for pitches in the strike zone, that once they see the ball go up, they give up on it. And then once they give up on it, it’s hard for them to actually make an adjustment and hit it. So they give up on it and you get some weak swings. Arteaga has a theory, beyond those that the coaches Jordan interviewed expressed, concerning why you see fewer pitchers throwing a curveball today. “This goes beyond professional baseball. Because in college, you get big programs, the same way you get big programs in Venezuela, Dominican and Puerto Rico, and so forth and so on. What creates value? The fastball. “Thirty-five or forty years ago you had to mix, you learned how to pitch. These days, you get kids that are 17-18 years old, they’re just fastball throwers. If they throw something else, it will be a change-up and it will be a slider, because it’s easier to throw. But at the same time, it creates more stress on the shoulder and in the elbow." Jordan, in his article, claimed that the curveball actually is easier on the pitcher’s arm than other pitches, which goes against some conventional wisdom in the game. Arteaga agrees, however. “It’s less stressful. It’s not as stressful as the slider.” Arteaga explained. “What happens with the slider is, there’s some kids who believe the slider should be lateral – should be either right or left – it’s more sidewise than it is up and down. And for them to create that, they have to actually drag their arms a little bit. “So when they drag their arm a little, they get a lower angle. Once you want to make that ball spin, the elbow suffers a lot. So you get tight. Once you get tight, those muscles start to pull against those tendons. That’s when you get all the injuries.” There has been talk among the fan base about the Twins limiting the number of sliders and similar pitches that some of their youngest pitching prospects throw in a game. The coach’s next comment perhaps sheds some light on that philosophy. “If you ask an 18-19 year old to pitch at a level like this,” Arteaga observed, “where he understands he has to come up with something more than the fastball, then he’ll throw the slider more than he should. He might not be ready to throw it, because he needs to mix.“ Arteaga doesn’t necessarily see the curve as the hardest pitch for his young pitchers to master. “The change-up to me is like the last pitch to come in an arsenal,” Arteaga said. “There are not many guys that have the feel for the change up and the repeatability for the change-up. And so it’s easier to throw fastball-slider-fastball-cutter than become a fastball-slider-change-up guy. So the change-up is like the last pitch to come into the arsenal. “It’s hard to repeat, because there’s a couple of things that come in to play,” he explained. “One is the grip. You have to find the perfect grip. And number two, you have to find a repeatable delivery, the same as the fastball. So you can get that extension out in front and the pronation to actually make the ball fade a little bit or go down as much as you can. “So you need to repeat it a lot. Almost as much as your fastball. You need to repeat it so you can get that same feeling, every time, of extension, pronation and arm speed. “Because if you ask any guy what they fear the most, it is to leave a fastball or change-up or breaking ball up in the zone. They say, ‘I don’t want to do that,’ so what do they do? They develop a sinker, they develop a slider; anything they can do to make it go down.“ Arteaga was asked about that split-fingered fastball that he acknowledged was all the rage 20 or so years ago. Does he, or do the Twins, teach splitter? “No, we don’t,” he answered quickly. “If you have one out of college or whatever and you can throw it, yeah, we’ll let you throw it. Why not? But we don’t encourage that. “We believe the less stress you put on the arm, the better it is. If you see the games on TV, in the big leagues, you don’t get that many guys throw the split finger fastballs any more. Maybe a few, but not what it used to be. “And it really has to be a good one for you to throw it in the big leagues, because they can see the seams. If it looks like a fastball, yes, you’ve got an advantage. Make it look like a fastball, in and out of the strike zone, you’re OK." As Arteaga alluded to earlier, Nolasco spent the better part of a week in Cedar Rapids, getting a pair of rehabilitation starts in with the Kernels. The interview came before Nolasco’s final Kernels appearance Sunday, but the coach liked what he saw of Nolasco leading up to that point. “He threw everything he’s got in the first outing so I expect the same in this one too. He got in to a jam a little bit there, and struck out a couple of guys. He looked like a big leaguer. Throwing his pitches down, making it go right, left, down. “Like Joe (Mauer) was saying, he’ll make it tough on hitters, when he’s right, he’ll make it tough because everything goes different directions and it’s the same motion. “Just seeing him throw in the bullpen, he’s got command, he’s got control. And he’s healthy, so hopefully he’ll be OK.“ And did Arteaga’s young Kernels pitchers watch the way Nolasco went about his business? “Oh yeah. That’s the way it should be. They’re paying attention.“ A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, it means that on Thursday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.