Camp sights: Twins almost ready for big power move

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Part of Torii Hunter's role back with his original franchise is to influence the collection of prospects the Twins hope to build around.

Hunter scans the room from his veterans-perk corner and grins.

"They're big-time power and there isn't big-time power around anymore," says the 39-year-old, back after a seven-year detour in a futile search for a World Series ring. "They're NEW power."

He's right. In a game of suddenly declining offense, the Twins are collecting what could be downright scary power.

It was last spring when Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas went to a back field at the Twins spring complex and challenged, taunted and cajoled each other into one batting practice home run after another. The only ones not laughing were the suddenly endangered drivers on a nearby street.

Their official arrival was delayed because Buxton missed most of last season with injury and Sano all of it. Vargas, who was never up the prospect pecking order with the others, made it to Minnesota and contributed nine homers and 38 RBI in 53 games.

They're all healthy again and imposing just to look at. Especially Sano at 6-3, 262 and Vargas at 6-5, 289. Buxton is a more typical 6-2, 190, but no matter.

"These guys are athletes," says Hunter, who sees the hulking Vargas developing much as David Ortiz did more than a decade ago in the same organization. "And Sano is a third baseman. You learn how to hit in this organization. They don't go for hackers."

Neither Buxton nor Sano is likely to make the team this spring, especially because they need catch-up time for what they missed last year. They'll sharpen their obvious tools a bit more.

"There's a lot more to this game," says Hunter, whose nearest locker neighbors are Buxton and Aaron Hicks, the 2008 first-rounder who has hit .201 in his first two seasons in Minnesota. "I've seen guys with great talent, then in three or four years they're out of the game because they didn't make adjustments."

That's where, the Twins hope, Hunter comes in.

**

20 going on 35

The sooner the Twins rotation gets younger, the sooner this team is likely to contend again.

It won't be a total turnover, considering Phil Hughes is signed through 2019, Ervin Santana through '18 and Ricky Nolasco through '17. But the difference-makers should be whichever current prospects force themselves into the mix.

Expect it to happen soon – very soon.

At least that's the information Jose Berrios is offering this spring.

The 20-year-old would have turned some heads first as the starter in the spring-opening victory over the University of Minnesota. Yeah, it was just a college team he shut down, except that 18 players on the Gophers roster were older than Berrios.

Then it was three official innings without an earned run against Baltimore last week.

Turned heads? Everyone already was watching. They've been watching since he started the All-Star Futures Game last year in Minneapolis.

Berrios, you see, is the twig among the trees in the Twins clubhouse. But at a lean 6-foot and 187 pounds, he's also making sure he's the branch of the prospect pipeline you can't help but notice.

The 2012 first-rounder from Puerto Rico already is one of the more active Twins in social media, interspersing inspirational messages with his obvious confidence on Twitter -- @JOlaMaquina.

That's JO for his given name, Jose Orlando, and "la maquina" is Spanish for the machine.

Even before his strong pitching to start the spring, Berrios had his eye on the major league rotation. He lists it among the goals he's plenty willing to tell you about.

"Make the rotation, make the All-Star Game and, at the end of the year, win the Rookie of the Year," he says, smiling. "Those are my main goals."

He's smiling because, well, he's pretty much always smiling. He's serious about his check list.

"Yeah, those are hard," he says, "But I like it to be hard so I work hard every day."

Told that Justin Verlander has displayed similar honest confidence by saying one of his goals when he got to the major leagues was to make the Hall of Fame, Berrios says, "Oh, yeah, that too. That's my goal, too. But, I mean, step by step."

Manager Paul Molitor, who describes Berrios as "20 going on 35," is on board.

"A lot of poise for 20," Molitor says. "I haven't been following his Twitter account but I think he's pretty confident too. Not in a bad way. If I could pitch like that at 20 I would be confident too.''

Berrios sees his confidence and energy as an important part of his game, along with the 95 mph ("Yeah, and maybe more," he says) that helped him strike out 140 and allow just 118 hits in 139 innings last year as he moved through three levels to Class AAA.

"I get pumped a lot," he says. "I have to be more loose, more spicy. That's what I need."

He admits his first start in a major league uniform had him almost too excited.

"Sometimes to be comfortable you have to say, 'Hey, wait,' " he says. "Stay in the game, stay pumped up but not too much. I can control that."

But Berrios wants to be infectious. He thinks it helps his team play with similar energy and he finds that fans follow along. And the higher the level, the more fans, the more excitement. That Futures Game was a first taste of the big league atmosphere he's aiming for.

"That's what I want," Berrios says. "That will be good."

**

Catching the ball

Paul Molitor started games in the major leagues at every position except pitcher and catcher. So, he's keeping a close eye on the defensive development of a team that was next to last in the majors last year in the Total Fielding Runs metric, ahead of only Detroit.

In fact, the only individual Twins with positive (or above average) Total Fielding Runs ratings were outfielder Jordan Schafer, first baseman Joe Mauer and departed infielder Pedro Florimon.

Molitor is open about his team's limitations, especially in the infield, but says he saw progress last year.

"(Shortstop Eduardo) Escobar was fine once he took over from Florimon," Molitor says. "I would give him at least average (range) or maybe a little above. Obviously, there are some guys who are little more athletic."

Second baseman Brian Dozier is a converted shortstop.

"Dozier keeps getting better," Molitor says. "For only having been there a couple years, his instincts over there are good. He understands the nuances of the position, like deking runners, anticipating pitches and staying locked into signs. He's engaged. A big part of being a defender is staying engaged."

Include third baseman Trevor Plouffe on the manager's list of the improved.

"He's never going to have the league's best range," Molitor says. "We want consistency. We saw that for the most part."

And then there's Mauer, the All-Star catcher getting more comfortable after his initial season at first base.

"It was never a lack of understanding the position or athleticism," Molitor says. "It was just a matter of situations in which he had to find out for himself at what pace he needed to play over there. After having a year under his belt, we're going to try to get him to notch up that aggressiveness from time to time. Overall, we were pleased with how he took that over."

There's even Kennys Vargas, the DH who could see time at first in interleague games at National League parks.

"You hope he becomes adequate and not a liability," Molitor says. "Obviously, his size makes it difficult for him as far as range. His hands are OK. Being in shape and all those things he's working on will help."

As for the infield as a whole, expect to see Molitor embrace plenty of defensive shifts.

"Can't deny the information," he says. "We'd rather have a hitter have to adjust to us."

GALLERY: Spring training scenes