With exactly 20 days until Opening Day at the Metrodome pitchers are starting to stretch out longer outings and increase their pitch count. After the hitters edition it’s time to take a look at Who’s Hot/Who’s Not for the pitchers.

HOT

Kevin Slowey – Slowey looks like he’s already in midseason form allowing just two runs over nine innings this spring. Slowey has an awesome 10/1 strikeout to walk ratio and has only give up six hits total. I really believe Slowey can be on of the best #3 starters in the league this year.

Francisco Liriano – The Twins have really had a lot of strong pitching performances thus far in Ft. Myers, but it’s very promising to see Liriano shine this spring. The “Franchise” has a 2.19 ERA over 12.1 IP with a great 12/2 strikeout to walk ratio. Liriano was perfect in his last outing giving up zero runs, zero hits, and zero walks over four innings. With another year removed from Tommy John surgery, Liriano looks poised to return to his dominant form and I believe could be the X factor between a good Twins club and a potential World Series Twins club.

NOT

Jose Mijares - When the Twins signed Luis Ayala it became unsure if Mijares would make the Opening Day roster, but that was only because of youth and not production. However, Mijares has made the decision easy for the Twins posting a 10.13 ERA this spring. Mijares has walked eight batters and allowed eight hits in just 5.1 innings. Ron Gardenhire has expressed frustration with Mijares’ weight as well as his focus. Expect Jose to work out his issues in Rochester and be back with the club by summer time.

Scott Baker – After being anointed the Opening Day starter Baker has faltered a bit this spring. The staff ace has allowed 12 runs in 13 innings and a staggering 24 hits for an 8.31 ERA. For a smart, experienced pitcher like Baker these numbers aren’t too much to worry about and I still think Scott will have a big year as the Twins’ #1 starter, but the eight homeruns allowed this spring is a little concerning.

Compared to hitters I believe it takes longer for pitchers to get up to speed in February/March so all stats good and bad have to be taken with a grain of salt. With that said the Twins are in a good position heading into 2009 with a core of five young, solid starters in the rotation and Joe Nathan as an anchor in the bullpen.

This article can also be found at BaseballDigest.com