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Minnesota Twins Spring Training 2006 Report

Franciso Liriano’s fastball clips the radar gun at 98 mph. His slider checks in at 89 mph. Last year, he struck out 204 batters in just 168 innings. His talent is so natural that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pushed his case this Spring until general manager Terry Ryan agreed to let Liriano enter the season out of the bullpen instead of at Triple-A Rochester.

"He's got such a good arm that he can power his way through things,'' farm director Jim Rantz says. "He's been compared to (2004 American League Cy Young Award winner Johan) Santana, and I believe that. Obviously, he doesn't have the changeup right now that Santana has, but the arm strength and quality of his pitches are there right now.''

Not all has been champagne and big league dreams for Liriano this Spring. He was arrested for drunken driving in Florida. Ryan expressed his displeasure with his new hurler, but stood behind his prospect.

"Liriano is amazing,'' says right-hander J.D. Durbin, his teammate at Rochester last year. "I think he's one of the best pitchers in baseball right now.''

- Jim Mandelaro

| Francisco Liriano | Jason Kubel | Matt Moses |
| Glen Perkins | Anthony Swarzak |