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Minnesota Twins Spring Training 2006 Report

Jason Kubel crashed onto the scene in 2004, hitting a combined .352 with 22 home runs and 100 RBI I 127 games between Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester. He was named MLN's Minor League Player of the Year, No. 2 in the MLN FAB50 2004 Baseball rankings and earned a callup to the Twins, where he hit .300 in 23 games.

The biggest crash, though, came that October, when Kubel collided with Arizona Fall League teammate Ryan Raburn and tore three ligaments in his left knee, forcing him to miss the entire 2004 season.

 "When I saw him in Instructional League this past October, I was worried,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire says. "I didn't think he was moving well at all. But he came in here this spring and looks so much better. He's going to be a very good hitter.''

Despite the 16-month layoff, Kubel earned a spot on the Twins' Opening Day roster. He figures to share time in right with Michael Cuddyer and Lew Ford. He has been compared by some to Brian Giles. Joe Altobelli, the manager on Baltimore's 1983 world championship team, now a radio analyst in Rochester, likens Kubel to "a young Roger Maris.”

Kubel pronounces himself "100 percent'' and has tremendous plate discipline. Healthy, he could be one of the American League's top hitters in the near future.

 

- Jim Mandelaro

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