Almost 365 days ago, on August 10 of last year, the Twins lost the best young pitcher in baseball, Francisco Liriano. The 22-year-old left hander made the American League All-Star team as a rookie, producing a 10-1 record with a 1.83 ERA. On August 10 he was placed on the disabled list with a strained ulnar collateral ligament on his left elbow. He came back to pitch two innings in a September game and finished the season 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA.
Then came major surgery in November on his left elbow and a long rehab process that likely will end with Liriano able to pitch next season. Liriano, who will be 24 in October, is living in Fort Myers, Florida and throwing as part of his rehabilitation.
“I hear he’s ahead of the game,” Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson told Sports Headliners last month. “He’s headed where he should be in his rehab, but again we’re not going to push him to even think about this year. …We’re fully expecting him to be ready come spring training.”
The Twins have promising young starters in Matt Garza, 23, Scott Baker, 25, and Boof Bonser, 25. Kevin Slowey,23, now back in Rochester, can be included in that group. Plus, the Twins have a franchise pitcher in Johan Santana and another veteran Carlos Silva (both 28). Presuming Liriano is ready next March, there will be sharp competition for jobs in the five-man starting rotation.
Does Liriano receive preferred consideration for a spot based on 2006? “Absolutely, it’s probably his to lose,” Anderson said. “As long as he’s healthy, I am sure it’s a pretty good assumption that he should be in there.”
Anderson said he will be looking less at stats and more at form when Liriano is in spring training. He will want to see how his second potential franchise pitcher is throwing and how he feels.