01/24/2008 12:14 AM ET
Slowey getting tips from the top
Young hurler spending time with veterans during Caravan
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
Kevin Slowey is expected to be in the Twins' rotation during the 2008 season. (A.J. Olmscheid)
OWATONNA, Minn. -- For Kevin Slowey, the past year has been one to remember -- even if he admits that he hasn't taken the time to really appreciate it.
On the southeast leg of the Twins Winter Caravan with fellow pitcher Scott Baker and broadcasters Bert Blyleven and John Gordon, Slowey has gotten a chance to relive his first big league season at each stop. It's been a chance to remember what he did to earn that first callup and what he still has to learn.
But Slowey feels that he has gotten a boost in that learning process by being a part of this particular leg of Caravan.
The common thread of the three players, both former and current, on this trip is that they are all pitchers. And with that similarity has come the opportunity to share stories of their time on the mound and also what it takes to improve.
Considering Blyleven's 23-year career and the stellar numbers he put up during that time, he would seem to be a tremendous resource for any young pitcher. Slowey has taken full advantage of the chance to sit on the long bus rides and talk to Blyleven and Baker about everything from working certain areas of the plate to understanding how to adjust to the type of stuff you have the day you're on the mound.
"It's been great to have him here," Slowey said of Blyleven. "I know he coached a little bit after he got done playing, so he's helped to instruct guys before. But the best thing is that he treats me -- who has had 13 Major League outings in my life -- as a peer and asks our opinions.
"He doesn't tell you what he thinks and then shuts you out. He wants to know what you think about it and what's happened to the game since he's been out of it. So you get a lot out of your talks with him. And it is stuff that you hope you remember when you're out on the field."
Prior to the Caravan, Slowey admits, he had not gotten much of a chance to know the former pitcher.
"Before this week I knew Bert as our announcer, a pretty funny guy and a great pitcher, but now I know him as a lot more than that," he said. "You really see that he's there for you. I think he wants guys to come and ask him and get his opinion on things, to share stories with him. It's been a great opportunity for me to get to know him, and I know I'll seek him out in the future."
It appears that Slowey will have that chance in 2008, as he's expected to be one of the Twins' five starting pitchers for the upcoming season. But he hesitates to put too much stock into projections.
Selected by the Twins in the second round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Slowey has made an ascent through the system that has been rapid, to say the least. And now he knows that he must work just as hard to stay as he did to get to this point.
"Everything has gone a lot quicker than I originally envisioned it," he said. "But ... you just don't know things are going to go. I don't know how it will all shake out in Spring Training. But I'm excited about what's to come, and I'm going to prepare for whatever happens the best that I can."
Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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