When the Twins open a three-game series at Cleveland on Tuesday, Garrett Jones will be their new DH. This could be a four-game tryout, with Scott Baker likely taking that 25-man roster spot to start Saturday’s game at Milwaukee.

Today, as only he can, Aaron Gleeman breaks down Jones’ minor league track record, pointing to his age (Jones turns 26 next month) and disturbing strikeout-to-walk totals. There’s also an interesting comparison to Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Matthew LeCroy, using a stat called isolated power.

In their wildest dreams, the Twins could hope for the kind of week from Jones that Oakland just got from minor-league journeyman Jack Cust. I covered Jack with the Orioles in 2003, and what made him so intriguing was the combination of power and patience at the plate. Cust actually has been too patient. Last year for Class AAA Las Vegas, for example, he hit 30 homers and drew 143 walks (which helped produce a .467 on-base percentage), but he also struck out 125 times. I figured Billy Beane would grab him eventually, and now that seems like a match made in heaven.

Let’s be clear here: Jones is no Cust. Over the past three seasons, he has 50 home runs for Rochester, but he’s had 255 strikeouts and 93 walks. But maybe Jones has one of those fairy tale weeks. I’ve spoken to him only a few times at spring training, but you can tell how hard he works, and he seems like a great guy. Here’s a telling quote about Jones from today’s Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

“I’ve called a lot of guys into the office to send them to the big leagues and this was probably the most gratifying, emotional callup for a player I’ve ever experienced,” said Wings manager Stan Cliburn. “He’s come a long way and he’s a class act on and off the field.”

This entry was posted on Monday, May 14th, 2007 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Around MLB, Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.