Don’t know if you had a chance to check it out, but the MLB Network yesterday aired the documentary. `We Are Young: A Baseball Family” a look at a couple years in the careers of Delmon and Dmitri Young.

Joe C., Jim Souhan and I watched a pilot of the film a while ago, and we came away with this observation: Their father, Larry Young, drove them hard and demanded perfection, and he became the first dad to have two sons who both were selected among the first four overall picks of the draft. The film also dealt with Delmon’s suspension for throwing a bat at an umpire and Dmirti’s battle with diabetes.

I talked to Delmon about the film on Sunday. He wanted to watch it again but there’s no cable in the house he’s staying at.

“I’ve seen it before,” he said. “They put on a good production. They followed me and my brother for a couple of years. It’s finally good for them to get it out there.”

I sure Twins fans are waiting to see the swing that Larry Young built launch a few more balls into the seats this season. Delmon tinkered with his approach during the offseason to get the most out of it. He’s more spread out in his stance, which has cut down on his leg kick and allows him to be a little quicker to the ball. Delmon told me Sunday that he thought his timing is a little off - and he said that one day after hitting three rockets against the Yanks.

Getting timing down is what spring is for. Let’s see how much Young’s approach helps him.

Gutierrez to throw

Heard last night that righthander Carlos Gutierrez, one of the Twins’ two first-round picks last year, will pitch today against the club that drafted him. Gutierrez is with Puerto Rico for the WBC.

I can’t wait to see him pitch. I watched him get knocked around during the College World Series last year and blogged my observations. The Twins have been letting me have it ever since. They better hope he doesn’t get knocked around again today!

Actually, I’m kidding a little bit. Gutierrez has a major league caliber sinker and should be in the majors within a year or two. I think the Twins are doing the right thing by making him a starter. That way, he can see a lot of hitters and work on other pitches. He still projects to be reliever but you never know if he’ll take off as a starter and become a Derek Lowe.

Third base race

I wrote about Luke Hughes in today’s ink editions. This is big year for him because other third base prospects are closing in.

Danny Valencia will start the season at Class AA New Britain but projects to be more well-rounded than Hughes.

Deibinson Romero will open the season at Class A Fort Myers. Romer drove in 10 runs in one game a couple years ago while at E-Town  but missed a chunk of last season after breaking a leg while playing at Class A Beloit. He’s raw but looks very athletic at third.

And the Twins are high on fifth round pick Nick Romero, who should open the season at Beloit. Romero got lost in the shuffle last season because he was on the E-Town bomb squad but the Twins like his bat.

So Hughes needs a big year in the race to replace Joe Crede after 2009.

Speaking of the minors

Was over at the minor league complex last week, and was told that this is the preferred infield at Class A Fort Myers.

1B Henry Sanchez

2B Drew Thompson

SS Paul Kelly

3B Deibinson Romero

Romero isn’t a surprise. Kelly isn’t either. But the other side of that infield….

Thompson was a second round pick in 2005 but has had bad problems the past two seasons. This might be his last chance.

Sanchez was a sandwich round pick in 2005 who has had wrist, knee - and weight - problems. Sanchez, considered one of the best prep power hitters in the draft when taken, weighed over 280 pounds at one point last year but word is that he’s under 260 and is serious about getting his career on track. We’ll see….

And finally….

Joe C. has arrived and is fired up to get started! We’ll be tag-teaming it the rest of camp, with plenty of video updates. And it looks like I’ll be part of a live chat with Howard on Thursday. Stay tuned….

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 7:50 am and is filed under preseason. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.