Minnesota Twins: Who Should Complete the Starting Rotation, Baker or Slowey?

There were really only two battles for the Minnesota Twins heading into spring training—one for the utility infielder position and one for starting rotation.

Including Brian Duensing, there were six pitchers competing for the five spots in the Twins starting rotation.

In just under two weeks and 10 Grapefruit League games, manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson have already assigned four of the five starting positions. 

Carl Pavano has already been named the starter when the Twins open the season in Toronto on April 1st. He will be followed in the rotation by Francisco Liriano, who was named Comeback Player of the Year when he pitched to a 14-10 record and a 3.62 ERA last season after posting a 5-13 record in 2009. 

Duensing, who opened the past two seasons in the bullpen, has already been named to the starting rotation. His 2.62 ERA was the best among the Twins starters in 2010 and second only to Matt Capps, who had a 2.00 ERA out of the bullpen for Minnesota.

Nick Blackburn will be the fourth starter in the rotation. For Blackburn, 2010 was a roller coaster ride, as he opened the season with a 6-1 record before floundering to a 10-12 record and a 5.42 ERA with a stint in the minors.

That leaves Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker battling for the fifth starter in the rotation—surprisingly, a battle between Minnesota's top two pitchers since 2007.

Baker's 47 wins are the most by a Twins pitcher over the past four seasons while Slowey is second with 39 victories. Pavano is third with 36 wins while pitching for the Yankees, Indians and Twins, followed by Blackburn (32), Liriano (25) and Duensing (15).

In 2009, Baker led the rotation with a 15-9 record, while Slowey, with a 10-3 record going into the All-Star break, was tied for the league lead in victories. Unfortunately for Slowey, he would not pitch again in 2009 following the break and would have season-ending surgery on his right wrist in late July.

From the Opening Day starter in 2010 to battling for the fifth spot in the rotation for 2011, Baker has fallen further than any other pitcher in the Twins organization.

It's not like Baker and Slowey are on the downside of their careers like many other pitchers that were brought in to round out the rotation, who seemed to just be hanging around. Examples include Steve Carlton at age 42 in 1987, Jim Deshaies at age 34 in 1994 or Mike Morgan at age 38 in 1998. 

Baker and Slowey, at 29 and 27, respectively, should be approaching their primes, looking for a spot towards the top of the rotation instead of bringing up the rear. Both have been given ample opportunities to make their mark and earn a spot on the rotation.

Since he made his debut in 2005, Baker has pitched in 140 games, making 138 starts, and since 2007, Slowey has 82 starts in 86 games.

Part of the problem may be in the average innings per start. Even in this conservative age of babying young arms, Slowey has averaged only 5.7 innings per start and Baker only slightly better at 5.9.

There may be no winner in this battle for the fifth and often least-used position in the starting rotation.

The fifth starter could just be keeping the seat warm until the Twins feel 23-year-old Kyle Gibson is ready to join the majors.

For the loser, it means relegation to the bullpen and the opportunity to replace one of Minnesota's top two relievers since 2004. 

Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier both debuted with the Twins in 2004. Over their seven seasons with Minnesota, Crain averaged 68 games and a 3.42 ERA, while Guerrier averaged 67 games and a 3.38 ERA.

Another potential problem is the fact that Baker is set to make $5 million and Slowey $2.7 million in 2011. The Twins were unable to re-sign either Crain, who was paid $2 million in 2010, or Guerrier at $3.15 million, to contracts for 2011. 

This appears to be an exercise in futility for Baker and Slowey. The best bet is that Baker will be traded to a team in need of pitching early in the season and Slowey could be moved closer to the trading deadline as the Twins either look to give Gibson a shot or slip out of contention and look to reload for 2012.