The newest Twins was born John Bonser; he acquired the nickname Boof from his grandmother as a kid.It became the only name anyone ever called him by, so he legally changed it five years ago.
Boof is 24 years old, and was acquired from the Giants in the AJ trade.
To recap that deal, the Twins got Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof from the Giants for AJ. And at the time, Boof was supposed to be the main piece of the trade.
He's big (6-4, 250), right-handed and throws hard.
In 2001, at A-ball, he went 16-4 with a 2.49 ERA and 178 Ks in 134 innings.
In 2002, at high A-ball, he went 8-6 with a 2.88 ERA and 139 Ks in 128 innings.
His first full year with the Twins, in 2004, he went 12-9 with a 4.37 ERA in Double-A before getting called up to Triple-A Rochester in time to make one start.
He went 7 innings, allowed one run on five hits and fanned seven to get the win.
He spent all of last year in Rochester, and went 11-9 with a 3.99 ERA. In 160 innings he had 168 Ks - the most strikeouts in all of Triple-A ball.
The Twins didn't give Boof much of a look this spring, so even though he's currently 3-2 with a 2.01 ERA in Triple-A, you have to wonder if the Twins think he's ready.
Then again, he can't be any worse than Lohse and Silva have been.
I wouldn't expect Boof to make a significant impact, especially this year.
I think he projects to be at best a 3rd or 4th starter.
Basically, I would expect him to have a career similar to that of Lohse, although he could be an excellent reliever one day.
But, unlike Lohse, he doesn't make 3.95 million a year.
**The really good news when it comes to Twins pitching prospects is Matt Garza.
He was the Twins No. 1 draft pick just last year, and he blew through A-ball already.
The 22-year old righty from Fresno State was just called up to Double-A New Britain, and in his first start, pitched a one-hitter with 13 Ks in 7 innings!
He might be in the rotation next year.
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