It’s been a long ride for P.J. Walters, 27, who is getting his first serious taste of the big leagues in his six year professional career. In 2010, his daughter was born prematurely, and died in the final days of spring training. After getting traded to the Blue Jays late in 2011, he made one appearance before getting sent down to AAA and posting a 8.38 ERA with 44 hits in 29 innings.
In the world of professional baseball, he was getting darn near the end of the line, before the Twins took an insurance flier on him this offseason. It was considered a very minor move, mainly an “if all hell breaks lose” signing.
Well, all hell did break lose, and after his strong start at AAA, and an implosion by the Twins starting staff, Walters found himself as one of the more unassuming starting pitchers on a big league roster. His fastball can rarely touch 90, and he’s never been a top prospect, but pitches with fire in his eyes, movement on the ball, and a quick pace with somewhat deceptive all-effort windup. Perhaps most importantly in the short-term, he has come out of nowhere and opposing hitters have no idea what to expect.
Yesterday, Walters turned in the best pitching performance of the year for the Twins, a complete game with only two runs allowed. Afterwards, he thanked his teammates, hugging pitching coach Rick Anderson when he came off the mound. For a team of mostly veterans, this was perhaps a touching and inspiring sight.
The team has truthfully been in a bit of a rut in recent years, pinned to a starting staff of relatively successful players that seemed to lack drive and focus at times. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau have both won MVPs, and are in the middle of long careers. After a dismal start, many teams would start going through the motions, playing out the season.
What Walters brings, and hopefully Cole DeVries and Scott Diamond, is some life and excitement to the staff. These are players getting their first big opportunities, possibly make-or-break moments for their careers. Division rivals have also grown accustomed to the same style of starters from the Twins, and perhaps now isn’t a bad time for a house-clearing, giving a few pitchers opportunities they’ve never had.
Hopefully the rest of the team feeds off the new energy, which has happened more routinely over the past two weeks
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