MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – One month into his first season with the Minnesota Twins, Delmon Young is still looking for that first home run. That hasn’t stopped him from contributing as he gets comfortable playing in a new ballpark for a new manager in front of new fans.
The power has been slow to come for the 6-foot-3, 200-pound 22-year-old who was acquired from Tampa Bay in the offseason for top pitching prospect Matt Garza in a six-player deal. Young is hitting .265 with just eight RBIs and has been dropped from fifth to seventh in the batting order, but has supplemented his inconsistent production at the plate with occasionally spectacular plays in left field and an aggressiveness on the bases.
“I think he’s trying to settle in a little bit,” first baseman Justin Morneau said. “I don’t think he’s trying to be anything that he’s not. He’s just being the player he is. He can hit. He can run around. He can do a little bit of everything. He’s helped us win some ballgames.”
Young may have looked a little shaky early in the season, chasing after pop flies set against the Metrodome’s baseball-hiding roof, but the ball always seems to wind up in his glove. He only has one error and made two eye-opening catches in Wednesday’s victory over the White Sox.
He dashed about 25 yards in the first inning to track down a line drive by Orlando Cabrera, then covered even more ground in the fifth to make a running catch on a drive by Toby Hall. The night before, Young leaped at the wall to catch a ball off the bat of Jim Thome, then made a strong throw to Brendan Harris who was able to double up Nick Swisher in the eighth inning to preserve the Twins’ 3-1 lead.
“You guys make the roof sound like it’s so tough,” Young said. “The only thing I do is watch it. That’s the only way I’m going to catch it.”
He is tied for the major league lead with four outfield assists and also has six stolen bases, both saving runs and generating them without knocking the ball out of the park.
“He’s very talented. We expect really good things out of him,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.
