FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Before Twins pitchers threw their bullpens on the first day of workouts, pitching coach Neil Allen gathered his players to explain a renewed emphasis on fastball command this spring.
As a result, Twins pitchers had to throw three of their five fastballs to the glove side for strikes before moving on to throwing three out of five for strikes to the arm side. If they failed, they had to start over again, and pitchers couldn't throw their offspeed stuff until completing the drill.
"It's an emphasis to try to get them to be as consistent as possible," catcher Jason Castro said.