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Jose Berrios: The Drive To Be Great

By Ted Schwerzler

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The 2015 Major League Baseball season is quickly approaching and if you have been listening this offseason, the Twins have plenty of storylines that are worth following. In a sport that failing seven out of ten times is considered elite, and impressive pitching performances are few and far between, maybe no one has more confidence than Jose Berrios has displayed this offseason.

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After rising through the Twins farm system in 2014, Berrios burst onto the scene as one of the Twins most exciting prospects. Drafted in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft, Berrios was ranked outside of the top 75 prospects a season ago. Going into the 2015 season, you can be all but guaranteed that he improves upon that.

In looking at the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, Berrios shares some of his thoughts as he approaches the new year.

In an interview with MiLB.com, Berrios substantiated those comments further in saying, “My goal this year is to play in the Major Leagues in April, from Opening Day. It’s not my decision, it’s a team decision, but for me, I need to get ready to play baseball all year.”

A quick look at Berrios’ Twitter account may also tell you all you need to know about his quest for the major leagues. While it seems he has adopted the hashtag “Push The Game,” he has also made a habit of posting pictures of his daily workouts. The results are easily visible in the definition and tone Berrios has added to his frame.

In 2014 Berrios rose through three separate levels of the minor leagues, finishing with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. He pitched to the tune of a 2.76 ERA and struck out batters at a 9.0 K/9 clip, while limiting his walks to just 2.4 per nine innings.

After being notified that he would in fact be coming to Fort Meyer on a big league Spring Training invite, the throttle appears to have shifted into full gear. Regardless of the amount of pitchers already laying claim to the Twins starting rotation, Jose Berrios will be doing everything in his control to make sure that his name appears amongst the five.

Forget how high the deck is stacked against him, what the conventional timetable may be, or the fact that the 20-year-old will be in unprecedented territory for the Twins, you won’t find anyone betting against Jose Berrios here.

Next: Positional Battles: Who's Fighting For The Twins Rotation?

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