FanHouse Jose Mijares

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
Chris Carpenter may win one of the closest NL Cy Young races in years, but his final start of the regular season will be better remembered for what he did with that bat.

The right-hander threw five shutout innings in a 13-0 win over the Reds. Six of those Cardinal runs were driven in by Carpenter, who hit the first home run of his career, a grand slam, in the second inning. He added a two-run double later.

"That was one of the funner days I've ever had," Carpenter said. ... "I think the only other home run I hit had to be in high school. I was a really good hitter, I guess, but I grew up in New Hampshire, and we didn't see many 90 mph fastballs."

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FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Minnesota Twins.

Last year was supposed to be the season in which the Minnesota Twins finally had to deal with reality. They traded Johan Santana to the Mets because they couldn't afford him any longer, and the heart and soul of the team, Torii Hunter, left for the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles. Then the Twins went out and won 88 games and were one run shy of making the playoffs after losing to the White Sox in a one-game playoff for the Central title. This is just what the Twins do. They defy everyone's expectations but their own, and odds are they're going to do it again this season.

Wondering which young players could have an impact in the majors this year? Let MLB FanHouse guide the way in Better Know a Prospect. In this edition we look at three players from the Minnesota Twins.

Jose Mijares, RP: Returning from a broken arm last season, Mijares started at the very bottom and worked his way to the top, exceeding expectations every stop of the way. He dominated across four levels of play, beginning with a stint in Rookie league all the way up to 10 phenomenal innings (0.87 ERA, 0.29 WHIP) in the big leagues. Surely he should be able to ride that wave of success into a regular big-league job in 2009, right?