Gardenhire taking own notes on prospects

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire got a glimpse of the future on Tuesday, as he saw Vance Worley and prospects Alex Meyer and Kyle Gibson throw live batting practice to Twins hitters.

Of that group, Worley, who came over in the trade that sent Ben Revere to Philadelphia, is the only lock to make the rotation this spring, while Gibson is competing for a spot.

Meyer and Gibson, however, are regarded as two of the better pitching prospects in baseball, as Meyer was ranked the No. 40 overall prospect and Gibson was ranked No. 49, according to MLB.com.

"I saw some pretty good arms on my field," Gardenhire said. "Kids throwing the ball, winging it. Pretty good angles with some pretty good arms. Always fun to watch, get a chance to see them versus hitters. But it's still just versus our hitters. First time out there, throwing live BP in a while for these guys, so you have to calm them down a little here and there. Most of them handle themselves pretty well. The younger ones want to show the world."

Gardenhire said his goal this spring is to see as much as he can of the prospects and new additions in camp instead of just relying on scouting reports.

"I'm making my own decisions," Gardenhire said. "I haven't seen these guys enough to sit there and read reports and have somebody tell me this or that. I want to see them. I need to see these guys. I want to make my own decisions."

Gardenhire said he'll lean on his coaches, especially pitching coach Rick Anderson, for reports on the players in camp but ultimately he's in charge of putting together the roster for Opening Day along with general manager Terry Ryan.

"I still want to see what these guys have individually," Gardenhire said. "I want to see them. I want to get a feel for them. That's why I get out there on the drills and spend a lot of time with the pitchers, and fundamentals. Because I get to know them there, I get to see their makeup, I can see if they really want to get into this stuff or if they just want to go through the motions. I can see it all. It's pretty easy to see. So I want to make my own decisions, rather than seeing a scouting report."