Named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year after hitting .385/.418/.442 with 39 steals and 71 runs scored in 64 games during his final season at Texas A&M University, Jason Tyner was selected by the Mets with the 21st overall pick in the 1998 draft. It was considered an odd pick at the time, because with a slight build, mediocre plate discipline, and almost zero power, Tyner certainly didn't fit the profile of a first-round prospect.

Tyner was pushed very aggressively right away, reporting directly to high Single-A after signing and hitting .303/.361/.343 in 50 games. He jumped up to Double-A in 1999, batting .313/.387/.369 in 129 games, and then hit .321/.380/.349 in 84 games at Triple-A in 2000. Tyner made his major-league debut on June 5, 2000, leading off the game with a single against Mike Mussina. He remained with the Mets for the rest of the month and struggled, going just 6-for-38 (.158) following a two-hit debut.

On June 28, the Mets traded Tyner and fellow former first-round pick Paul Wilson to the Devil Rays in exchange for Bubba Trammell and Rick White. Given his size, skill set, and college numbers, Tyner's performance during his first three pro seasons was almost exactly what the Mets should have expected. Whether or not that was actually the case, the Mets sent him packing after a rough first three weeks in the majors, almost exactly two years after using a first-round pick on him.

Tyner finished the season by hitting .241/.281/.265 in 37 games with the Devil Rays and began the next year back at Triple-A. After hitting his usual .312/.371/.338 in 39 games there to begin the 2001 season, the Devil Rays called him back up in late May and Tyner played in 105 of the team's final 122 games. Alternating between center field and left field while primarily leading off for a team that went 62-100 in its fourth year of existence, Tyner batted .280/.311/.326 with 31 steals in 420 plate appearances.

While far from good, that performance apparently made the Devil Rays view a 24-year-old Tyner as a long-term building block, because they scheduled "Jason Tyner Bobblehead Day" for the next season. Unfortunately, Tyner hit just .214 through the team's first 45 games and was sent back to Triple-A at the end of May, before the bobbleheads could be given away. Tyner returned to Durham and posted his usual .291/.362/.348 hitting line in 88 games, but remained in the minors for the rest of the season.

After a poor spring, Tyner began the 2003 season back at Durham. He was called back up in mid-May and remained in the majors for about a month, hitting .290/.355/.391 in 78 plate appearances. Those numbers were by far the best of Tyner's career and essentially represented the best-case scenario based on his extensive minor-league track record. Despite that, the Devil Rays demoted him to Triple-A again in early June and then gave him sporadic playing time following a recall in mid-August.

Now 25 years old and with parts of four big-league seasons under his belt, Tyner had gone from one of the Devil Rays' "stars" to being completely absent from their plans within the span of about 18 months and 250 at-bats. Placed on waivers shortly after the 2003 season, Tyner was claimed by the Rangers, who released him the next spring. He signed a minor-league contract with the Braves for 2004 and reported to Triple-A, but was released in late July after hitting .288/.346/.358 in 64 games.

Tyner latched on with the Indians about a week later and finished the season strong with their Triple-A team, hitting .345 in 38 games. That performance failed to earn him a September call up to Cleveland and Tyner signed a minor-league deal with the Twins following the season. Tyner spent the 2005 season at Rochester, batting .286/.351/.334 in 133 games. Unlike with the Indians, that earned him a call-up once rosters expanded in September and Tyner hit .321/.367/.375 in 60 plate appearances.

Satisfied by his experience with the Twins or simply tired of bouncing from one organization to another, Tyner re-signed following the season and reported back to Triple-A in 2006. He hit .329/.379/.405 in 80 games at Rochester, posting the best numbers of his career aside from that 38-game stint at Triple-A Buffalo in 2004. That earned him a trip back to Minnesota in mid-July and this time Tyner worked his way into significant playing time.

Stepping in as the starting center fielder with Torii Hunter sidelined and then taking over for the injured Shannon Stewart as the starting left fielder once Hunter returned, Tyner batted .312/.345/.353 in 232 plate appearances. Tyner started 58 of the team's final 75 games and saw the second-most playing time of his career behind only that bobblehead-inducing 2001 season with the Devil Rays. Improbably, he also started at designated hitter in two of the three playoff games against the A's.

Now 30 years old, Tyner headed to spring training in Fort Myers this March as part of the team's plans and left camp with a big-league roster spot for the first time since 2002. Initially slated to serve as the Twins' fourth outfielder, Tyner found himself in the starting lineup by Game 3 and started 24 of the team's first 60 games (including 10 starts at DH). After a strong start, Tyner cooled off considerably and has hit .264/.313/.321 in 116 plate appearances.

In parts of the three seasons with the Twins, Tyner has hit .300/.339/.347 in 408 plate appearances. Take a look at how that performance compares to what he did with the Devil Rays (and Mets):

TEAM            PA      AVG      OBP      SLG     BB%      SO%     IsoP
Tampa Bay      844     .257     .294     .299     4.4     10.5     .042
Minnesota      408     .300     .339     .347     4.4      7.4     .047

While in Tampa Bay, Tyner seemingly focused on using his speed once he was on the bases, rather than actually working to get on base at a solid rate. That produced 46 steals in 844 plate appearances, but more importantly he made an out over 70 percent of the time he stepped to the plate. Whether you choose to look at it as "since being let go by the Devil Rays" or "since joining the Twins," Tyner has shifted his concentration from running while on the bases to getting on base to begin with.

Prior to 2005, Tyner attempted a stolen base for every 4.3 times he reached base. Since then, he's attempted a stolen base for every 11.5 times he reached base. Some of that is due to age slowing him down, but it's also because the Tyner-era Devil Rays simply equated "leadoff man" with "running fast." While not running nearly as much, what Tyner has been able to do with the Twins is actually more valuable for a player with his skill set.

Tyner's plate discipline and power have essentially remained non-existent in Minnesota, but the one significant change in his game is making far more contact. Prior to 2005, Tyner struck out in 10.5 percent of his plate appearances, but since then he's dropped that to 7.4 percent. That may not seem like much, but it's big for a player whose hits are almost all slapped through holes, blooped in front of outfielders, bunted, or chopped in places where he can beat the throw to first base.

The idea that making better contact and putting more balls in play leads to more hits is basically true for all hitters, but for someone like Tyner it's even more important than usual. He has yet to hit a homer in 1,252 career plate appearances, which is the longest homerless drought among active players and the third-longest in all of baseball over the past 50 years. Toss in just 33 doubles and nine triples over that span and 87 percent of Tyner's hits have ended with him standing on first base.

Because of that, it's no coincidence that since 2005 Tyner's batting average has risen 17 percent while his strikeouts have dropped 30 percent. For many hitters, cutting down on strikeouts would also mean cutting down on power, which might actually hurt their batting average and overall production. However, with Tyner the ball isn't going far anyway, so the equation is simple: If he puts more balls in play, he'll be standing safely on first base more often.

Even with an improved approach at the plate, Tyner's complete lack of secondary skills make him one of the rare hitters who can avoid having significant value even when batting .300. Despite a .271 career batting average (including an even .300 with the Twins), Tyner's OPS is just .624. When compared to the league average, that ranks as the second-worst OPS of any outfielder with at least 1,250 plate appearances in the past 50 years:

                      PLAYER     LEAGUE      DIFF
Peter Bergeron         .612       .786      -.175
JASON TYNER            .624       .765      -.141
Doug Dascenzo          .590       .715      -.125
David Hulse            .644       .763      -.120
Darren Lewis           .645       .764      -.116
Eric Owens             .664       .780      -.116
Brian Hunter           .660       .773      -.113
Adrian Brown           .666       .779      -.113
Chuck Carr             .649       .760      -.112
Milt Cuyler            .631       .739      -.109

What's amazing is that Tyner's .271 batting average is the highest of anyone on the above list and four of the other nine hitters batted .250 or worse (including Peter Bergeron at .226). In other words, not only is he incredibly unproductive, Tyner is the epitome of an "empty batting average." Tyner hasn't lost much speed yet and possesses just enough range defensively to be passable in center field, which makes him at best a "textbook" fifth outfielder.

Unfortunately, he's been stretched into a much bigger role since joining the Twins. Hunter's presence in center field, the Twins' lack of offensive depth, and Ron Gardenhire's infatuation with banjo-hitting speedsters have led to Tyner starting regularly at DH and spending most of his outfield time in left field. Not only does that negate whatever limited value he potentially brings to a team, it highlights his considerable weaknesses.

That Tyner has already started 21 times at a position other than center field says an awful lot about Gardenhire's lineup choices, Terry Ryan's roster construction, and the Twins' offense as a whole. The Mets quickly realized that using a first-round pick on Tyner was a mistake and the Devil Rays quickly realized that treating him like a long-term building block was silly, but somehow the Twins haven't figured out that one of the worst-hitting outfielders of the past half-century shouldn't be starting at DH.

AG.com passed 3,000,000 total visitors yesterday morning, which means that if I could have somehow found a way to charge each reader 50 cents per visit since the site launched in August of 2002, I could quit blogging and retire already. Instead, I've found a way to charge absolutely nothing and there's no end in sight. Despite that, my thanks goes out to everyone who's stopped by this site over the past five years, whether once or a thousand times.

I've lucked into a pretty good life for myself, and none of it would have been possible without this blog and the people who read it. I started blogging because launching my writing career through a more traditional path was proving difficult, but I never imagined that this blog could actually create an entirely different path to follow. Back then, when a dozen readers who weren't related to me was a very good day for traffic, I also never imagined thousands of people coming here each day.

Even now, after nearly five years of doing this on a daily basis, a number like 3,000,000 is truly mind-boggling. The people who read this site motivate me to keep going even when typing up a new entry seems like the last thing in the world that I'd want to do on a given day. I'm not sure how much blogging I have left in me, which is why I won't say something cliche like "here's to another 3,000,000," but I will say that the first 3,000,000 has been a fun ride. Thank you.

Opening the floor up for questions last week led to over 100 being asked in the comments section and another three dozen or so being sent in via e-mail. Responding to all of them would be pretty tough, but I'll tackle as many as possible by breaking up the answers into two entries. Wednesday's installment covered the "random" questions about this blog, my personal life, and basically anything not directly related to the Twins. Below you'll find my responses to baseball-related questions.

Do you think Jason Tyner should be getting more at-bats?

I think you spelled "fewer" wrong.

If you could pick one position that the Twins should try to upgrade before the trading deadline, what would it be?

Relative to the rest of the league, the Twins' biggest weaknesses offensively have been third base, shortstop, left field, and designated hitter. Left field or DH are the easiest places to upgrade, because defensive considerations are minor and it's usually not overly difficult to find a decent veteran rent-a-bat at midseason. I expect Jason Kubel to perform much better than he has and view him as a long-term building block, but that still leaves one lineup spot wide open for a defensively challenged hitter.

Like Kubel, I expect Jason Bartlett to improve in the second half and hold down shortstop for several more years. Plus, acquiring a quality shortstop at midseason would be both difficult and incredibly costly. On the other hand, Nick Punto is no one's idea of a long-term third baseman and could be replaced via trade more easily. Beyond that, the Twins have no capable third-base prospects who're close to being MLB-ready.

Because of all that, I think third base is the place to target an upgrade, as it would provide a huge boost this season while also patching a hole that the Twins have going forward. Of course, finding a DH bat is never a bad idea and is certainly the place to upgrade if Terry Ryan wants to avoid making a significant trade. If Jason Tyner is still making regular starts at DH down the stretch, it means Ryan hasn't done his job very well.

Everyone says that Jason Kubel has potential, but he continues to underperform. At what point do the Twins consider trading him?

Kubel has a total of 454 career at-bats in the majors, so "continues to underperform" strikes me as a somewhat unfair label. He's 25 years old and coming back from an incredibly serious knee injury that essentially cost him two seasons in the prime of his development. Giving up on him less than 500 at-bats into his career, when the Twins lack capable bats throughout the system, would be incredibly foolish. Plus, prior to spraining his knee Saturday, Kubel was slugging .469 over the past month.

What are your feelings on Bert Blyleven belonging in the Hall of Fame?

I've always been very supportive of Bert Blyleven's candidacy. Not only is he the most deserving of any eligible player not yet in Cooperstown, he's a better candidate than many pitchers who're already Hall of Famers. The fact that he's still on the outside looking in is the biggest example of the long-standing tendency to misguidedly focus on a pitcher's win-loss record while ignoring his ability to simply prevent runs. That cost Johan Santana the Cy Young award in 2005 and has kept Blyleven out of the HOF.

I've heard rumor after rumor about the Twins dealing a young arm for a young third baseman, but if I'm not mistaken the Twins are still high on Matt Moses. How far away from the majors is Moses and does he project well enough as a player to discourage the Twins from making such a trade?

Matt Moses and Denard Span have somehow convinced fans and the media that they're big parts of the Twins' future despite not doing much of anything in the minors to suggest that's the case. Moses is hitting .231/.253/.319 with a 41-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio at Triple-A after hitting .249/.303/.386 with a 113-to-35 strikeout-to-walk ratio at Double-A last season. Toss in mediocre defense at third base and he's about as far from an MLB-ready prospect as you can get.

In the past you've stated that Mauer should stay at catcher, but have you softened your stance at all in light of his most recent injury?

Mauer suffered a major knee injury during his rookie season, but in three seasons since then he's been hurt exactly one time and went two entire seasons without suffering a significant injury of any kind. To me, one injury in nearly three years is not something that suggests moving the best catcher in baseball to another position is necessary. Beyond that, whether from Torii Hunter or Patrick Reusse, the recent talk of Mauer lacking toughness is absurd.

Mark Teixeira is a first baseman who set a Rangers team record by playing in 507 straight games. On Saturday he went on the disabled list with the exact same injury that sidelined Mauer recently, a strained quadriceps muscle. Teixeira landing on the DL obviously had nothing to do with catching and I've yet to see anyone suggest that it's due to lacking toughness. Teixeira landed on the DL because injuries happen. Unless they happen to Mauer more than once every three years, he's just fine.

What's your current assessment of Torii Hunter's performance? Do you think his defense has improved since last season? Can he maintain his current offensive production?

Hunter has been fantastic and his defense, while not as good as it once was, is light years ahead of where it was for much of last season. His offense has already begun to come back down to earth after an amazing start, and I'd bet against him setting career-highs in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage while walking twice a month. Regardless of that, he's been among the best handful of center fielders in the league and that figures to be true all season.

Last week Ron Coomer said that Hunter was taking better at-bats because he was being more selective. "He walked three times in the White Sox series," Coomer said. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't two of those walks intentional? Is Hunter really taking more pitches this year and having better at-bats?

Ron Coomer bringing up two intentional walks to help support his "analysis" suggesting that Hunter has been more selective at the plate was amusing, among other things. Hunter is on pace to set career-highs in most major offensive categories, so in that sense he's clearly "having better at-bats." However, he's certainly not showing improved patience while doing so. When it comes to selectivity, here's how Hunter's current numbers compare to the rest of his career:

YEAR     P/PA     BB%     K/BB
1999     3.51     5.9      2.9
2000     3.36     4.5      4.3
2001     3.59     4.9      4.3
2002     3.57     5.3      3.7
2003     3.55     6.7      2.5
2004     3.58     6.3      2.8
2005     3.47     7.5      2.1
2006     3.56     7.1      2.5
2007     3.41     3.4      5.5

I've removed intentional walks from the equation, because it's beyond silly to factor them into Hunter's plate discipline. Once that's done, Hunter is currently sporting the worst walk rate and the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio of his decade-long career, and 2000 was the only season that Hunter saw fewer pitches per plate appearance than he has so far this year. He's having a tremendous season, but suggesting that it's primarily because of increased patience is the opposite of reality.

What do you make of the recent reports of Matt Garza's stubbornness at Triple-A?

Seeing that Matt Garza lashed out at the organization publicly last month was disappointing, although not surprising. He blitzed through the minor-league system last year, beginning the season at Single-A and ending it in the majors. Passed up for a rotation spot coming out of spring training because the Twins went with Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson, he was then left at Rochester while Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey were called up to replace Ortiz and Ponson.

Toss in some struggles at Triple-A while the Twins told him to focus on off-speed pitches and it's not difficult to see why Garza is frustrated. Of course, that doesn't make publicly criticizing the organization any smarter. To Garza's credit, he reportedly got over the frustration quickly and has since been a good citizen at Rochester. For the year, he's posted a 3.44 ERA, 66-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and .238 opponent's batting average in 68 innings spread over a dozen starts.

Do you think the Twins should pull the plug on Garza and trade him?

Between this question and the previous one about Kubel, I'm disappointed that readers of this blog think that "pulling the plug" on young players with less than a full-season's worth of playing time in the majors is even close to a good idea. Garza is 23 years old, he's pitching well at Triple-A after putting together an amazing season between three minor-league levels last year, and he posted a 4.75 ERA in 47.1 innings with the Twins after a rough debut start. Patience, people.

Who do you believe will be a part of the Twins' rotation in 2008?

Assuming Francisco Liriano avoids a setback, my guess is that the rotation will be Santana, Liriano, Slowey, Garza, and Boof Bonser. Of course, knowing the Twins they'll probably talk Jose Lima or Terry Mulholland out of retirement to avoid going with such a young group.

Compare the production of Punto and Bartlett this season to Batista and Castro last season. Is our current duo much better? Why are you so easy on them and so hard on Batista and Castro?

I just opined that replacing Punto at third base would be the best move the Twins could make right now and last week in the comments section there was a heated argument after several people suggested that I've been far too critical of him, so I'd question the notion that I've been "so easy" on Punto. However, as a duo it's certainly true that I've been less critical of Bartlett and Punto than Juan Castro and Tony Batista despite similarly horrible production at the plate this season.

In addition to being awful offensively, Castro and Batista were sub par defensively and had zero chance of improving based on long track records of poor play. That three-pronged combination is one that I simply couldn't handle watching on a day-to-day basis. Bartlett and Punto have been awful offensively, but their defense is a huge step up from Castro and Batista, and in Bartlett's case at least I think he has a chance to perform significantly better than he has.

Given the Twins' huge depth of high-end pitching prospects, their lack of hitting prospects, and the anticipated return of Liriano, should they trade Santana in the next year for hitting help?

If the Twins believe they have no chance of re-signing Santana, then they'd be smart to explore a trade that could bring them a huge amount of future value for a player who can leave via free agency after next season. If the Twins think they have a chance to re-sign Santana, then they should keep him and do whatever they can to make it happen. In reality it's likely a non-issue, because Ryan has shown that he's not keen on trading pending free agents and Santana has a no-trade clause.

What's a realistic number for keeping Santana around?

It depends. If Santana is looking for the maximum long-term contract he can get, then something in excess of Barry Zito's seven-year, $126 million contract with the Giants is likely. If Santana is looking to sign a huge long-term contract while doing what he can to remain in Minnesota, then something along the lines of Zito's deal is possible. It's going to be "a lot of money over a lot of years" no matter what, so it'll come down to where Santana wants to pitch.

Is Mauer going to bat second when he comes back? Do you think that's a good idea?

Mauer is indeed batting second since coming off the disabled list. And yes, I think it's a very good idea. So good, in fact, that I've suggested it here several times over the years, including as recently as two weeks ago.

When Liriano returns, what do you think about the possibility of him being converted into a closer?

Much like Mauer moving out from behind the plate, I think it's far too early to begin thinking about that.

I didn't see Matt Tolbert on your preseason Twins prospects list and I don't think I've even heard any mention of him before. Do you know anything about this kid?

A 16th-round pick in 2004, Matt Tolbert was a four-year starter at the University of Mississippi despite hitting just .288/.368/.394 in 229 games. He debuted at rookie-level Elizabethton, batting .308/.376/.500 in 33 games, but then hit just .266/.326/.365 in 111 games at high Single-A in 2005. He began last year at Double-A, but was demoted to Fort Myers after struggling. Tolbert hit .303/.360/.438 in 40 games there and earned a promotion back to New Britain, where he batted .258/.341/.363 in 72 games overall.

Tolbert came into this season with a .275/.342/.395 hitting line in 256 pro games, which matched his college numbers almost exactly and made him look like little more than a possible utility player for the Twins. Instead, he's leading the Triple-A International League in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. Tolbert has been limited to just 41 games at Rochester because of strained oblique muscle that sidelined him for the final two weeks of May, but he's gone 12-for-26 (.462) since returning.

For the year, Tolbert is hitting .378/.449/.575 with three homers, 15 total extra-base hits, and an 18-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That's so out of line with the rest of his track record that it's difficult not to label it a fluke, but he's not showing signs of slowing down. Beyond that, while his breakout is fueled by an unsustainably high batting average, Tolbert has also shown significantly improved power. However, it's only been 127 at-bats and he's 25 years old, so I remain highly skeptical.

Any chance that the Twins could be in the hunt for Elijah Dukes?

Elijah Dukes has a chance to be a very good player, but given his off-field issues he also has about as much chance of playing for the Twins as I do.

What are your thoughts on the new stadium? Is it worth creating a small stadium with no parking lot, no retractable roof, and no serious home field advantage?

I'm thrilled that the Twins will have a new ballpark in 2010, but I do think they'll eventually regret some of the design decisions.