By Scott Hotard
Naples Daily News

FORT MYERS — Kevin Slowey is catching on fast enough.

Then again, what would you expect? He was the Big South Conference Men's
Scholar-Athlete of the Year not so long ago, and he spends his mornings in
the Minnesota Twins clubhouse filling out crossword puzzles.

More? He is the brother of a Duke law student, and his biggest strength as
a pitcher is his head. He grew up studying the likes of Brad Radke and
Greg Maddux, All-Star right-handers who made their name outsmarting
hitters instead of overpowering them.

Now he is here, the 3.96 student from Winthrop, in Radke's old digs with a
locker not far from the reigning Cy Young winner. He's still filling out
his crossword puzzles, though, and he's still attracting company with his
infectious personality.

Not so much has changed since his days with the Miracle, Minnesota's Class
A affiliate. Even the writers from Minnesota, the ones who flock here to
cover the Twins each spring, are referring to Slowey as one of the better
quotes in camp.

"There's only so many lockers in here," Slowey said the other day, as he
ate breakfast in the Hammond Stadium clubhouse. "Just to be here in
general is an honor."

That was Slowey's response, essentially, when asked of his goals for
spring training. Either he doesn't want to aim too high too soon, or he
doesn't want it to appear that way. He will, however, have a shot at
making the opening-day roster.

Even if it's a long one.

Chances are, Slowey will start the season in the minor leagues, where he
excelled in his first full season of pro ball. He jumped from the Miracle
to New Britain to Rochester, which used him on short notice in the
Triple-A playoffs.

Make no mistake, though: The Twins expect big things from Slowey on the
big stage, if not now then fairly soon. He was their second pick, after
all, in the 2005 amateur draft, one round behind electric right-hander
Matt Garza.

Slowey and Garza, in style, couldn't be much different.

While Garza — a favorite to fill one of the voids in Minnesota's
rebuilding rotation — throws mid-90s heat, Slowey relies on savvy,
location and pitch selection.

"He's a control guy," Garza said of Slowey, his teammate in Fort Myers to
open the '06 season. "He's really good, and he's got that drive. He knows
what he's got, so he doesn't try to overdo it. He knows how to pitch
people."

Garza and Slowey figure to be linked in Twins history, and not only
because they entered the organization together. Judging by the success
each right-hander had in his first full season of pro ball, they could be
a force of future rotations.

It was Garza who dominated most of the headlines, naturally, as he shot
from Fort Myers to Minnesota, making his big-league debut last year in the
middle of the AL Central chase.

But Slowey, 6-foot-2, earned high praise of his own, thanks to the strides
he himself made in a rapid climb through the system.

• After Garza moved up to Double-A in mid-May, Slowey became the Miracle's
unquestioned ace. He went 4-2 with a 1.01 ERA, highlighted by a five-start
stretch in which he surrendered just two earned runs.

• Days before learning he'd be promoted, Slowey faced three batters as the
starter for the West team in the Florida State League All-Star Game. He
struck each of them out.

• After compiling a 4-3 record for New Britain in Double-A, Slowley was
summoned to Rochester in time for the International League playoffs. He
made a surprise start in Game 2, a 6-1 win for the Red Wings to even their
series with Toledo.

Nonetheless, Slowey is treating spring camp as a privilege. He hasn't
forgotten where he came from, or even where he was this time last year.

Slowey didn't report to his first spring training until minor-league camp
opened.

He left brother Dan, the Duke law student, after working out in Durham
during the off-season, to throw in the shadows of the Hammond Stadium
spotlight.

Nowadays, he's right in the middle of it. No matter if he makes the
opening-day roster, he'll treasure the chance to be here.

"You start to realize," he said, "these guys are doing the exact same
things we are. They get their work in the same way we do. To try to model
yourself after them is certainly fantastic."

Monday, February 26, 2007