<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>All pitching prospect Matt Garza wanted to do this year was impress the Minnesota Twins organization, make it to Class AA and pitch well enough to have a shot of being promoted to AAA.Garza went one level better. After dominating three levels in the minors, and just 14 months after throwing his last pitch for Fresno State, Garza was called up to the major leagues August 7 in the heat of a pennant race.The 6-4, 195-pound Garza was 14-4 combined in the minors with a 1.99 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 135 2/3 innings. The right-hander also earned all-star berths in the Florida State League and Eastern League.Based on his rapid ascension through the minors, Garza was named the 19th USA TODAY Minor League Player of the Year. The selection, a result of a survey of the USA TODAY baseball staff and an online vote by readers, is based on the prospect's season and his major-league potential."I've far exceeded my goal," said Garza, who made his big-league debut August 11 and is 1-4 with a 5.88 ERA with the Twins. "I just wanted to improve with each start and work as hard as I can. I'm going to prove I belong in the majors and work as hard as I can to stay here."Garza, 22, received a $1.4 million signing bonus as the Twins' top draft pick (No. 25 overall) a year ago. He has command of four pitches: a fastball in the low- to mid-90s, a hard-breaking slider, a curveball and a changeup."To see the type of weapons he has to work with is pretty exciting," said Twins catcher Joe Mauer. "And you know he's going to get better because he's the type of guy who will go back and work harder and harder."He has the stuff to be a great pitcher for a long time."Twins manager Ron Gardenhire likes what Garza does off the mound as much as he likes what he can do on it."He's confident in his ability, but not to the point where he doesn't want to listen to anybody," Gardenhire said. "He takes everything in. He understands that no one knows too much in this game. He knows he still has a lot of things to learn even though he's had a lot of success in the minors."That's pretty special in a young player."Garza is the second Twins pitcher to win the USA TODAY Minor League Player of the Year award in as many years.Left-hander Francisco Liriano, 22, who was 12-7 with a 2.63 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 167 2/3 innings in the minors last year, won the 2005 award. This season with the Twins, Liriano is 12-3 with a 2.19 ERA in 27 games. Other past winners include Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves and Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox."You can't say enough about our scouts," Gardenhire said. "Our organization is all about forming a solid foundation and building from within. We emphasize pitching and defense, and we believe in bringing players through our system."These two young pitchers, Garza and Liriano, are proof that our system can work."</div>Matt Garza, minor league player of the year. Last year Liriano won it. Pretty cool that we go back-to-back in this category. Hopefully someone like Glen Perkins can win it next year :beerbang2: .http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al...r-of-year_x.htmAll the Previous Winners:1988: Right-hander Mike Harkey1989: Infielder Todd Zeile1990: First baseman Tino Martinez1991: Right-hander Mark Wohlers1992: First baseman Carlos Delgado1993: Outfielder Cliff Floyd1994: Outfielder Billy Ashley1995: Outfielder Andruw Jones1996: Outfielder Andruw Jones1997: Outfielder Ben Grieve1998: Outfielder Gabe Kapler1999: Left-hander Rick Ankiel2000: Outfielder Josh Hamilton2001: Right-hander Josh Beckett2002: Shortstop Jose Reyes2003: First baseman Prince Fielder2004: Left-hander Jeff Francis2005: Left-hander Francisco Liriano
