(AP) The Minnesota Twins’ blueprint for 2018 included a dynamic young center fielder making great plays on defense and coming up with big hits. Of course, that role was supposed to be filled by Byron Buxton, once considered the top prospect in baseball.
Instead, the Twins are rallying around Jake Cave.
Cave hit his first career grand slam and closer Fernando Rodney survived a chaotic ninth inning as the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Sunday.
Buxton’s 2018 has been mostly a washout due to injuries. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft was optioned to Triple-A Rochester and is currently on the minor league disabled list with an injured wrist. That opened the door for Cave, a 25-year-old rookie the Twins acquired in a minor league trade with the Yankees this spring.
“This is my dream,” said Cave, who’s more or less been the Twins’ everyday center fielder since late June. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Cave homered in his major league debut on May 19, and he established himself with a number of highlight-reel catches along the way, earning him the trust of manager Paul Molitor. The latest step in that process is came Sunday as Molitor started the left-handed hitting Cave against a hard-throwing lefty in Kansas City’s Danny Duffy (7-10), who had been tough on the Twins in three prior starts this season.
That trust was rewarded with two outs in the second inning when Cave jumped on a full-count fastball for his first career grand slam and fourth homer of the season to put the Twins on top 4-2.
“I know Duffy’s got good stuff, I know he’s a competitor, and I know he’s going to come right at me at some point with the heater,” Cave said. “I got it, just stayed short, didn’t try to do too much, and I was rewarded.”
Cave fell behind 1-2 in the at-bat and then laid off some tough pitches, including a curveball that just missed inside at 1-2 and a fastball just below the knees one pitch before the grand slam.
