Grant Balfour
| IP | 539 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 3.49 |
| WHIP | 1.221 |
| BB/9 | 4.208 |
| SO/9 | 9.534 |
- Full name Grant Robert Balfour
- Born 12/30/1977 in Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School William Clark
- Debut 07/22/2001
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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The Twins have been one of the pioneers in scouting Australia, and Balfour and lefty Brad Thomas will pay the first dividends. After moving to the bullpen in mid-2000, the same year he pitched in the Olympics, Balfour filled a hole in the Rochester rotation last June. It was scheduled to be a brief stay, but he flourished and found a new role. Balfour operates with a lightning-quick arm and fills the strike zone with four pitches. He relied on his 91-94 mph fastball and his slider out of the bullpen. As a starter, he dusted off his curveball, which emerged as his best pitch, and a dependable changeup. He also has enough stamina to maintain his peak velocity deep into starts. There were doubts about how Balfour would hold up, even as a reliever, because of his slender build. The same concerns still apply because he never has worked more than 97 innings in a season. His control was a little shaky in the majors last year. The Twins hope Balfour can handle the No. 4 slot in their rotation. If he can't, he can fall back on a career in relief. -
First scouted as a scrawny 5-foot-10 catcher at an under-16 tourney in Australia, Balfour made the transition to the mound shortly afterward. He barely broke the 80 mph barrier, but scouts liked his free, easy arm action and his arm speed. Before long he developed into a hard thrower capable of consistent 91-94 mph fastballs and devastating sliders. Like fellow Australian Brad Thomas, Balfour has been on a slow but steady climb up the organization ladder. He has been handled carefully along the way, but did log a career-best 58 games last year. His command and control are just average, which might keep him out of late-inning situations. He also needs to develop a more effective offspeed pitch to combat lefties, who batted .282 off him last year. Balfour heads into spring with a shot at a bullpen role, but a return to Triple-A to hone his command is more likely. -
The first time the Twins scouted Balfour, he was a skinny 5-foot-10 catcher at an under-16 tournament in Australia. Glenn Williams and Damian Moss were the most coveted prospects being scouted--both would sign with the Braves--but Brad Thomas was playing first base and Luke Prokopec, who would sign and reach the big leagues as a pitcher with the Dodgers, was in right field. When Balfour moved to the mound, he showed little more than an easy arm action to go with his 78-82 mph fastball. He was up to 86 mph by the time he signed, and his stuff steadily has improved as he's evolved into a smoke-throwing reliever. Balfour's fastball regularly travels 93-95 mph and his hard 87-mph slider is the best breaking pitch in the system. His devastating two-pitch arsenal held batters to a .149 average last season in the Eastern League, where he allowed runs in just three of 35 appearances. Balfour's command wavered after a premature promotion to Minnesota and he walked 23 in 31 innings between the majors, Triple-A and the Arizona Fall League. Balfour is a fitness nut with 6 percent body fat, but his slender frame raises questions about his durability over the course of a season. His stuff is good enough to close if he shows improved location and resiliency. -
Thomas and Braves signees Damian Moss and Glenn Williams, Balfour has bloomed into a bullpen prospect. He pitched in the Olympics after flashing brilliant stuff in relief for Fort Myers. He had been throwing 89-91 mph as a starter, but now operates at 92-94 mph. He also has an 83-87 mph slider with late downward tilt and a changeup that has a chance to be major league average. Balfour is a fitness fanatic who has the lowest percentage of body fat in the system, and he actually has a tendency to overtrain. He has a closer mentality and closer stuff, but he needs to come up with a better way to attack lefthanded hitters. He has a spot on Minnesota's 40-man roster and likely will start 2001 in Double-A.
Minor League Top Prospects
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Balfour emerged as a very versatile pitcher, serving as a starter, closer and long reliever. He works with a four-pitch repertoire, relying mostly on his plus fastball and plus slider in relief and mixing in his changeup and curveball more often when starting. His fastball averages 93-94 mph during longer outings, while he'll bump it to 95-96 out of the bullpen. "He threw five innings against us and we didn't touch him," Cooper said. "He was lights out with the fastball and slider. The balls come out of his hand real easy. We didn't have a chance." Location remains Balfour's biggest hurdle. When he struggles to get his secondary pitches over, he loses confidence in them and almost exclusively will throw his fastball, which he can command to either side of the plate but often with little movement.
