Today the Twins traded Yohan Pino as the player to be named later to complete the Carl Pavano trade.
Yohan Pino is a 25 year old Venezuelan who was signed by the Twins as an amateur free agent as a 21 year old in 2004. Originally a starter, he had a break through season in Beloit (Midwest League, A) in 2006 and in Ft. Myers (Florida State League, A+) in the beginning of 2007. However, since he moved up to New Britain (Eastern League, AA) later in 2007 he has struggled until this season.
Yohan is a rare phenomenon: he is a strikeout pitcher with a mid to high 80s fastball. His slider and change up are exceptional and when he can locate his fastball in the corners to set up his out pitches he can be effective. A complete scouting report on Yohan Pino can be found here at scout.com, where he was ranked as the Twins #36 prospect going into the 2009 season. I suspect that he probably climbed a few positions based on his performance this season.
He needed to be added to the 40-man roster (the Twins have about 20 players in the same position) by this December to be protected for the Rule 5 draft. If he was not added, he would very likely be selected by another team. Thus the Twins' have accelerated that process...
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