Big hits put Brewers' Eric Thames under fire

Eric Thames could have been insulted, could have been defensive, when asked last Tuesday to submit to a drug test for the second time in 10 days. After all, the tests are supposed to be random, not a response to ugly innuendo.

But Thames, after belting his 11th home run of the season, seemed challenged by the "coincidence," and even more so by the not-so-subtle suspicions of steroid use.

"If people keep thinking I'm on stuff, I'll be here every day," Thames told reporters. "I have a lot of blood and urine."

He'd better have a thick skin, too, because these sort of insinuations seem to be part of the modern game anytime a thick-muscled hitter makes a dramatic improvement. Thames was a mediocre outfielder for the Blue Jays and Mariners in 2011-12, hitting only 31 home runs in 181 games, before becoming a star the past three seasons for the NC Dinos in the Korean Baseball Organization.

He signed a three-year contract worth $16 million with the Brewers last winter and has opened the season as the top hitter in baseball, hitting .370 entering the weekend with three more homers than any other player in baseball. And Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio found it all a little hard to believe. During a radio interview, he not-very-subtly harkened back to baseball's steroid era when discussing Thames.

"He's doing stuff that I haven't seen for a long time," Bosio said. "You start thinking about Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez when he went to the Dodgers, Barry Bonds … You're talking about some of the greatest players to ever play this game. So yeah, it's probably a head-scratcher because nobody knows who this guy is."

If that weren't enough, he went on to suggest that "when he was here before, his body has changed," another allusion to steroid use.

But it's worth noting that Thames' home runs have come against a mostly undistinguished collection of pitchers in ballparks — Miller Park, Great American Ballpark and Wrigley Field — known for giving up homers. And as one scout familiar with the KBO pointed out, Thames was always more likely to transition quickly to the majors than another notable import from Korea: the Twins' ByungHo Park.

Park won two MVP awards in the KBO, and was narrowly beaten out for a third in 2015 by, yes, Eric Thames. But Park, who nevertheless hit six home runs for the Twins last April, didn't have the experience that Thames did when it came to MLB.

"Thames had seen major-league pitching before, and Park had not. He knew what high velocity looked like," said the scout, who asked not to be identified commenting about other teams' players. "Pitchers have to adjust to [Thames], because he's a better hitter than when he was with Toronto. I didn't expect him to be a star, but I'm not surprised he started well."

Besides, random stretches of excellence always have been part of baseball. Byron Buxton was a completely different hitter after being called up to the Twins last September, smashing three times as many homers in 29 games as he had in his entire 109-game career to that point. Brian Dozier hit an astonishing 28 after the All-Star Game last year, as many as he had ever hit in an entire season. Neither had to deal with the unfair extra scrutiny that Thames has faced.

"Players get better. Players get hot," the scout agreed. "I'm not saying that drugs are entirely out of the game, because they're obviously not. But give the guy a break. Do we have to suspect everyone who has a good month?"

Central Intelligence

A month into the season, AL Central rosters are dotted with former Twins. Here's an update on how they're doing:

Indians: Chris Colabello batted .385 in spring training, but the first baseman, in camp on a minor league deal, didn't make the team. The 33-year-old veteran, who is batting .239 with two homers for Class AAA Columbus, has hopes of being called up during the season. His career was derailed by an 80-game PED suspension last year.

Royals: After batting .285 — the first time in his eight-year career he batted above .200 — with four homers in 56 games last season, Kansas City re-signed Drew Butera last winter. Now 33, he is only 3-for-16 (.188) this year, but Kansas City always has valued his defense as a backup to Salvador Perez.

Tigers: John Hicks never played for the Twins, but he spent a year on the 40-man roster until being claimed by Detroit last April. It's a loss the Twins feared they might regret, and Hicks made sure of it by homering against them last weekend. Hicks is a catcher, but he's playing first base (7-for-14 entering Saturday) while Miguel Cabrera is hurt.

White Sox: Anthony Swarzak won 16 games in four seasons in Minnesota, Mike Pelfrey 11 games in three years in the rotation. Swarzak is trying to resurrect his career, and he hasn't given up a run in his first 11⅔ innings in Chicago's bullpen. He won Friday in relief of Pelfrey, who has a 5.00 ERA in two starts (nine total innings) since being called up April 22.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Miguel Sano drove a ball to the top of the padding on the center field wall Friday night at Kansas City, missing by about an inch hitting his seventh home run of the season, something only six Twins have ever done in April. The greatest April home run sprees in Twins history:

9 Torii Hunter, 2002

8 Kirby Puckett, 1986

8 Kent Hrbek, 1982

7 Brian Dozier, 2014

7 Dave Hollins, 1996

7 Tony Oliva, 1971

Saturday's rainout cost Ervin Santana a chance on Sunday to become only the second Twin ever to record five wins in April; Brad Radke, who went 5-0 in six starts in April 2001, remains the record-holder. But at 4-0 so far, Santana could still reach the franchise record for longest unbeaten streak to open a season. The best by a Twins starter: