Guy on a bike now a top prospect

Knee issues forced pitcher Nick Blackburn to train on wheels. Now he's in better shape, and he has a chance to make the starting rotation.

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: March 3, 2008 - 11:57 PM

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FORT MYERS, FLA. - Before Nick Blackburn became a top pitching prospect, he was known as the guy who rode the bicycle. While other prospects ran for conditioning, Blackburn, battling knee problems, pedaled.

He frequently lapped his weary pitching peers.

"I caught a lot of crap from my teammates for stuff like that," Blackburn said.

Blackburn's knee has been sound for about three seasons now, enabling him to ditch the bike, improve his conditioning and race past most other prospects. He was named the Twins' top minor league prospect by Baseball America and is in camp with a real chance of making the starting rotation.

"I'm working for a dream I have, to make a rotation or make a big league team out of spring training," said Blackburn, 26. "It's a lot of motivation to know that and to know that you can live that type of lifestyle as opposed to playing minor league baseball."

Blackburn, a 29th-round pick in 2001, had a minor cartilage problem while pitching at Seminole State (Okla.) College in 2002. It worsened while he was at rookie league Elizabethton that year, requiring surgery.

"I played with him at E-town and he was throwing 96 [miles an hour]," Twins reliever Pat Neshek said. "He always kept telling me, 'I hope this doesn't flare up.' That summer, something happened."

Blackburn said 90 percent of the cartilage was removed from the knee. He rehabilitated and joined the club for instructional league. He tried to work out again during the offseason but had more problems and needed another operation that limited him to 76 innings at Class A Quad Cities in 2003. He was forced to wear a knee brace and was ordered not to run, and his weight eventually shot up toward 260 pounds.

"We would run a lot, and he would just ride the bike," said righthander Scott Baker, who roomed with Blackburn during 2003 instructional league. "He had to wear this gigantic knee brace. You could see it through his pants."

After the second surgery, he was injected with synvisc, a synthetic joint lubricant that he said acts as cartilage. His knee eventually improved to where he ditched the knee brace, his workout habits improved, and by 2005 he was running and losing weight. He is down to 230 now.

His velocity improved, his confidence grew and he learned how to pitch.

Blackburn throws a fastball in the low- to mid-90-mile-per-hour range along with a curveball, changeup and slider. After going 7-8 with a 4.42 ERA at Class AA New Britain in 2006, he went 10-4 with a 2.36 ERA in stops at New Britain and Class AAA Rochester last season -- highlighted by a 44-inning scoreless streak at Rochester. He walked only 19 batters in 148 2/3 innings.

"Being able to have the conditioning I needed was a big step," he said.

He was 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in six September games with the Twins, but the coaching staff with impressed with how he handled the rough outings.

"I have to spread my pitches out and use everything and locate everything," Blackburn said, "because if I don't ... I already saw what's going to happen."

He applied the lessons in October during Arizona Fall League play, where he was 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA for the Phoenix Desert Dogs and helped them win the championship.

While the Twins pitching staff walked 15 batters over the first 26 innings in spring training, Blackburn was praised for his 1 2/3 scoreless innings Saturday against Boston.

"We know Blackie [throws strikes]," manager Ron Gardenhire said, "We like the way he throws the ball. He goes out and is not afraid. He had a good angle, the whole package."

Now the former pudgy cyclist is a strong spring away from realizing his dream.

"You get goose bumps when you think about it," he said, "It's exciting. Hopefully I can make the best out of it."