Josmil Pinto will make his professional debut in Minneapolis this weekend as the Minnesota Twins take on the Toronto Blue Jays.
The catcher is hitting .700 after three Major League games and the front office believes he has a real future as a starter.
"Pinto is definitely one of the guys we look at as going to be a starting catcher," Ron Gardenhire said. "He's got enough tools to be a starting catcher in this league on an everyday basis."
Joe Mauer, 30, who is dealing with a concussion may not stick at catcher for much longer because of injury woes.
"I don't think he's far away at all from being a contributing major-league player," despite the fact that he's only played 19 games above Class AA, said Mike Radcliff, Minnesota's vice president for player personnel. "He has an excellent chance to be in the major leagues next year."
