The Twins thought Joe Mauer might have come off the D.L. a tad rusty but nothing could have been further from the truth. Mauer has played in 26 games since his return from the D.L. and he is 37 for 91 (.407 avg, 1.320 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 11 homers and 32 RBIs. The stunning thing is not that he’s hitting over .400 but his new found power. Mauer should easily shatter career highs of 13 homers and 85 RBIs in a season despite missing the first month of the 2009 season.

The Twins have placed lefty starting pitcher Glen Perkins on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his left ulnar nerve. He has started 8 games for the Twins this season and he is 1-3 with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Perkins might have a hard time getting his starting job back if Anthony Swarzak keeps pitching like he is right now. Swarzak was the #6 rated prospect in the Twins’ organization coming into this season according to Baseball America. He has started 2 games for the Twins this season and he is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.

The Minnesota Twins have sent 24-year old switch hitting 2B Alexi Casilla to AAA because of a lack of hustle. Let’s be frank here, he was also playing horrible. Casilla played in 24 games for the Twins this season and he was 14 for 84 (.167 avg, .433 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Twins had thought that Casilla had turned the corner in his major league career but they were wrong. The Twins have called up 27-year old switch hitting infielder Matt Tolbert. Manager Ron Gardenhire said that sending Tolbert down to AAA as the last cut was the hardest thing he ever had to do in baseball. Tolbert will likely get some P.T. at 2B and the chance to prove himself in the majors. He played in 23 games in AAA this season and he was 25 for 96 (.260 avg, .699 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Tolbert played in 41 games as a rookie last season for the Twins and he was 32 for 113 (.283 avg, .711 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. 28-year old righty swinging infielder Brendan Harris will also likely see a bump in playing time with Casilla gone. Harris has played in 19 games for the Twins this season and he is 16 for 50 (.320 avg, .760 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs.

Joe Mauer has been activated from the D.L. and it looks like he never missed any action. In his first two games back for the Twins he is 6 for 9 (.667 avg, 1.922 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Look for the Twins’ offense to take off with Mauer back in the #3 spot in the batting order. Still, a tip of the hat is required for 26-year old righty swinging catcher Jose Morales who did a fine job while Mauer was out of action. Morales has played in 19 games for the Twins this season and he is 15 for 43 (.349 avg, .810 OPS) with 7 runs scored and 2 RBIs.