Hermsen tries not to look ahead, but major leagues not far off

If everything goes right, you could be watching Manchester's favorite son pitching in Target Field for the Minnesota Twins at this time next season.“That's the plan,” B.J. Hermsen said.Hermsen technically has a Masonville address, but the favorite-son thing for Manchester still fits. The 2008 Gazette Male Athlete of the Year is adored in West Delaware High School territory.The Twins kind of adore him, too. Over the weekend, Hermsen was named the organization's minor-league pitcher of the year.The 22-year-old right-hander, a sixth-round draft pick in 2008, went 12-6 with a 2.88 earned run average in 26 starts at advanced-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain. He threw a career-high 162 2/3 innings.“It's a reflection of team work,” Hermsen said in typical modesty. “You've got to have guys behind you making plays defensively, and you've got guys you are throwing to behind the plate. Making the jump (from Fort Myers) early in the year, I didn't really know what to expect. But I just went out and pitched. I threw the ball the way I throw the ball.”That's not with overwhelming stuff, but with competitiveness and good control of all of his pitches. Hermsen added a cut fastball to his repertoire this season that he felt helped him a lot.He made an appearance in the Eastern League All-Star Game for his good work. And now this.“I feel like I've just got to improve on what I've done,” Hermsen said.He's 37-24 with a 3.21 ERA in four seasons in the minor leagues. He'll surely begin next season in Triple-A and should get to experience his first spring training on the major-league side.The Twins do not have to place him on the 40-man major-league roster until after next season, so they likely won't be in a hurry to rush him to the big leagues, though they are in dire need of starting pitching. The usual line of thinking is that once you reach Double-A, you can taste the majors.Hermsen was asked if that's true.“In a way, I guess, yes,” he said. “But I can only control what I can control. Chris Herrmann, who was my catcher a lot of this season, got called up in September. You see your teammates and a lot of guys you faced in the majors, and that's pretty cool.”Hermsen is spending the offseason at home, as usual, and said he'll likely be an assistant coach again for the West Delaware boys' basketball team.