Twins' Martin Perez: Continues strong spring

Perez threw four scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his third spring outing Saturday. He reached 97 mph with his fastball and averaged around 95 mph for the second straight start, MLB.com reports. "Before, I just used my arms," Perez said. "Now, I'm using all my body, and you guys can see the results."

Perez averaged just 92.7 mph with his fastball last season and threw just four pitches faster than 96.5 mph. He has a 2.00 ERA and seven strikeouts with one walk in nine innings so far this spring. While it's a small sample size, his improvement in velocity and the tweaks the Twins have made to his delivery show promise. He's the leading candidate for the fifth starter role, but may begin the season in the bullpen with the Twins likely to go with a four-man rotation in early April with several off days.