Testa adjusting to life in the minors

Just like when he went from youth baseball to high school varsity at Brick Township and from high school to Wagner College in a record-setting career, Joe Testa is finding professional baseball is a "whole different world."

"It's totally different from what I'm used to," said Testa, a Jackson resident these days who has gone from a starter for most of his career to a late-inning reliever with the Fort Myers affiliate with the Minnesota Twins playing in the Gulf Coast Rookie League. "I'm in the bullpen right now and it's alright, but I'd like to throw (in games) more."

Take that from where it comes, from a workhorse on the mound who set a record at Wagner, among others, for career innings pitched as well as strikeouts and victories while earning the Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Year award last season. Testa signed a free agent contract with the Twins two weeks ago after he was passed over in the Major League Baseball draft. He was headed to an independent league team franchise outside of St. Louis when he got a call from the Twins on his way to the airport with a contract offer. He had been pitching a little this summer with the Point Pleasant Merchants of the Jersey Shore League, a wooden bat league.

"It's good. I like that we play every day and they evaluate the pitchers' progress," said Testa, whose team last week led the league.

As expected, Testa is dropping two or three of his five pitches and said he is adjusting to "tight strike zones." In the first five games after he joined the team, Testa made two appearances, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings. He had four strikeouts, three in his first appearance when he hurled 1.2 innings. He did not walk a batter.

"I'm not going to the curve as much," said Testa, who said he is using his fastball that has been the anchor of his career and the slider that he refined over the past two seasons. "The pitching coach is good. He spent some time in the majors. I'm working out in the bullpen many days and it's going pretty well there."

But Testa said he still is settling in and "there's no set role" as to what situation where he will pitch, whether as a set-up or middle-inning reliever. It's his first relief role since he was a freshman at Wagner before becoming a starter late in his freshman year and a conference pitcher in his last three seasons, including the ace of the staff in his junior and senior years.

Testa has overcome one challenge he faced for most of the latter years of his career — he is shorter than most highly regarded pitchers around him as he measures 5-foot-8. But with a left-handed delivery and a blazing fastball that he has fired into the low 90s on occasion, he has hurdled many challenges and sounds optimistic he can tackle others than lie ahead in the short season.