When the Twins called up Todd Sears from Triple-A Rochester near the end of April [2003], they also promoted Justin Morneau from Double-A New Britain to Rochester.

Morneau had six home runs in the Eastern League. Then, in his first 11 regular-season games at Triple-A, he pounded six more. His total of 12 left him trailing just the more veteran Rob Stratton among minor league home run hitters.

Here's some of what he had to say in this exclusive interview with Fantasy Baseball Scout on his 22nd birthday, May 15, 2003.

Q: When you came up to Rochester, you got off to a very fast start. Was it a matter of just carrying over what you were doing in Double-A?

JM: Yeah, I had a good spring, and then I had a pretty good start in Double-A. I was feeling pretty good when I came up here. I was getting some pretty good pitches to hit, and I actually was doing something good with them instead of fouling them back or whatever.

Q: Do you classify yourself as a free swinger or are you more a disciplined hitter?

JM: Sometimes. It goes back and forth. It depends on how I知 feeling. If I知 seeing the ball pretty good, I tend to swing at more pitches, but I知 feeling good so I get hits off 粗m. When I知 not feeling so good, I try to have a better approach but I sometimes get out of it. And if I知 not seeing that well and I知 swinging at bad pitches, I値l just get myself out.

Q: Is that the biggest problem you see, just disciplining yourself not to go after the bad pitches?

JM: Yeah, just have a better mental approach and know what you池e doing when you step in the box instead of just going up there hacking.

Morneau talked more about his hitting, dealing with slumps, playing baseball and hockey while growing up in Canada and what he needs to work on to get to the majors. Those comments all are in the full interview in the members' section.

You can join for the rest of 2003, including winter-ball reports, by clicking on the baseball under "Sign up for the 2003 Draft Guide" on the fantasybaseballscout.com home page.