Three weeks ago, Michael Cuddyer was relieved to finally be hitting .200 in the major leagues. He'd gone 1 for 3 the previous night to pull his average up from .195.

Thoughts of starting in rightfield in the American League Championship Series? They were about as far from the 23-year-old Cuddyer's mind as Minneapolis is from Chesapeake. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the postseason.

"I kept walking into the clubhouse and finding myself in the starting lineup," said the former Great Bridge High standout. "And I got hot."

Hot is a relative term. But anyone in baseball would happily take a .433 clip over the last 10 regular-season games.

In that stretch, "Cuddyer" rhymed with "on fire."

Barring a change of heart by Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, Cuddyer will be in the Twins' starting lineup again tonight as Minnesota hosts the Anaheim Angels in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

Cuddyer started every game of the divisional series against Oakland and batted .385, the second-highest average among the seven Twins who played in all five games.

"To know the manager has that much confidence in me when I still don't have 150 major league at-bats makes me feel pretty good," said Cuddyer, speaking by phone Monday after the Twins held a light workout at the Metrodome. "I'm still in the process of learning this game."

Cuddyer learned in late September that he can play well at the highest level. In his last six regular-season games, he hit .450, going 9 for 20. Against Cleveland on Sept. 25, Cuddyer went 3 for 5 with a double and a home run. His late surge enabled Cuddyer to finish the regular season with a .259 average.

"If there was a game where I really felt I'd arrived in the major leagues, that was the one," said Cuddyer, who was 2 for 2 with a walk in Sunday's decisive fifth game of the AL divisional series. "The other thing is, in that last week of the season managers usually play the lineup they are going to take into the playoffs. And I was in there every day."

Cuddyer has long been a jewel in the Minnesota Twins' minor league system. The ninth overall pick in the 1997 draft, Cuddyer had a solid spring training in 2002, but was sent to Triple-A Edmonton when the Twins settled on Brian Buchanan as their Opening Day rightfielder.

Instead of moping, Cuddyer hit .309 for Edmonton and was a midseason Triple-A All-Star for the Pacific Coast League.

He was called up to Minnesota shortly after the All-Star break, but struggled. The Twins sent Cuddyer back down to Triple-A, then recalled him at the beginning of September.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Cuddyer may very well have seen his last days in the minors. Gardenhire could have opted for Bobby Kielty or Dustan Mohr as his rightfielder in the playoffs. Instead, he handed the job to Cuddyer.

While Cuddyer is big, strong and runs reasonably well, there is another aspect to his game that makes him valuable: he's a multi-position player. He started the last game of the regular season at third base for the Twins. He has also played some first base.

"If Corey Koskie were to need a rest at third, I'm confident Gardy would put me in there," Cuddyer said.

Just a year ago, where Cuddyer would be playing was more a question of city rather than position.

The Twins were being mentioned prominently as a team destined for contraction. Cuddyer, like many players, was figuring he might be headed for a dispersal draft.

"It was a tough time for all of us players," Cuddyer said. "We couldn't get caught up in it because we had no actual control over it.

"Now, a year later, we are in a dream scenario. Just to know you have a chance to play in the World Series is all you can ask for in this game."