Five Questions About Alex Kirilloff

[stringer bell]

Seemingly the biggest injury question mark for the Twins is the status of Alex Kirilloff. He hasn't played in any spring games to date and has, at various times, been said to have experienced soreness and backed off from hitting activities. More recently reports are that he is taking batting practice against live pitching and that he isn't reporting any soreness. Still, with less than two weeks to go, it seems the odds of his starting on Opening Day are diminishing daily. 

I'll confess to being a big Kirilloff fan. I check daily to see if he is progressing and still believe he can be an All-Star first baseman. I have put together five questions about AK's health and future. Speculate away!!

1) Has Kirilloff's upside been effected by the wrist injuries?

2) Will Kirilloff be able to be available to play on a daily basis if/when he returns to game action?

3) Will Alex play any outfield this year?

4) Will the wear and tear of a full season cause pain in the wrist later in the season, regardless of the surgery?

5) When is it time to go to Plan B for Kirilloff and put a top prospect at first base?

[In My La Z boy]

Listening to Falvey yesterday it doesn't sound good for opening day. Seeing Larnach in LF and Gallo at 1B to open in my opinion. Wrists have got to be one of the worst injuries for a batter. I remember Rodney Carew saying hitting is 100% eyes and wrists. 

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Seemingly the biggest injury question mark for the Twins is the status of Alex Kirilloff. He hasn't played in any spring games to date and has, at various times, been said to have experienced soreness and backed off from hitting activities. More recently reports are that he is taking batting practice against live pitching and that he isn't reporting any soreness. Still, with less than two weeks to go, it seems the odds of his starting on Opening Day are diminishing daily. 

I'll confess to being a big Kirilloff fan. I check daily to see if he is progressing and still believe he can be an All-Star first baseman. I have put together five questions about AK's health and future. Speculate away!!

1) Has Kirilloff's upside been effected by the wrist injuries?

2) Will Kirilloff be able to be available to play on a daily basis if/when he returns to game action?

3) Will Alex play any outfield this year?

4) Will the wear and tear of a full season cause pain in the wrist later in the season, regardless of the surgery?

5) When is it time to go to Plan B for Kirilloff and put a top prospect at first base?

1) Hope not but almost seems naive to think his wrist isn’t going to be at least a nuisance to him going forward - reducing upside.

2) If he’s on the club he needs to make 75% of the starts which would be 100% of the RH pitching we’ll face.

3) We don’t need any more left handed batting outfielders!!!

4) Again, gotta be some sort of nuisance pain at a minimum. Stiffness - aches - etc.

5) We need to win games and quit worrying about when our prospects are going to come up & thrive. We have 3-4 guys that can play 1B on Opening Day 26 man. Plan B starts from Opening Day until he can or cannot play. Gallo/Miranda at 1B depending upon who we are facing on the mound. Julien, potentially, by June if Kiriloff is washed. If Gallo is playing OK on offense the roster may just keep Larnach as DH & back-up LF. Gallo at 1B. No changes.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:42 PM, JD-TWINS said:

1) Hope not but almost seems naive to think his wrist isn’t going to be at least a nuisance to him going forward - reducing upside.

2) If he’s on the club he needs to make 75% of the starts which would be 100% of the RH pitching we’ll face.

3) We don’t need any more left handed batting outfielders!!!

4) Again, gotta be some sort of nuisance pain at a minimum. Stiffness - aches - etc.

5) We need to win games and quit worrying about when our prospects are going to come up & thrive. We have 3-4 guys that can play 1B on Opening Day 26 man. Plan B starts from Opening Day until he can or cannot play. Gallo/Miranda at 1B depending upon who we are facing on the mound. Julien, potentially, by June if Kiriloff is washed. If Gallo is playing OK on offense the roster may just keep Larnach as DH & back-up LF. Gallo at 1B. No changes.

I 100% agree with this, but don’t think this is AK specific. The MLB 162 game season is a marathon grind. Every major leaguer’s success is determined in significant part by their ability to manage the dings and aches of the season. 
 

as evidenced by the FO’s moves this off-season, depth is critical for a strong season and post season.