Seth Stohs

He's only been on the IL once. He did miss some time earlier in the year with a hamstring injury, but then a month later, he is on the IL with the wrist.

Yes, per Jeff Johnson (The Gazette, Cedar Rapids), Enlow will headed to Ft. Myers in the morning As for Diaz... he certainly could move up, but I agree that they do want and need to get Kirilloff time at first base. But, Kirilloff can play LF, RF and 1B. Diaz can play 1B and DH. They could make it work... I think you let Diaz keep doing what he's doing. Let him play another 3-4 weeks in Ft. Myers and keep building his resume and confidence, play in the All Star game, etc. That also gives a couple of guys at AA 3-4 more weeks to see if they can turn it up.

Is that the guy who has thrown three straight Quality Starts? I kid... but even if he (or any of the other starters) have a clunker, the next guy seems to pick him up... and at some point, they'll have a three-game losing streak...

Just over and over it is obvious that getting 6+ innings from the starters is so important. My favorite thing about this article ever game is looking at the bullpen usage. This bullpen is rested. May need it against Milwaukee and Tampa this week...

I mean, last year Lachlan Wells, Randy LeBlanc and Zach Featherstone had Tommy John surgery. 2017: Burdi, O'Rourke, May, Kirilloff, De Jesus 2016: Cutura, Benninghoff (had it right after the draft) 2015: Graterol, Thorpe, Hermsen, Farfan, Aponte 2014: Melotakis, R. Rosario, Romero, C Williams, Sano, Stirewalt 2013: Chargois, Stuifbergen Could go back further, and I'm sure there are a few that were missed here. And, it's pretty similar to most organizations.

Depends on your definition of "star" and what that means in minor league baseball.

The Minnesota Twins have the best record in baseball and that's fun. But yes, it hasn't been a good start to the Twins minor league season with all of the injuries. As for performances, it's so important not to worry about numbers in the lower levels. It's about developing, and sometimes experiencing difficulties and struggles are part of that. Buxton never really struggled until he got to the big leagues. But in time his athleticism pushed him to (hopefully) stardom. Hopefully the struggles of Lewis will help him long-term too.

I have a not-so-glowing opinion on that... but it's hard to know with any certainty. Tommy John surgeries have happened every year and in some cases, it may have just been a matter of time. But I think that there may be cases where this push for velocity may not be best for a pitcher's arm.

The medical staff, including the doctors, don't just guess on the ligaments. That shows up in the MRI, doesn't it? Gonsalves isn't going to be "just a couple more weeks." And we have seen stress reactions of the elbow before. I believe that is what Burdi had, and I feel like there have been others. Some have turned into Tommy John. Others didn't.

Neither the Twins nor Royce are blaming injuries.

All I've heard is the Jax was IL'd with a strained shoulder... but apparently he is traveling with the team, so it sounds more like it'd be a skipped start than anything too worrisome... but I may be reading between the lines too much.

My bad... I edited the other comment... the second "Wells" is Lachlan Wells, who could be back on the mound this year.

I hope so too... It's not... But hopefully resting him now and getting him back to 100% means that is still a possibility.

Here is the paragraph on Tyler Wells:

Article updated as I was given the OK to mention Tyler Wells surgery. Lachlan Wells should be back this year sometime... LeBlanc, maybe...

On Saturday morning, the Kernels made official what we started hearing rumblings of on Friday night. Wander Javier was set to join the Kernels. The immensely talented shortstop will make his 2019 debut on Saturday night, and play in his first official game since 2017. He missed 2018 with a non-throwing shoulder injury, and he hurt his quad in a big league spring training game. However, on Saturday, the Twins announced some major injuries in the Twins minor leagues, and frankly, that has been an unfortunately large story so far this season.Let's get right to the bad news. The Twins announced the following: Brusdar Graterol is going on the IL for Pensacola with a shoulder impingement. While the Twins said that they are bringing many minor leaguers in to Target Field for evaluation - which is 100% true - Graterol was brought in this week to have his shoulder evaluated. A shoulder impingement is not a serious injury in and of itself, but if not diagnosed and treated, it could become worse. Stephen Gonsalves is going back on the IL for Rochester with a left elbow stress reaction. Gonsalves felt a little elbow soreness in spring training and the team decided to be cautious with it. He slowly worked his way up to being able to return to the Red Wings rotation. Last week, he made his first start of the season, but he struggled and left after two innings. A stress reaction in and of itself isn't terrible news, but it will require rest. Obviously the hope is to avoid Tommy John surgery. Akil Baddoo, the talented Miracle outfielder, will miss the remainder of the season with Tommy John surgery. Baddoo went on the IL about ten days ago with the elbow pain. It was further evaluated and the UCL was torn, so Tommy John it is. As a position player, the hope is that he will be ready for spring training in 2020. He will be having the surgery about two months later than Alex Kirilloff had it in 2017. Kirilloff was full go around Thanksgiving. Another outfielder, Rochester's Luke Raley, is going to have ankle surgery. Raley went on the IL a week ago. It is unfortunate because he was playing well and playing hard and really making an impression on those around the Red Wings. It has been a tough season for top prospects and injuries. Royce Lewis went to big league spring training, but he was unable to play for most of camp because of an oblique injury. He was ready by Opening Day and hasn't missed time in the season. Alex Kirilloff, coming off of an incredible 2018 season, hurt his wrist late in spring training and missed about a month at the beginning of the season. Nick Gordon began the season on the IL with a stomach issue. He returned a month later, but after playing really well for a week, he went back on the Injured List for seven more days with a strained adductor. He has returned again and continues to hit. Brent Rooker missed about a week early in the season with a hamstring injury. He is currently on the IL with a wrist injury. Just a handful of games into the Kernels season, Yunior Severino fractured his thumb and tore some tendons as well. Righty Bailey Ober was runner-up for our Starting Pitcher of the Month for April and then went on the IL with another elbow issue. The Twins Daily choice for Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2018, Tyler Wells, has been out all season with an elbow injury. He will be having Tommy John surgery on May 29. DaShawn Keirsey, the Twins 4th-round pick last June, has had a couple of IL appearances already this season. This article isn't to place blame. It's just another reminder that player development isn't linear. Injuries are a factor and they don't have prejudice. They will find highly-ranked prospects or lesser-known prospects. They can bite a pitcher or a hitter at any time. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, though I don't pretend to know a lot of the details behind many of these. Click here to view the article

The Kernels just announced that SS Wander Javier has been activated and will begin to play for Cedar... Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the moment you've waited for. In addition, Michael Davis was activated from the IL. Hunter Lee sent to Extended Spring Training. Jean Carlos Arias released. But obviously the big news is that Wander Javier will now start playing for the Kernels. After missing 2018 due to shoulder surgery (non-throwing), he was impressive in spring training and made several starts for the Twins in big league spring training games. Unfortunately, he hurt his quad in a game and has been on the sidelines (and in Extended Spring Training) since. Dude is immensely talented!

I have no idea what he'll be... maybe... maybe not. I expect he'll play in the FSL All Star game and then move up to AA.

Fair enough... so it's probably good that someone else decided that the article was worthy of discussion. Like I said, I enjoy conversations about things I don't necessarily agree with. I enjoy it. I just think that calling Mauer the 2019 MVP is way over the top and takes the credit away from people who deserve it. Also, yes, it's hard not to have a positive slant at the moment. But in recent days there have been articles on the team's weaknesses and other things that aren't quite as positive as a 34-16 record might warrant.

Alcala (or any starter) will get the opportunity to work in and out of more situations as a starter than as a reliever. Looks like Littell may now be in the Twins bullpen and maybe that'll be his role going forward. Most of the best relief pitchers in the big leagues were starters in the minors and learned the bullpen out of necessity in the big leagues. My personal opinion - and I'm not saying it's right or the only way - would be to keep guys starting as long as possible until they get to the big leagues and can be eased in.

Hmmm... it is legal to express and even be concerned at this point, if you want. Personally, I won't start worrying about the future of Royce Lewis for a couple of years...

Doogie also reported that Dobnak is going to make his first start for the Red Wings on Saturday as well.

Read the article last night and very intentionally did not post it here. Not because I completely disagree with it (I do completely disagree with it), I enjoy posting articles here that I don't necessarily agree with. I just think it's bad. It's lazy. There's no salary cap. Mauer's contract didn't stop them from spending. They spent on Nolasco. Hughes. SantanaWillingham. Others. Some say this team is better without Mauer. That may be true on its own and has nothing to do with his salary. He's 36 years old and has over a decade on his knees. He also had to work to prepare every day for 2-3 hours before everyone else just to be ready to compete. He retired a solid player and could have kept playing, but obviously in a diminshed role. Again, that has nothing to do with his salary. This article takes credit away from the front office, scouts and analysts who put in their time and signed the right guys. They believed in the right guys. It takes credit away from the players themselves who are playing great and deserve the recognition. Lats year, Levine said something to the effect that last year, the players performed at sommething like 9% of their projection. Buxton, Sano, Dozier... I mean, could go on about guys that didn't play like they should. Well, this year, I am guessing that they are getting nearly 100% of their projection. The players are. Another Souhan Mauer Bashing article just completely unnecessary. Just a bad, bad article... And I'm not a Souhan hater. I actually do enjoy some of his writing. This article... not so much.

I would agree with that. They don't really have a long relief option.