Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Minor thoughts on shortstops

The Twins announced on Monday their season-opening minor league rosters, and shortstop -- the primary position of three of their most prominent prospects -- was of some note.

Royce Lewis will open 2019 at High-A Fort Myers, the same level he ended 2018. This is a mild surprise -- I rather expected him to be pushed up to Double-A Pensacola -- but he did miss a good part of training camp with an strain in his rib cage, and there's a case for letting him get some reps at the lower level before giving him his next challenge.

Wander Javier is staying in extended spring training. Not a huge surprise; it was to be expected that the Twins would be reluctant to expose his post-operative (non-throwing) shoulder to the April chill of Low-A Cedar Rapids. Javier impressed in his limited exposure in major-league camp, and he will be a good reason to make an Iowa trek this summer.

Nick Gordon is opening the season on the injured list of Triple-A Rochester with acute gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach lining. I wouldn't pretend to know how long this might keep him out, but I will say this: Anything interfering with the digestive process on an athlete as skinny as Gordon, with his track record of late-season fades, should be of concern.

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