The Attrition War, Twins
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Twins. Only two more after this.
Please note that I am trying to refrain from drawing any conclusions or making any comparisons, guessing at causes or relationships, or doing anything but presenting straight data. When the series is finished, I’ll have a summary post where I talk about those things.
In every organization so far there have been are several cases where those stats seem to ignore something important. I’m going at attempt to address those in the summary post, as well as methodology and thoughts on future research directions.
The Twins had 22 pitchers who appeared at least once on a Baseball America Top Ten prospect list from 1995-2004.
Of those 22, pitchers who injured their elbow and required surgery: 1 (Balfour)
Of those 22, pitchers who injured their shoulders and required surgery: 1 (Mills)
(generally, I’m looking for major surgeries that require ~1y off)
Unknowns and weird disappearances: 2 (Barcelo, Tejada)
Suspicious: 1 (Gandarillas)
Barely missed counting: 0
Contributions welcome!
Readers are, as always, encouraged to to add/correct information here in the comments or by email. Resolving unknowns and citations are particularly welcome.
Detailed data
Grant Balfour, 9/2004
Missed several months in 2004 with labrum problems. Elbow ligament replacement surgery in May 2005.
Marc Barcelo, 3/1995, 10/1996
Unknown. I’m shocked there’s no information on him, as a #1 draft pick.
Jason Bell, 7/1996
Moved to the Blue Jays org in 1999. Last seen coaching at Penn State.
Jesse Crain, 5/2004
Pitching in the majors.
J.D. Durbin, 7/2003, 4/2004
Pitching in the majors. Makes me wonder if his pre-ranking elbow problems count.
Gus Gandarillas, 10/1995
Missed 1996 with an unknown injury. Granted free agency in October 1998.
LaTroy Hawkins, 1/1995, 3/1996
Signed with the Cubs as a free agent in December 2003.
Adam Johnson, 1/2001, 5/2002, 10/2003
Released in February 2005. Signed with the Athletics.
Matt Kinney, 6/2001, 9/2002
Traded to the Brewers in November 2002.
Mike Lincoln, 10/1998, 10/1999
Released in December 2000.
Kyle Lohse, 7/2000
Pitching in the majors
Travis Miller, 8/1995, 5/1996, 8/1997
Released in June 2002.
Ryan Mills, 6/1999, 10/2000
Shoulder surgery in June 2004 (?).
Mark Redman, 9/1996, 9/1997
Traded to the Tigers in July 2001 for Todd Jones.
Juan Rincon,9/2000, 7/2002
Pitching in the majors.
Todd Ritchie, 6/1997
Released in October 1998.
J.C. Romero, 6/2000
Pitching in the majors.
Johan Santana, 8/2000
Pitching in the majors.
Dan Serafini, 7/1995, 4/1996, 5/1997, 6/1998
Sold to the Cubs in March 1999.
Sandy Tejada, 10/2002
Unknown. Seems to have advanced up the system and then disappeared.
Brad Thomas, 9/2001, 6/2002
Traded to the Red Sox in April 2004.
Scott Tyler, 6/2003
Pitching in the minors.
Comments
6 Responses to “The Attrition War, Twins”
Quote from the Arizona Star
“Marc Barcelo, an All-American pitcher at Pima College and Arizona State from Sahuaro High, reached Class AAA in the Twins system before a career-ending arm injury.”
Injury History
for Sandy Tejada’s Career
10/30/2002 — Sore Elbow
Out less then a week
8/13/2008 (sic) — Sore Shoulder
Day to Day 90% 0 – 1 weeks
I think I may have pulled that info for Sandy from a Fantasy sight – here is a more reliable resource:
Josh Boyd: “I have to see Tejada survive a full season without arm problems first, and while he throws strikes, his delivery needs some work if for no other reason than to avoid injury.”
Actually, Durbin is having a sub-par season at AAA, which he missed a good chunk of due to elbow problems.
Marc Barcelo, an All-American pitcher at Pima College and Arizona State from Sahuaro High, reached Class AAA in the Twins system before a career-ending arm injury. He is now a golf pro at the TPC La Prestancia near Bradenton, Fla.,
from AZSTARNET.com 7/0305
hmmm. feel free to delete that last comment, i didnt read the first post. I feel shame.