Minnesota Twins lose prospect Wander Javier for season
The Minnesota Twins found out on Saturday that shortstop prospect Wander Javier would miss the rest of the 2018 season.
The Minnesota Twins have one of the most impressive shortstop systems in the game, and it was a big reason for many seeing the team moving up significantly in prospect rankings this year. In fact, the Minnesota Twins saw three shortstop prospects make top 100 lists this season.
Wander Javier will have shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and miss the rest of 2018. He will require 6-9 months of recovery, which will likely mean no fall instructs or even winter ball for Javier, but he should be ready for spring training.
This is disappointing for sure for one of the most exciting prospects at the lower levels of a quickly-developing Minnesota Twins farm system. Wander Javier was given the highest signing bonus the Twins have ever given to a Latin prospect when he was signed, and he began showing last season with Elizabethton in the Appalachian League the extent of that talent.
Javier is an incredibly talented defensive shortstop, with some raw-ness to his work at shortstop as he is still learning when to hold onto the ball and when to trust his plus arm to fire across the diamond and nail a runner. At the plate, Javier has been tremendous, showing an advanced feel for getting the barrel to the ball with plenty of authority.
The Minnesota Twins do have Yunior Severino that was signed over the offseason after he was removed from the Braves by MLB. Severino has impressed the Twins with his work at shortstop after playing primarily at second base in his first year with the Braves system. Javier’s time away could allow Severino to establish himself in Elizabethton and eventually with low-A Cedar Rapids this season.
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No one, especially not the Minnesota Twins, is giving up on young Wander Javier, but it certainly is an unfortunate injury. Thankfully, it is early enough in his development that he should be able to bounce back.