Watkins to the DL

It looks as if Ron Gardenhire was right when he suggested that it didn't look good for Watkins following yesterday's game; the Twins have sent Watkins to the DL, replacing him on the roster by activating Brian Buscher from the DL.

While this move was not a surprise (there had been strong indications that Buscher would return as soon as he was eligible -- that didn't happen, since he could have come off yesterday, but a one day delay isn't shocking considering that, before Watkins injury, the Twins biggest concern was keeping arms in the bullpen who were ready to go), it is a frustrating setback for Watkins -- and his newfound fans.

Unfortunately, I can't help but thinking about another inspiring success story that was derailed by injury -- presumably for good. In 2005, the Twins called up Glenn Williams, a journeyman third baseman who, like Watkins, had spent forever and a day in the minors without a hint of a callup (he was in his 12th season in the minors, so he had Watkins beat out by a couple of years on that front). Also like Watkins, Williams had never shown much prowess with the bat prior to that season (he was hitting .303 in 175 AB's with Rochester when he was called up, but had never hit above .274 in any previous season, and was usually somewhere between .230 and .260). Then, amazingly, Williams got the call -- and he delivered. In 13 games (40 AB's) with the Twins, Williams picked up 17 hits, for a .425 average, hitting safely in every game in which he played. And then -- disaster struck in the form of a shoulder injury that kept him out for the rest of the year. Williams has been stuck in AAA since then, and is hitting just .230 this season after hitting .257 last year.

For Watkins' sake, and for the sake of his new fans, we should all hope that the parallels between these two players stop here. A quick recovery and a return to the big leagues in September would be a great start.

The surprising success of Tommy Watkins

When the Twins called up Tommy Watkins on August 9, I suggested that I didn't think he would have much success at the Major League level. After all, not much in his history as a player suggested that Major League success was forthcoming: he was a 38th round draft pick in 1998, he was 27-years-old already, his highest average in any season was .276 -- there just wasn't a lot to indicate that Watkins would do much of anything at the Major League level.

It's not yet time to completely re-evaluate that position, because Watkins has just 20 at-bats in the bigs, and that's not enough time to really gauge much of anything about a player. However, it's been a very solid 20 AB's -- Watkins is hitting .350 (7-for-20) with 3 walks and 3 K's. Defensively, Watkins has yet to make an error -- although his range factor is very low, suggesting that he might not be making errors because he might not be getting to balls (although in just 6 games, statistical noise may account for Watkins not having had many chances for putouts or assists, which are the components of the Range Factor stat).

If nothing else, Watkins' solid performance so far for the Twins could make things interesting next spring when the Twins put together their infield; if he continues to perform, he's going to put himself into a competition with Luis Rodriguez, Alejandro Machado, Chris Basak, and Matt Tolbert as the teams utility infielder. The situation will be complicated by Nick Punto's role on the team -- if the Twins manage to find a third baseman somewhere, then Punto will likely return to utility duty.

No matter what Watkins' role will be in the future, one thing is certain -- his story has so far been a very good one, the story of a player who has persevered and kept up a good attitude, and finally made good. I wish Watkins well as he tries to prove that his early success with the stick is more than a fluke.