Article: Alex Kirilloff To Miss 2017 After Tommy John Surgery

[Seth Stohs]

Thad Levine told assembled media in Ft. Myers this morning that Twins 2016 first-round pick Alex Kirilloff will have Tommy John surgery next week.Kirilloff left a game late last August with elbow discomfort. It caused him to miss the Elizabethton playoff series and Florida Instructional League. He has been in Ft. Myers most of the time since rehabbing.

 

In a recent Q&A with Twins Daily, Kirilloff was optimistic about his rehab and looking forward to spring training.

SS: You missed the end of the season with an elbow injury. Can you recall exactly what happened? How has the rehab process been, and how are you doing at this point?

AK: The rehab process has been great. Biggest thing for me is just having patience with it. I'm super excited to get back on the field for spring training.

The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Altchek.

 

The Twins Daily choice as the Twins #3 prospect will be away from baseball activities for the next five month and he hopes to be back for Instructional League in nine-months.

 

Several Twins have had Tommy John surgery including Miguel Sano who had the surgery three years ago. Another position player in the organization who has had the surgery is Twins manager Paul Molitor. He had the surgery in 1984 when he was a third baseman for the Brewers.

 

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[Vanimal46]

Bummer. Wishing him a quick recovery. 

[Deduno Abides]

Do you think that when Pohlad was interviewing potential GMs he told them they had to retain the training and medical staffs because they are lovable?

[clutterheart]

Welcome to the Twins Mr Levine!  Anything that can go wrong, will.

 

 

[Dantes929]

Sometimes I think that the day after we draft and sign these guys we should just do this surgery and get it over with.

[nytwinsfan]

I'm trying to remind myself it could be worse - this could be Berrios, May, or one of our pitching prospects that is almost major-league ready - but still this hurts.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Damn it all. Man, the Twins keep drawing the short straw with these TJ surgeries for position players.

[bird]

Almost impossibly unlucky, this organization.

[bighat]

Rats.  Just awful.  Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.  Remember, Sano had Tommy John and he came back and has been fine.  No need to panic. 

[markos]

 

I'm trying to remind myself it could be worse - this could be Berrios, May, or one of our pitching prospects that is almost major-league ready - but still this hurts.

We are still a month away from Opening Day. Don't tempt fate!

[Thrylos]

Rhett Bollinger wrote that he had a platelet injection before the R&R.  It makes more sense then.  Still practically unheard of injury for High School OFs...

[Old Twins Cap]

Bad luck for sure.

 

One of these times when the player chooses the most conservative approach of rehabbing, over the course of 7 months, it would be great if that actually worked.

 

I understand why they do it that way, I just am not seeing much luck with rehabbing.  And, it does set the player back on a longer clock to full recovery.

 

I would bet at some point in the very near future, players and doctors will move ahead with preventive TJ surgeries, at a young age, once a kid commits to baseball.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo !

[Comrade Bork]

Just unreal it took him till the start of ST to decide on surgery. That's something that should be evaluated way more to see how he is progressing as opposed to just making that decision after months of rehab. Twins always seem so tentative with their injuries.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Just unreal it took him till the start of ST to decide on surgery. That's something that should be evaluated way more to see how he is progressing as opposed to just making that decision after months of rehab. Twins always seem so tentative with their injuries.

It seems pretty logical to be wary of putting a 19 year old kid under the knife unnecessarily.

 

If this is truly a lingering injury, Kirilloff was only 18 years old when it happened.

 

Unfortunate, but I have a hard time blaming either Kirilloff or the Twins for giving an 18 year old body a chance to recuperate on its own.

[Trov]

I am wondering how many people avoid the surgery by rehabbing?  The Twins always seem to go for rehab for a long time, then always go with the surgery after several months.  

[Heezy1323]

 

I am wondering how many people avoid the surgery by rehabbing?  The Twins always seem to go for rehab for a long time, then always go with the surgery after several months.  

I posted this link in the other thread as well, but it is helpful in answering this question. The short answer is (at least according to this study), most.

 

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2325967114S00021

 

It isn't just the Twins that take this approach- that is the approach taken by the vast majority of teams/colleges.

[Heezy1323]

 

Bad luck for sure.

 

One of these times when the player chooses the most conservative approach of rehabbing, over the course of 7 months, it would be great if that actually worked.

 

I understand why they do it that way, I just am not seeing much luck with rehabbing.  And, it does set the player back on a longer clock to full recovery.

 

I would bet at some point in the very near future, players and doctors will move ahead with preventive TJ surgeries, at a young age, once a kid commits to baseball.

As a surgeon, I hope I never reach the point in my career that I am doing preventative TJ surgery. I will hang up my scrubs the day that happens.

[Heezy1323]

 

Rhett Bollinger wrote that he had a platelet injection before the R&R.  It makes more sense then.  Still practically unheard of injury for High School OFs...

There is some mixed data on PRP injections- some studies showing it helps, others showing no difference. A mentor of mine once told me when I asked him if he thought PRP works for this problem "No idea. But sometimes you have to do SOMETHING to them just to get them to listen to you and actually rehab the right way." I've always remembered that.

Agree 100% on the rarity in HS OF's. 

[Vanimal46]

 

It seems pretty logical to be wary of putting a 19 year old kid under the knife unnecessarily.

 

If this is truly a lingering injury, Kirilloff was only 18 years old when it happened.

 

Unfortunate, but I have a hard time blaming either Kirilloff or the Twins for giving an 18 year old body a chance to recuperate on its own.

 

Yep, for sure. Doctors and surgeons need to be conservative when it comes to young people and their injuries. 

[Walter's Whites]

Why can't we have nice things?

[Thrylos]

 

I posted this link in the other thread as well, but it is helpful in answering this question. The short answer is (at least according to this study), most.

 

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2325967114S00021

 

It isn't just the Twins that take this approach- that is the approach taken by the vast majority of teams/colleges.

 

Sample size for non-pitchers returning to play who were not treated with the operation:  1.

 

Might be conclusive enough for pitchers (SS = 29) but just one position player...

 

Also what they do not study is the relapse % of players who were operated upon vs not.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Thrylos

[Heezy1323]

Also, here is a link to a power point presentation from Chris Ahmad (Yankees team doc) that discusses non surgical treatment in some additional detail.

 

https://foreonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/9-2.pdf

[Otto von Ballpark]

Sano's elbow problem was diagnosed in October 2013 too, and he didn't have surgery until March 2014.

[Heezy1323]

 

Sample size for non-pitchers returning to play who were not treated with the operation:  1.

 

Might be conclusive enough for pitchers (SS = 29) but just one position player...

 

Also what they do not study is the relapse % of players who were operated upon vs not.

So your contention is that a position player is at higher risk to fail non surgical treatment than a pitcher? My suspicion would be the opposite- that since a position player places less stress on the elbow than a pitcher (proven in biomechanics studies), they are more likely to be successful with non surgical treatment. You can't just conjure the non-pitchers to study. You have to study what is available and extrapolate that data as best you can to other groups. 

[Eris]

From the information that is on the internet, Alex Kirilloff did pitch in high school.  Maybe that is a contributing factor.

 

http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/alex-kirilloff/4jHvRvTsEeKZ5AAmVebBJg/default.htm

[Mike Sixel]

Good luck to him. Lack of health sucks.

[gunnarthor]

Dang.  Hope he comes back next year better than ever.

[Thrylos]

 

So your contention is that a position player is at higher risk to fail non surgical treatment than a pitcher? My suspicion would be the opposite- that since a position player places less stress on the elbow than a pitcher (proven in biomechanics studies), they are more likely to be successful with non surgical treatment. You can't just conjure the non-pitchers to study. You have to study what is available and extrapolate that data as best you can to other groups. 

 

My contention is that SS = 1 is not enough to draw any conclusions in any scientific study.

 

Nothing more, nothing less.

[Loosey]

This is a huge bummer.  I was really hoping I had misunderstood Watkins the other day.  Still think he has a bright future, happy he isn't a pitcher!

 

I know the theme of this thread is why didn't they address this sooner, and I have the same questions.  Was there a setback with his rehab, was it worse than originally thought?  You would think if it is torn, you fix it surgically, if not do you wait to see if it gets better, or until it tears fully?  I don't understand the whole thing enough.