Griffin Jax

[AZTwin]

Whats his commitment to the military like this year?  Is this the last year he has the commitment?  Will he have a 60 day leave like last year where he will be able to pitch?  Great stats last year.  Hope he can get to AA this year.

[Rosterman]

I think he will pitch when on leave. But, yes, he has anotehr year with the military.

[DocBauer]

I was thinking about him the other day when reading over some of the composite prospect lists here at TD. I'm sure someone has the answer better than I do. But best I can recall, when he joins the Twins kate again this year, he is either done with his commitment or it's his last "short" season due to his military obligation. I want to say he's done now.

 

He is one of those guys I thought might shoot up the rankings in to the top 30, maybe top 20, if he got the bulk of the season to play.

[goulik]

I agree! He could be a sneaky one because of the military obligation. I believe he would have gone much higher in the draft if not for the service issue and when he is able to focus full time on baseball, Im predicting he catches a lot of eyes quickly.

 

[Ben Noble]

Does anyone know if he's projected more likely as a starter or reliever? Guessing they'll have him start as along as possible, regardless...

[gunnarthor]

I think he's more or less a lost cause. I don't think he can be away from pitching for years and just get it. He's 23 this year and he's thrown less than 30 innings in A ball. And he wasn't exactly dominating A ball in that short sample.  

[goulik]

Up to now at least, he has been an effective starter with 26+ innings for CR last year in four starts. If he can develop a third pitch, he might be able to stick but right now he is a fastball - change up guy. Without that third pitch, he will end up a bull pen guy for sure. He's predicted to be in Fort Myers this year according to the TD Prospect Handbook.

[biggentleben]

 

I think he's more or less a lost cause. I don't think he can be away from pitching for years and just get it. He's 23 this year and he's thrown less than 30 innings in A ball. And he wasn't exactly dominating A ball in that short sample.  

 

Perhaps not on a stat sheet, but he showed a maturity on the mound and in his sequencing that you normally don't see from a guy pitching in a full-season league with so few pro innings under his belt, even the best of the best elite prospects. He truly blew me away with his composure on the mound.

 

I did put together a scouting report on him last summer after watching a few starts: https://puckettspond.com/2017/07/15/scouting-report-minnesota-twins-rhp-griffin-jax/ 

 

One thing to note...in my research for that piece, I had Jax with military commitment running this season and next as well.

[Squirrel]

 

Whats his commitment to the military like this year?  Is this the last year he has the commitment?  Will he have a 60 day leave like last year where he will be able to pitch?  Great stats last year.  Hope he can get to AA this year.

You know ... and I'm just sayin' because, well, it's me promoting ... he could be your selection in the Adopt-a-Prospect forum, which is now underway. He is obviously a unique and interesting prosepct and you could work to keep us all updated on his status.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/28784-2018-adopt-a-prospect-round-1-beginning-monday-mar-5/

[terrydactyls]

What is the status of Jax? Is he going to pitch this summer? Is his military service complete (or soon to be)? I haven't read anything about him since last summer when he pitched his last game before returning to active duty.

[Squirrel]

 

What is the status of Jax? Is he going to pitch this summer? Is his military service complete (or soon to be)? I haven't read anything about him since last summer when he pitched his last game before returning to active duty.

I combined your thread with another recent one just a few below yours. I think there are some answers above. Also, in a couple of weeks, when all the Adopt-a-Prospect pages go up, you can check there for updates on prospects such as Jax.

[jorgenswest]

With the lost years, won’t the Twins almost certain to be making 40 man roster decision and option decisions before they really know what they have in him? Is there any consideration given when a player is serving in the military?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

With the lost years, won’t the Twins almost certain to be making 40 man roster decision and option decisions before they really know what they have in him? Is there any consideration given when a player is serving in the military?

He'll be eligible for Rule 5 after the 2019 season unless we add him to the 40-man roster, and there's nothing we can do about that.

 

 

But once he's on the 40-man, he could possibly be eligible for a 4th option year because he's not spending full seasons active in the minors.

 

[Mr. Brooks]

The 40 man decision is an easy decision for the foreseeable future.

He's a long ways off of being in danger of being taken in a Rule V.

[terrydactyls]

Whats his commitment to the military like this year?  Is this the last year he has the commitment?  Will he have a 60 day leave like last year where he will be able to pitch?  Great stats last year.  Hope he can get to AA this year.

So far, the answers have been 1) he is finished with his military obligation, and 2) he has another year left. Can anyone with the Twins organization help out?

[Thrylos]

He has to complete 2 years of active service.  He graduated from the Air Force academy May of 2017, so he will be in active duty until May of 2019.  My understanding is that he will be in the reserves for an additional 3 years to fulfill his 5-year commitment.  I suspect that the Air Force will allow him to fulfill his reserves duty during the off-season.  So he will be able to engage in baseball activities 100% around June 2019, which will give him a month of EST and a short assignment in 2019 with full Spring Training in 2020.