Cardinals rookie right-hander Alex Reyes will undergo Tommy John surgery
Reyes came in to spring training as baseball's consensus top pitching prospect
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
Spring training is just getting started and already the St. Louis Cardinals have been dealt a devastating blow.
Rookie right-hander Alex Reyes, the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball, will indeed undergo Tommy John surgery. The team announced the news Wednesday morning.
Reyes, 22, went for an MRI earlier this week after experiencing elbow discomfort. The Tommy John surgery means he will miss the entire 2017 season, and likely the start of 2018 as well.
Here’s what Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told reporters, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, about the injury Wednesday morning:
“Hopefully he’ll be back better than ever,” Mozeliak said. “It’s obviously very disappointing. Had very high expectations for him. But I guess if you’re going to look at it from a timing standpoint, now he has a year to do his rehab and get everything that he’s dealing with under control.”
Last year Reyes made his big league debut in the second half, throwing 46 innings with a 1.57 ERA (263 ERA+) across five starts and seven relief appearances. He struck out 52.
In recent weeks the various scouting publications have all ranked Reyes among the game’s very best prospects. Here is where he ranked on the top 100 prospect lists:
- Baseball America: No. 4 prospect overall (No. 1 pitcher)
- Baseball Prospectus: No. 1 prospect overall
- ESPN: No. 10 overall (No. 2 pitcher behind White Sox righty Michael Kopech)
- MLB.com: No. 7 overall (No. 1 pitcher)
MLB.com’s free scouting report says Reyes’ “combination of elite stuff, strong, durable body and track record of missing bats point to a future as a frontline starter.” Like most young pitchers, he is still refining his command, though his raw stuff is unquestionably among the best in the minors.
The Cardinals are fairly deep with starting pitchers at the moment. Reyes figured to join Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, and Mike Leake in the starting staff. Lance Lynn is coming back from Tommy John surgery himself, and young Luke Weaver is an option too. He made his big league debut last season.
These days teams are giving pitchers closer to 18 months to rehab from Tommy John surgery. The recent rash of pitchers needing second Tommy John surgeries has led to teams playing it safe, and stretching the rehab from 12-14 months to 16-18 months. Needless to say, the Cardinals will be cautious with Reyes’ rehab.
