Photo courtesy of Brendon Thorne of Getty Images
The Arizona Diamondbacks top pitching prospect Archie Bradley has been placed on the disabled list because of a strained flexor in his pitching elbow. The team plans to rest his arm for at least two weeks before he resumes regular throwing.
The 21-year old right-hander is considered by many to be the top pitching prospect in all of baseball coming into the season and the Diamondbacks fully expected to call him up this year, especially with early season the injury to Patrick Corbin.
Bradley had been pitching in Triple-A Reno this season, but the team sidelined their ace on Tuesday with what they are calling a mild flexor strain in his right elbow. An MRI and CAT scan taken on Monday revealed there was no significant structural damage in the young prospects pitching arm, but this type of injury has a way of turning into Tommy John surgery. However, Arizona’s general manager Kevin Towers is optimistic about his players return and sees the injury as being routine for a pitcher, who throws as hard as Bradley does.
“The key thing is, structurally he is fine,” said Towers. “Most of our pitchers have some sort of discomfort when they throw. Small tears. That’s just the wear and tear of throwing the ball 90-plus (mph) every fifth day for a whole season. I wouldn’t be surprised at some point in his career he has tenderness in his elbow. That happens with pitchers.”
The team is taking the right precautions with Bradley by waiting for the swelling to go down before he resumes any type of throwing. He has struggled a bit this season in Triple-A by going 1-4 with a 5.18 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 12 walks. But the Diamondbacks are not taking any chances with their young ace and will now wait until he is fully ready to return.
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