Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy
It has become an all too familiar trend this season, pitchers who undergo season ending Tommy John surgery. It looks as if Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez will join an alarming list of pitchers.
The 21-year old hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with a strained elbow injury, according to manager Mike Redmond. Fernandez underwent an MRI in Los Angeles and Tuesday it was reported that the young pitcher has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
“We’re going to take every precaution necessary. He said he felt discomfort. So immediately, we’re getting him the treatment and the rest he needs,” Redmond said. “I think you’re always concerned when you’re talking about elbows. That’s something we have to wait to find out.”
This season Fernandez is 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA in eight starts and leads the majors with 70 strikeouts. Since Fernandez entered the league last season, he leads the majors with opponents’ batting average with a .183 average. He is also second in the league with a 2.25 ERA and second in strikeouts per nine innings with an average of 10.3 putouts. In 28 starts during his rookie campaign, Fernandez went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA with 187 strikeouts.
When Fernandez goes under the knife for Tommy John, he will be the 18 pitcher in the past 12 weeks to undergo the procedure. He joins a long list of young arms to have season-ending surgery in 2014 including Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy, Patrick Corbin, Jarrod Parker, A.J Griffen, Matt Moore, Ivan Nova, and Josh Johnson.
The National League Rookie of the Year from 2013 will likely be out 12-18 months, just as other franchise stars Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey were expected to miss. The re-building Marlins will miss their ace well into next season.
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