I like to watch Dodger baseball and it’s exciting to watch the Dodgers because they are loaded with talents. Additionally, they are excellent in player development and you can always see some top prospects from the Dodgers. Dustin May is one of the emerging stars in the league and he did pitch well in his 5 starts in 2021. However, he only pitched 1.2 innings in his last start due to the right arm injury. Unfortunately, he had to undergo Tommy John surgery.
For MLB teams, injuries are always nightmares. In particular, if a pitcher is required to undergo Tommy John Surgery (Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction), it may take a year or longer to return to the prior level of play. In these 3 years, there’s a long list of players who underwent Tommy John surgery and on the list, there are all-stars and award winners.
Two-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander underwent Tommy John surgery last September. Before the surgery, Verlander had played 16 seasons in the big league and tossed 2988 innings. Verlander has a 3.33 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 3013 strikeouts. It’s still unknown whether Verlander will be back this season.
Moreover, 7-time All-Star Chris Sale underwent Tommy John surgery last March and Noah Syndergaard also had TJ surgery last March. Chris Sale had tossed more than 1600 innings with more than 2000 strikeouts before the Tommy John surgery. In the meantime, Noah Sydergaard threw 716 innings for the Mets with more than 700 strikeouts. Additionally, Yankees’ Luis Severino is working to return to pinstripes after undergoing UCL reconstruction. The two-time All-Star didn’t pitch last season and he only tossed 12 innings in 2019. In his 5 years in pinstripes, he threw 530 innings. We shall see these three pitchers back on the mound sometime this season.
However, some pitchers had Tommy John surgery not only once, but twice. Jameson Taillon had first Tommy John surgery in 2014 when he was in the minors. Before his first TJ surgery, Taillon threw 382 innings. After rehab, Taillon made it into the big league in 2016. He had a good 2018 season, tossing 191 innings with 179 strikeouts. He earned 14 wins, posting a 3.20 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Nonetheless, he only threw 37.1 innings in 2019 and had to undergo his TJ surgery. Taillon was traded to the Yankees and so far he has thrown 37.2 innings after his second TJ surgery. In addition, Nathan Eovaldi has two Tommy John surgeries, the first surgery was in 2007 when he was in high school and the second surgery in 2016. After the second TJ surgery, Eovaldi has thrown 277 innings and he won the 2018 World Series Champion with the Red Sox. Furthermore, Mike Clevinger had a second TJ surgery last November and he will miss the 2021 season.
It’s only the second month of the 2021 season, but there are more than 10 players who underwent Tommy John surgery. If we include minor league players, the number will be much more.
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