MASH Report and Velocities (3/16/15)

March 16, 2015

• Zack Wheeler has a torn UCL and will likely need Tommy John surgery.

Zack Wheeler has a torn UCL in his right elbow. Tommy John surgery is almost certainly inevitable. #Mets

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 16, 2015

I went back and looked at his injury indicators and nothing sticks out from last year. The only possible issues I spotted were that he was not an established regular starter and threw hard (95 mph fastball).

Also, let me clear up one item while the main stream media goes crazy with the huge “increase” in pitcher injuries. The current trend is only with elbow injuries. As I found this past fall, days lost to pitcher injuries are transferring from the shoulder to elbow.

Days lost to shoulder injuries reached almost 7,000 in 2008. In 2014, the total days lost was under 3,000. Much of this improvement can be attributed to better exercises for the muscles in the shoulder.

So with the number of shoulder injuries down, something had to give. The number of days lost to elbow injuries went from about 5,000 days in 2008 to over 8,000 in 2014. The days lost just seem to be transferring from the shoulder to the elbow.

People are not talking at all about the time lost to shoulder injuries being down over 50%.

• Omar Infante is not going to deal with a bone spur in his elbow until next off season.

Infante has been troubled by pain and inflammation caused by the spur for two-plus years. He received a cortisone shot to reduce the inflammation last season, and he received another last week. Infante has returned to the Royals’ lineup as the designated hitter in the past two days, and he could resume throw-ing activities Saturday.

Asked if he considered having the surgery after last offseason, Infante said, “I’m thinking about it after this season — right after this season. I want it to get better.”

The recovery time for shaving the spur can be anywhere from six to 12 weeks.

Infante battled through numerous injuries from elbow and shoulder discomfort to a back strain in 2014. He also endured being hit in the jaw with a pitch early in the season. Still, Infante played in 135 games, his third-highest total during his 13-year career.

Just expect no production from him.

• Chris Taylor will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist. They player who benefits most will be Brad Miller who loses his shortstop competition.

• Zach Walters will miss 3-4 weeks with a torn oblique.

• Jason Bour geois will miss four to six weeks with a fractured shoulder. It now looks like Brennan Boesch will have the inside track for the Reds 4th outfield spot.

• Brandon League is experiencing some shoulder soreness. He was in line for some possible early season Save opportunities with Kenly Jansen and Joel Peralta also nursing injuries. Not anymore.

• Aaron Harang is dealing with back pain. He may not be ready to go to start the season.

• Drew Smyly will miss at least one start to begin the season.

#Rays Cash said looking like Smyly won't be ready for his 1st start of season. Still thinks he could miss only 1 start.

— RMooneyTBO (@RMooneyTBO) March 15, 2015

• Josh Edgin had Tommy John surgery. And will need the minimum one year recovery time.

• Kevin Pillar may not be ready for Opening Day because of an oblique strain …. from sneezing.

• Ramon Santiago broke his collarbone and more details should be out today.

Velocity Readings from Injured Pitchers

Velocity is one of the few spring training stats which is extremely reliable which Mike Fast (now with the Astros) found few years back at Baseball-Prospectus. Here are some velocities of interest comparing spring training values to last year’s average.