Top Red Sox Prospect Has Tommy John Surgery

The Boston Red Sox are off to a hot start in the AL East, but the future is suddenly a bit of an unknown -- as top pitching prospect Bryan Mata is out for the season following Tommy John surgery.

Mata is believed to have first suffered an elbow injury at the end of spring training in March. He resumed throwing earlier this month, but things only seemed to get worse.

The surgery, which Mata underwent Tuesday, was to repair a slight ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow. Most pitchers who undergo Tommy John surgery are out at least seven or eight months.

Matta, 21, reached Double-A as a 20-year-old in 2019 and posted a combined 3.43 ERA and 24.7 percent strikeout rate and 9.3 in 105 innings across two levels that season. 

Some considered him a potential member of the parent club by the end of this season had he remained healthy.

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Sam Amico spent 15 years covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports and NBA.com, along with a few other spots, and currently runs his own basketball website on the side, FortyEightMinutes.com.