Tommy John surgery sidelines Tigers pitching prospect Joey Wentz
Chris McCosky
Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers left-handed pitching prospect Joey Wentz underwent reconstructive surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow (Tommy John surgery) on Tuesday.
Wentz, acquired from the Braves in the Shane Greene traded last July, had missed most of spring training with a forearm strain. He had restarted his throwing regimen just two weeks ago.
The surgery was performed in West Palm Beach, Florida, by Dr. David Altchek. It is expected Wentz will be out 14-16 months.
Wentz, 22, is the No. 10-rated prospect in the Tigers’ organization (No. 7 by the Detroit News). He is considered the fifth-best pitching prospect in the organization after Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Alex Faedo.
He finished last season at Double-A Erie. In five starts with the SeaWolves, he was 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 37 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky