Tommy John-ers

The MLB has seen plenty of young stars head to the bench (and subsequently the O.R.) with Tommy John surgeries. To me, it has seemed like the operation has taken a special toll on the more prevalent names in the past two years.

This season (2014), so far, the TJ list has encompassed some bigger names, such as Patrick Corbin, Kris Medlen, Ivan Nova, Matt Moore, Jarrod Parker, AJ Griffin, and others. Additionally, some of the following players are scheduled to return later this season (or have returned) from TJ in 2013: Matt Harvey, Jaime Garcia, Gavin Floyd, Jason Motte, Chad Billingsley, and others. For a more comprehensive list, visit  http://mlbreports.com/tj-surgery/ . Also noteworthy is that baseball nation holds their breath in anticipating the news of Jose Fernandez and whether he will require TJ as well.

What is being put in the water served to MLB pitchers?! The list above is so full of talent. The biggest travesty is this: undergoing TJ surgery typically removes a player from competing for around 12-18 months. That's about a season and a half of missing play. That's a season and a half of not recording strikeouts, wins, saves, etc., thus disadvantaging the player from record books and potentially Hall of Fame votes. Like the number of licks to get to the bottom of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know.

Fantasy application: A theme to notice among these names on the TJ list--these are young guys, mostly. You don't see many seasoned veterans and the likes of your Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee, Jon Lester, David Price types. It does, however, make you suspect Felix, Kershaw, Sonny Gray, and other aces; I will certainly be watching them.

Thus, I suppose a key to finding success in your fantasy leagues is first and foremost finding a team/pitching staff that will stay healthy throughout the season. Easier said than done. At least until Baseball can figure out the cause of such an epidemic, perhaps the safer play is going with "older" pitchers: Wainwright, Greinke, Price, etc. It may not bring the most point per week average, but it will prevent you from scrambling trawling the leftovers in the free agency pool once a pitcher goes down for the season or trolling the other managers for a trade. That's just the safer, more conservative play, as opposed to adopting the high-risk high-reward model.

I'm anxious to see clubs find an understanding of the cause of these injuries, to adjust accordingly, and to foster the growth, well-being, and development of these young guns into the stars they can potentially become.

Until next time.
CR24