Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
One fantasy baseball prospect that flew through the minors last year was Baltimore Orioles SP Dylan Bundy.
Bundy was the team’s first round pick in 2011 and quickly shot through team’s farm system. Bundy went from high school, all the way up to the show in just one season of professional baseball. He only pitched two innings of relief action in Baltimore, but it was still a valuable experience for the youngster. Bundy is the future of the team’s rotation and was even ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in Baseball America this summer.
However, after his promising 2012 season, the superstar prospect has yet to throw a single pitch this season. Bundy has dealt with some elbow soreness, so his 2013 debut has continuously been pushed back. He had an MRI three weeks ago and the elbow has continued to bother him, so the pitcher decided to take the next step.
The popular prospect made an appointment to see Dr. James Andrews on Monday, who has been known as the kiss of death for fantasy pitchers. The mere fact that he is heading to see the well-known surgeon does not bode well for the young ace.
Almost 99.9% of the time when a player heads down to Florida to see Dr. Andrews, they end up requiring major surgery. Even worse, Tommy John surgery normally takes around two years to fully recover from, so dynasty league owners will be biting their fingernails until the reports come out.
If you need proof of how devastating the surgery can be to a pitcher just ask Stephen Strasburg, Brett Anderson, or Chris Carpenter.
If Bundy does need surgery, the procedure would greatly hinder the maturation of his arm. Instead of fine-tuning his craft over the next year, Bundy would instead be forced to spend the entire time rehabbing and basically learning how to use his arm all over again. Not a good sign for a potential fantasy superstar.
Regardless of whether he needs surgery or not, though, the former prep school pitcher likely won’t be picking up baseball anytime soon. He is one of the youngest five-star pitching prospects and the injury will just delay his true MLB debut.
Fantasy owners with Bundy on their roster must simply remain patient and hope for the best.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
