Tommy John strikes again. This time, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost yet another one of their premier pitching prospects. As they patiently watch Jameson Taillon fight back from his Tommy John surgery last season, they have announced that No. 6 prospect Nick Kingham is done for 2015 and most likely at least a month of 2016.
Nick Kingham Update: Nick underwent right UCL reconstruction surgery yesterday.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 28, 2015
The expected recovery time is approximately 12-18 months.
Kingham, the 23-year old righty, has had a nice career thus far in the Pirates farm system. Throw away the win-loss record, which rarely matters when judging the future of a Major League arm, the former fourth round pick from the 2010 draft has put up nice peripherals.
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This year with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians of the International League, Kingham was putting up uncharacteristic numbers. His 1.31 WHIP was 12 points higher than his career, while his 4.31 ERA was just under an entire point higher than his career 3.35. The resulting news is most likely a precursor why. Tommy John surgery doesn’t always come out of nowhere, sometimes, it could be a slow tear of the UCL.
Strangely enough, Kingham’s best start of the season was his last. He went 5.1 innings against the Rochester Red Wings allowing just three hits in a no decision. One of the hits was a solo home run, accounting for the Red Wings only run, while he struck out three and walked none. It was in the sixth inning of that fateful May 6th start that he removed himself with pain in his right elbow.
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Fellow top pitching prospect Taillon has yet to pitch in 2015 after getting Tommy John last May. Although Taillon is throwing, this doesn’t bode well for Kingham who is getting the surgery a month later than Taillon did. It is a huge blow for the Pirates, who are suddenly surging on the big league level.
Kingham, the No. 68 prospect in baseball, is part of the future Pirates rotation that would soon consist of Tyler Glasnow (No. 12 on the Grading on the Curve Top 50), Taillon (No. 32 at GotC) and Kingham. Those plans are clearly put on hold.
Hopefully, Kingham and Taillon come back and fully recover to provide the Pirates with one of the most exciting young rotations in baseball.