The epidemic known as the Tommy John surgery appears that has struck once again, this time with Marlins ace starter Jose Fernandez. The right hander has now been placed on the 15-day DL with what was described as an elbow sprain, but all roads lead us to believe that Tommy John surgery will be required.
This is a sad case all around. In the Marlins case, they lose their best pitcher which was a big contributor for the Marlins good start to the season. Jose’s numbers so far spoke for themselves, he has a 4-2 record with a 2.44 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched. He is definitely an irreplaceable player, Miami does have great pitchers with the likes of Nate Eovaldi, Henderson Alvarez, and even Tom Koehler who are all off to very decent starts, but they were all great compliments to Jose Fernandez. Fernandez was the anchor and the leader or the rotation causing the rest of the rotation to thrive by removing some pressure off of them. Now not only will the rest of the rotation have added pressure, but someone will eventually have to step up and become the new ace of the rotation, which is easier said than done.
Fernandez quickly became must watch T.V. for baseball fans, his pitches are electric. It was also noticeable that Marlins Park had an increase in ticket sales every day he started. So for now, baseball fans everywhere will be contained from watching one of the great young stars of the league play.
As of right now, we can only sit and ask ourselves “what’s next?”. Fernandez would become the 18th pitcher this year that will require Tommy John surgery. This is not good for baseball, the fans are the ones who suffer the most because they are missing out on the opportunity to see great pitchers in the primes of their careers. It is very sad to see any pitcher undergo elbow issues, but it’s taking a toll on mostly aces. Fernandez, like Kris Medlen, Jarrod Parker, and Patrick Corbin were all the aces of their staff before they got hurt.
Jose Fernandez is only 21 years old so he will be back if he has a successful recovery. We have recently seen pitchers come back stronger after surgery and I believe we can expect Jose to come back after Tommy John surgery much like Stephen Strasburg or Adam Wainwright, but the case here is that we don’t want to see anymore increasing elbow issues, it is a loss for the Marlins, the league, and the fans. In the end, everyone loses.
Photo Credits: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
