Mariners’ top pitching prospect undergoes elbow surgery
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Herald news services
Sam Carlson’s 2018 season is done without ever really getting started.
The young right-handed pitcher, who was rated as the organization’s top pitching prospect by nearly every media and baseball outlet coming into the season, underwent surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament on Monday in Arlington, Texas. Baseball sources confirmed the report from MLB.com on Monday. Carlson also sent out updates via social media.
Dr. Keith Meister, the team orthopedist for the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars, performed the procedure. Typical recovery time for a UCL replacement is 12-15 months.
Carlson posted a picture of himself post-op on instgram, saying, “First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who has reached out to me in the last few days. I have the best support system in the world and I can’t thank them enough. This is not what I expected in my first professional season, however there is no smooth path to the top. Now it is time for the real grind to start. Much love and go M’s!”
Carlson, 20, has dealt with arm issues since the Mariners selected him in the second round (55th overall) of the 2017 draft out of Burnsville High School in Minnesota. He pitched in two Arizona Rookie League games in 2017, throwing three innings. But he developed minor elbow discomfort and was shut down for the rest of the season as a precaution.
The Mariners hoped that an offseason of rest and strengthening would allow Carlson to come back healthy for this season. But the elbow and forearm discomfort returned during the Mariners’ mini-camp in February. He was shut down again and given a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection. After rehabbing and strengthening the arm again, he’d recently resumed throwing off the mound as part of his throwing program. But a setback forced him to have the surgery.
Carlson was committed to the University of Florida before signing with the Mariners on a $2 million bonus and he was considered by some in the industry as one of the best prospects to ever come out of Minnesota, which includes the Twins’ Joe Mauer.
Carlson threw a sinking fastball that touched 96 miles per hour in the AZL and consistently pitched between 91-95 mph with a mid-80s slider. Baseball America also lists Carlson as possessing the best changeup in the Mariners’ organization among their top tools list.
He was ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the 2017 draft class at the time by ESPN’s Keith Law.
