Strasburg probable Tommy John surgery

[MaTH716]

Terrible news for him and the Nats.


http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5502866

[Patrick333]

That is a shame. Both him and Washington.

[jms62]

What a shame... This kid had the potential to be great.

[Cannon Shell]

TJ surgery isn't nearly as bad as a shoulder surgery. Chris Carpenter, Francisco Liriano, David Wells, Jimmy Key, John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Edison Volquez, AJ Burnett, Ryan Dempster, Octavio Dotel, Josh Johnson, Kenny Rogers, Joakim Soria, Rafael Soriano, Billy Wagner, Jake Westbrook, CJ Wilson and Brian Wilson were all just as or more sucessful after having TJ surgery. The issue is it takes a long time to recover and usually isn't till 2 years after the surgery that they return to normal.

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

TJ surgery isn't nearly as bad as a shoulder surgery. Chris Carpenter, Francisco Liriano, David Wells, Jimmy Key, John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Edison Volquez, AJ Burnett, Ryan Dempster, Octavio Dotel, Josh Johnson, Kenny Rogers, Joakim Soria, Rafael Soriano, Billy Wagner, Jake Westbrook, CJ Wilson and Brian Wilson were all just as or more sucessful after having TJ surgery. The issue is it takes a long time to recover and usually isn't till 2 years after the surgery that they return to normal.

I agree, in the long run, he'll be glad he had it done early in his career.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

TJ surgery isn't nearly as bad as a shoulder surgery. Chris Carpenter, Francisco Liriano, David Wells, Jimmy Key, John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Edison Volquez, AJ Burnett, Ryan Dempster, Octavio Dotel, Josh Johnson, Kenny Rogers, Joakim Soria, Rafael Soriano, Billy Wagner, Jake Westbrook, CJ Wilson and Brian Wilson were all just as or more sucessful after having TJ surgery. The issue is it takes a long time to recover and usually isn't till 2 years after the surgery that they return to normal.

Since he is a power pitcher the question is how much he loses off his fastball.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by jms62

Since he is a power pitcher the question is how much he loses off his fastball.

After fully recovered he doesnt necessarily have to lose much. Liriano's fastball averaged 90 in 2008 after surgery but this year is back to 94 where he was before the surgery. Johnson's fastball avgs in the 94 range and on occasion he dials it up to 97.

The fastball wasn't really what made him special, it was the 91 mph slider and unhittable 83 mph curve. Those are going to be the issues once he comes back. The first year, velocity is always not where it was before because of the lost arm strength and how long it takes to recover that especially when you are gradually building it back as to not overdo it and cause set backs. The big question is can he make a full recovery like the guys listed. If he can than he will be fine and in 2013 you wont even be able to tell he ever had an issue. If he can't he will be Ben Sheets.