Adrián Morejón left his start against the Rangers in the first innings this afternoon. The young left-handed team has a forearm / elbow in its throwing arm, the Padres later told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune).
This is an ominous sound diagnosis, as forearm strains are often a precursor to Tommy John’s surgery. There is no indication at this stage that Morejón should undergo the procedure (or any other), but it seems he needs at least one injured list. Morejón, who has been breaking into the majors as a swingman for the past two years, started this season as San Diego’s fifth entree.
While Morejón only scored an ERA of 6.03 during his first 31.1 MLB innings, a deeper look shows much more promise. The former well-known international signer has been one of the best prospects of the game for the past four years, naming Baseball America’s overall replacement # 75 this season. While Morejón gave up far too many home games in his short big league time, he also showed the ability to miss bats and score the attack on the strike. His pass rate of 26.1%, 12% swinging strike and 5.8% running percentage is all better than the league average, no small achievement for a player who has just turned 22 years old.
Should Morejón miss time, the Friars could turn to a handful of other young arms in his turning area Dinelson Lamet is ready to return from injury. Top prospect MacKenzie Gore it is generally expected to debut at some point in 2021, with the former top ten selected Ryan Weathers has already made his MLB debut and is working out this year. Jordan Humphreys, which the Padres demanded last month of resignation, is among the other starting options on the 40-man squad.