Awful, awful news for the Mets and their fans: top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia has sustained a major elbow injury. Says David Lennon:
Jenrry Mejia has a complete MCL tear of his right elbow and surgery has been recommended. Wow.
Mejia had been pitching for AAA Buffalo, but left his most recent start after four innings with discomfort. He went for an MRI, which revealed the injury. Mejia is expected to look for a second opinion, but the likelihood here is that he's going to have surgery and will therefore miss the entire 2011 season.
Baseball America's preseason #44 prospect in the league, the 21-year-old Mejia had a 2.86 ERA over five starts with Buffalo. In 2010, he was effective at every level and even made 33 appearances with the Mets, during which he held his own. He was to make a push for the majors in the near future, so this news obviously comes as a substantial setback, and one can only hope that Mejia's able to make a complete recovery and eventually get his career back on track.