Top Royals Pitching Prospect John Lamb To Have Tommy John Surgery

It's going to be a busy time for renowned baseball surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum. Earlier Thursday, it was announced by the Boston Red Sox that Dr. Yocum would perform Tommy John surgery on Red Sox righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka next week.

This afternoon, via the official Royals Twitter account, we learn that top Royals pitching prospect John Lamb will be having TJ surgery tomorrow in Los Angeles, performed by Dr. Yocum.

The lefthanded Lamb will turn 21 next month and had a breakout season in 2010 split between Single-A and Double-A ball. Baseball America ranked him as the Royals' No. 1 pitching prospect before this season and John Sickels of Minor League Ball rated him as the No. 6 overall Royals prospect for 2011:

6) John Lamb, LHP, Grade B+: Slippage in Double-A keeps him from A- at this time, but an outstanding prospect.

Presumably, with the usual 18-month recovery period, Lamb will be back on a pitcher's mound before he turns 23, which would still give him a good shot at a productive major league career.