Ryan Dease, Texas Rangers pitching prospect, has Tommy John surgery

Ryan Dease, Texas Rangers Minor league pitcher, has undergone Tommy John surgery, per a recent Instagram post he put up (which was noted by Tepid on Twitter). Dease, righthanded pitcher taken out of high school in the 4th round in 2017, generated positive reviews last spring, and had a spot start in Hickory, but spent most of 2018 in Spokane, where he put up a 5.34 ERA in 55 innings.

Dease, who turns 20 next week, would seem likely to be out until around the time short season ball starts up in 2019. Arm issues are one of the inherent risks of taking high school pitchers (or, really, any pitcher) in the draft, but Dease is still young, and can put himself back on the prospect map in 2020 if he comes back strong.