Michael Kopech: Tommy John Surgery

Sampo Gida

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Aug 7, 2010
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I felt something was wrong in the Red Sox game. Command was off although velocity was decent. Arm slot might have dropped a bit as well. Wheels fell off the next one.

So much for teams/players beating TJS with training. Seems it's spiked since rash of TJS declining articles earlier in the year

He accrues MLB service time at MLB pay and should be good to go in 2020. Not like the White Sox were competing next year
 

Adrian's Dome

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Aug 6, 2010
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I think this epidemic starts way before MLB can have any kind of control over it or get ahead of it at all.

Arms, even the strongest ones on the planet, only have so many bullets in them. Pitching is an unnatural movement. When young, children should be focused entirely on building proper arm strength and solid mechanics, instead, children and teenagers are throwing harder than ever, with more breaking pitches than ever. You have little league and high school coaches taking these gifted arms and riding them like mules instead of properly grooming them for the long term.

When you have pitchers who are closer to 10 than 20 throwing in the 80s (or harder) while mixing in power breaking balls, TJ seems less like the exception and more like an inevitability.
 

RoDaddy

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Maybe we should give Dombowski more credit for his willingness to trade top prospects like Kopech (and Moncada) and Anderson Espinoza. A lot of us hated losing these two potential top of the order pitchers, but both ended up getting TJ. Dombrowski likely saw their talent, but was also wise enough - and ballsy enough - to roll the dice on the likelihood that a lot of things can go wrong between top prospect status and big league all-star. Of course, both pitchers still have a future, and unlike Sale, Pomeranz hasn't turned out as hoped, but that's another discussion
 

Cuzittt

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Sinister Funkhouse #17
Pomeranz has given the Sox two and a half years of Major league service.

That's not a bad return for one pitcher in A Ball.

And, that is said without referencing that Espinoza hasn't pitched in two years.
 

BaseballJones

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Oct 1, 2015
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Pomeranz' career numbers with the Red Sox:

309.1 ip, 314 h, 151 r, 145 er, 134 bb, 301 k, 4.22 era, 1.45 whip, 8.8 k/9
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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Maybe we should give Dombowski more credit for his willingness to trade top prospects like Kopech (and Moncada) and Anderson Espinoza. A lot of us hated losing these two potential top of the order pitchers, but both ended up getting TJ. Dombrowski likely saw their talent, but was also wise enough - and ballsy enough - to roll the dice on the likelihood that a lot of things can go wrong between top prospect status and big league all-star. Of course, both pitchers still have a future, and unlike Sale, Pomeranz hasn't turned out as hoped, but that's another discussion
The Redsox did a great job keeping the "right" prospects. Granted all of them are young and have time to improve. You can add Margot to the mix as well.