Pitching prospect Albert Abreu will miss the start of Spring Training after having appendix surgery yesterday, reports Brendan Kuty. He’ll be released from the hospital tomorrow and the hope is he can resume working out in two weeks. “Regardless, it’s going to push him back,” said Brian Cashman.
Abreu, 22, came over from the Astros in the Brian McCann trade and is arguably the best right-handed pitching prospect in the farm system. FanGraphs (No. 59), MLB.com (No. 74), Baseball America (No. 77), Keith Law (No. 99), and Baseball Prospectus (No. 100) all had him on their recent top 100 prospect lists. Here’s a snippet of MLB.com’s scouting report:
When Abreu is at his best, he exhibits command of three pitches that all grade as plus or better. His fastball usually runs from 93-98 mph, tops out in the triple digits and features sink and run that generate both swings and misses as well as weak ground-ball contact. His power breaking ball looks like a curveball at times and a slider at others, more often the former, and he also can miss bats with his fading changeup.
Last season Abreu, who was added to the 40-man roster in November, posted a 3.37 ERA (3.12 FIP) with 27.6% strikeouts and 8.1% walks in 53.1 innings between rookie ball and Single-A. He missed three months total with elbow and lat problems, but was healthy enough to go to the Arizona Fall League, where he had a 2.60 ERA in six starts and 27.2 innings.
Appendix surgery is fairly routine and Abreu figures to be back on the mound before the end of Spring Training. The Yankees won’t rush him back though. No reason to at this time of the year. Get well, then get ready for the season.
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