Owen Murphy, one of the Braves’ top prospects, appeared poised to continue his ascent up the system, but he will not pitch for quite a while.
Murphy, the Braves’ first-round pick in 2022, will undergo Tommy John surgery, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Through seven starts for High-A Rome this season, the 20-year-old right-hander posted a 1.54 ERA. He had 60 strikeouts and 12 walks over 41 innings.
Murphy, the Braves’ No. 5 prospect on MLB Pipeline, will not pitch for the rest of this season. At this point, he might even miss all of next year.
His impressive start to the season had provided optimism that he might live up to the expectations set for him when Atlanta used the 20th overall pick out of high school two summers ago. And Tommy John surgery, which is unfortunately quite common nowadays, doesn’t mean his career will be derailed. He could return even better.
Murphy’s 1.54 ERA still leads the South Atlantic league. His 60 strikeouts rank second, despite him not having pitched since May 14.
After the Braves drafted him, Murphy said this:
“I knew that the Braves had some interest in me (entering the draft). I knew that they liked me, but I didn’t expect to be taken that early. It caught me by surprise and caught my family by surprise, but I’m really happy about it. I’ve loved the Braves’ organization. I kept up with their World Series run (in 2021). It’s so exciting to just be a part of this. It’s just surreal.”
Dana Brown is now the Astros’ general manager. When he was the Braves’ vice president of scouting, his group drafted Murphy.
“We think (he) can be a fast-track-to-the-big-leagues type guy,” Brown said at the time.
Murphy, who hasn’t yet had the procedure, faces the lengthy recovery process that comes along with it. Still, he could be a key piece of Atlanta’s future.
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