iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The first overall pick of the 2014 Draft, pitcher Brady Aiken, had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow.
The 18-year-old Aiken is attending IMG Academy because he never reached a deal with the Houston Astros after they selected him with the top pick.
The left-hander threw fewer than 15 pitches last Thursday before leaving his start for IMG. It was later found Aiken had torn his ulnar collateral ligament.
“In my first game for IMG Academy last week, I threw a pitch and something felt a little wrong,” Aiken wrote on The Player’s Tribune website. “When I visited the doctor’s office and got the news I had torn my UCL, I can’t even begin to express how I felt. I was — and still am — overwhelmed with a lot of different feelings, but mostly it’s disappointment.”
Despite his disappointment, Aiken is still confident he’ll get back into top form.
“Two other pitchers drafted after me in the first round last year were picked by their teams despite just having undergone Tommy John surgery,” Aiken wrote. “This is just a temporary setback.”
Instead of attending a four-year college, Aiken chose to go to IMG. That decision means that he’s still eligible for the 2015 draft.
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