Another promising Dodgers pitching prospect reveals Tommy John surgery prognosis

Before spring training even started, the Dodgers announced that their No. 3 prospect and top pitching prospect Nick Frasso had undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum in November and would miss the rest of the season.

It was the first time a top Dodgers prospect would see his season cut short because of an injury, but it wouldn't be the last. Emmet Sheehan was present at spring training but didn't pitch because of shoulder soreness, and he underwent Tommy John on May 15. Now, Kyle Hurt, LA's No. 5 prospect, who will be joining the list.

On Wednesday, the Dodgers announced that Hurt would go under the knife for a Tommy John of his own, dealing another blow to both the rotation and the top of the pipeline.

Hurt has been injured throughout the season, but he first went onto the 15-day IL on April 17 with shoulder inflammation and was transferred to the 60-day on April 27. The Dodgers sent him on a rehab assignment in OKC on June 7, but told him to stay there when they called up Landon Knack on June 21. He pitched 5 2/3 innings in Triple-A after officially being reinstated from the IL but went down again on July 6. At that point, something brutal akin to Tommy John seemed inevitable.

Top Dodgers pitching prospect Kyle Hurt to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery

Hurt pitched 6 2/3 innings with the big-league club toward the beginning of this season, including two in Seoul against the Padres and 2 2/3 against the Cardinals during the Dodgers' first stateside series. He was a part of the revolving door of relievers LA was employing early on, and was sent down at the beginning of April but called back up on the 16th to make his first start of the year in a bullpen game. It went well — he pitched two innings and gave up three hits but no runs. It could've been the start of his case to stay up with the team, but then the injuries set in.

Even when things seemed like they were on an upswing for Hurt in June, the Dodgers made the right call leaving him in the minors until further notice. Although this is a huge disappointment for yet another top LA prospect and a huge setback for Hurt, at least the team has finally seemed to identify the issue and took the necessary measures to get him healthy again.

Hurt will not pitch again until his age-27 season.