Fast-rising Marlins prospect Jake Eder to have Tommy John surgery, expected to miss 2022
Highly touted Miami Marlins left-handed pitcher prospect Jake Eder is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery, a source confirmed to the Miami Herald. The surgery will end his 2021 season and will most likely sideline him for the entire 2022 season.
No date has been set for the surgery, but, according to a source, it is expected to happen sooner rather than later to minimize the amount of time he is away from the field.
Eder, a Boynton Beach native and the Marlins’ fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt, is the sixth-ranked prospect in Miami’s system and the No. 81 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
His fastball, which sits between 93-96 mph and touches 98, and his low-80s slider are considered above average. He also has a changeup that he has become more comfortable throwing.
The 22-year-old lefty showed immediate success in his first season of pro ball this year, with a 1.77 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings through 15 starts for the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He was one of two Marlins prospects named to MLB’s Futures Game, a showcase of top prospects during the All-Star Game weekend, along with 2020 first-round pick Max Meyer.
“Eder’s strong 6-foot-4 frame is built for starting and his size helps create difficult angle on his pitches,” reads part of his MLB Pipeline scouting report, which also notes that Eder “has shown the makings of at least a No. 3 starter in his first pro season.
Eder pitched at least five innings while giving up no more than two earned runs in nine of his first 13 starts.
But Eder threw just 6 2/3 innings over two starts in August and hadn’t pitched since Aug. 13. He was removed from an Aug. 6 start against the Biloxi Shuckers after throwing just 40 pitches and threw just 56 pitches in the Aug. 13 start against the Montgomery Biscuits.
This marks the second season-ending injury to a top Marlins pitching prospect this season. Sixto Sanchez underwent surgery in July to repair a tear in the posterior capsule of his right shoulder.
Those two injuries — and the additional wave of injuries that hit the Marlins’ rotation this year — serve as a reminder for why having quality starting pitching depth is so important for an MLB team.
The Marlins have used a franchise record 18 starting pitchers this year, the latest of whom to start at the big-league level was Edward Cabrera, the No. 30 overall prospect and Miami’s top-ranked pitching prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Miami’s main starting pitchers for the final stretch of this season — Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers (expected back at the end of this week), Elieser Hernandez, Jesus Luzardo, Pablo Lopez (if he is able to return from his rotator cuff injury) and Cabrera — are all 26 years old or younger. 27-year-old rookie Zach Thompson, who has held down one of the back-end rotation spots since making his MLB debut on June 7, will also get consideration for starts down the stretch although he likely doesn’t factor into the Marlins’ long-term starting plans. Sanchez, when healthy, factors into this top group.
Behind them are the handful of pitchers who have made spot starts this year and are either in the middle tier of the Marlins’ prospect list or graduated from prospect status this season. They are Braxton Garrett (No. 12 prospect in the Marlins’ system), Nick Neidert (No. 13) and Jordan Holloway. Cody Poteet and Daniel Castano both also made multiple starts this year with mixed success.
From there it’s the top prospects who are still in the lower and middle levels of the minors. Meyer and Eder fall in this group, as do the rest of the Marlins’ 2020 draft picks: Dax Fulton (No. 9, currently with Class A Advanced Beloit), Kyle Nicolas (No. 17, Double A Pensacola) and Zach McCambley (No. 18, Double A Pensacola). 18-year-old Eury Perez, the Marlins’ seventh-ranked prospect who was promoted to Class A Advanced Beloit with Fulton, is also in this group.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 10:08 AM.
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