Yankees' 2024 third-round pick succumbs to Tommy John surgery before pro debut

The New York Yankees entered the 2024 MLB Draft with a conscious mandate to continue to add to their pitching ranks. And continue to add to their pitching ranks. And continue to add to their pitching ranks. The Yankees' first seven selections were solely collegiate pitchers, all the way down to Grand Canyon first baseman Tyler Wilson in the eighth round to break the pattern.

Unfortunately, while they may have earned high marks for taking risks and betting on the upside of some up-and-down electric arms, they learned the downside of that strategy once again this week.

Third-rounder Thatcher Hurd, a right-handed pitcher from Manhattan Beach, CA (Damon Oppenheimer's specialty) who ended his collegiate career at LSU, will reportedly undergo Tommy John surgery this week, sources tell Yanks Go Yard. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister.

Hurd, who posted a 6.55 ERA at LSU during the 2024 season, is a prime candidate to see his impressive raw stuff eventually harnessed to perfection in the Yankees' pitching lab. That development process will now have to wait, as Hurd won't debut at the professional level until Summer 2026 at the age of 23.

Yankees 2024 third-round pick Thatcher Hurd to undergo Tommy John surgery

Despite not appearing at any level of the minors last year, Hurd debuted in MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Yankees prospect list in the No. 23 slot. That was commensurate with his draft status; he debuted behind first-rounder Ben Hess (No. 8) and second-rounder Bryce Cunningham (No. 9), and ahead of Miami's Gage Ziehl (No. 25), whom the Yankees selected in the fourth round.

While Will Warren's impressive spring debut set a positive tone for the Yankees' group of pitching prospects who were battered and broken last year, Hurd's Tommy John follows the unfortunate news of Chase Hampton's concerning UCL issue, which is threatening to steal another season from the man who was thought of as the Yankees' top pitching prospect entering last season.

Despite a sterling starting five at the MLB level, uncovering additional depth in the minors after trading away a great deal of it between 2022-2024 was clearly a priority for the Yankees last June. Thus far this spring, their plan has been wrenched a few separate times.