It’s not the news you want to hear this early in the spring. Anne Rogers of MLB.com has reported that left-handed pitcher Christian Chamberlain has a torn UCL. According to Rogers, he is deciding on the next steps, but typically, Tommy John surgery is needed to repair a UCL tear. Chamberlain had called for the trainer in his last spring training out on February 24th as he felt some soreness. 

It’s a tough blow for the Royals prospect who has recently turned heads over the last few years due to his nasty, back-end-of-the-bullpen-type stuff. Chamberlain started to look like he could be a vital part of the Royals’ future bullpen when he showed off his stuff on a bigger stage at the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars game. 

Although he struggled in Triple-A last year, he continued his dominance from the Fall League in Double-A, where he posted a 1.99 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. Chamberlain has always had command and control issues, which has limited his ceiling to a reliever. Still, his plus fastball and curveball combo was something you could dream of for an electric left-handed arm in the bullpen. 

Both Chamberlain and Carlos Hernandez suffered injuries early on this spring. The Royals loaded up on bullpen arms this offseason, and it was a smart move as these two high-powered arms have gone down early into the spring season. If Chamberlain opts for Tommy John (which is the likely scenario), he will be out for the entire year. We will continue to provide additional information on this as it comes out. We are hoping Chamberlain has a speedy recovery process!