Minor League Injury Report – July 2024

Welcome to the Prospects1500 Minor League Injury Report for July 2024. Here are some of the major injury headlines in the world of baseball prospects.

Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (hamstring)

Jordan Lawlar re-injured his hamstring in an AZL game a few days ago.

He is expected to miss around 6-8 weeks, manager Torey Lovullo said.

— Jesse Friedman (@JesseNFriedman) July 10, 2024

A frustrating season just got worse for Lawlar who finds himself injured for the third time this season. First, he tore a ligament in his thumb and then later aggravated his hamstring with a Grade 1 strain. Now, he will miss the next 6-8 weeks after re-injuring himself while rehabbing. If this is it for him, he will finish the 2024 minor league season with one home run and five stolen bases. He had aspirations of possibly joining the Diamondbacks this season but instead will work toward doing so at some point in 2025.

Jasson Dominguez, OF, New York Yankees (oblique)

Jasson Dominguez, recovering from an oblique strain, doing some light work in the outfield at the Yankees minor league complex earlier today… pic.twitter.com/XcVdajiQ9w

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) July 10, 2024

Dominguez went out with an oblique injury in the middle of June, and one month later, he still has a ways to go before returning. Classified as a moderate and significant strain, it’s obvious that this isn’t the lowest level type of ailment possible. As such, those higher-intensity types tend to take multiple months for a comeback. The most frustrating part is that had he been healthy, he would have had his opportunity to return to the Yankees lineup after the injury to Giancarlo Stanton. Now, he will have to tend to yet another injury and bide his time. He will continue to recover by slowly increasing his workload at the Yankees’ training facility.

Max Muncy, SS, Oakland Athletics (hand)

Here’s Max Muncy hitting an absolute BOMB in his first game back from the Triple-A IL.

461 feet
104.4 mphpic.twitter.com/dloVz2ZNCF

— Karl Buscheck (@KarlBuscheck) July 20, 2024

Muncy found himself with a hand injury on May 14, and since then, he had been out of action until he started his rehab assignment at the beginning of July. In his first eight games with the Rookie ACL Athletics, he accumulated eleven hits over 29 at-bats, alongside a .375/.400/.750 slash line. In his first game back with Triple-A Las Vegas, he displayed his power with that towering home run. It remains to be seen if he can debut with the Oakland Athletics later this season.

Endy Rodriguez, C, Pittsburgh Pirates (elbow)

The question that was asked was if we would see Endy Rodriguez play in any games for the Pirates this season. While it does seem optimistic that he has begun hitting from both sides of the plate, having him return in 2024 seems rather advantageous. He will be under team control for a long time and has most of his options available. The Pirates would be wise to keep him down until next season, ensuring 100% health in the process.

Tink Hence, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (cramping)

Nothing was ever officially released regarding the reasoning for Tink Hence leaving his June 5th start with cramping. That said, he did say that he would not be attending or throwing at the Futures Game because he wanted to focus on maintaining his health. In this interview, he seems to have a good head on his shoulders with the end goal in mind of preparing himself for his future. He gave the heat and a long inning of rest the reason for him feeling the cramps. After getting an MRI, both he and the team decided that it would be best for him to miss the game because while he could have good days physically, there’s a chance that he also has bad ones. This is a situation to monitor to see where he goes from here. It’s either a case of them not wanting to reveal the extent of the ailment, or them trying to assess the situation. The fact remains, he is a big part of their future and they obviously don’t want to ruin it. That being said, he has not pitched since June 23.

Kumar Rocker, RHP, Texas Rangers (Tommy John Surgery)

Kumar Rocker’s final line tonight:

3 IP
6 R (3 ER)
7 H
1 BB
1 WP
4 SO
1 ground out
2 fly outs

According to @AustinF0421 his fastball was 97-99 and topped out at 100.

— The Prospect Times (@ProspectTimes) July 20, 2024

This was Rocker’s third rehab outing back from his Tommy John Surgery back in May 2023. Additionally, he was seen hitting triple digits in this outing, which is very encouraging. It’s important to note that he now has eight strikeouts through seven innings thus far in his recovery. He will look to repeat this his next time out and could fight for a spot in the Rangers’ rotation or bullpen next spring. All that being said, he could get a chance to prove himself late in the season with Texas, especially if the team is out of contention.

Ricky Tiedemann, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays (forearm)

No update today on #BlueJays No. 1 prospect Ricky Tiedemann, who left last night’s start in Triple-A with left forearm tightness.

They’re still evaluating Tiedemann and “trying to get a plan together”, Schneider said.

Concerning injury when paired with velocity, control issues.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) July 11, 2024

A frustrating piece of news for the Blue Jays, as Tiedemann was making his way back from prior injuries. While nothing on that plan has yet to be released, one has to believe that it is a significant injury for them to garner such plotting. The Jays’ top prospect has missed time this year due a hamstring strain and ulnar nerve damage in his elbow, so compounding this onto his plate is not what the team wanted by any means. Since the injury, it has been said that he is looking for a second opinion on this matter, which is usually not a good sign of the original diagnosis. As it stands, there is a chance that he won’t pitch again in 2024, meaning that he will finish with just 17.1 innings thrown.