The Texas Rangers top prospect, Josh Jung had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, stopping the chances of the third baseman being ready for the big league roster this spring.
Jung is 9/1 to win the American League Rookie of the Year and will have his start to the season delayed by the surgery.
The 24-year-old was lifting weights before the opening of the team's minor league camp in Arizona when he felt discomfort in his non-throwing shoulder.
Jung was the eighth overall pick in the MLB's amateur draft in 2019 from Texas Tech. He hit .326 with 19 home runs and 61 RBI’s in 78 games at Double-A and Triple-A levels last year after missing the first two months of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot.
With Jung not on the Rangers' 40-man roster he was able to join the minor league camp. It was widely anticipated that he would have been given an opportunity this spring to compete for a roster spot in the big league camp.
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Even though surgery was on his non-throwing shoulder, Jung is expected to return to hitting before playing defence. In the days before lockout began, Texas spent $500 million in free agency signings with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.
Speaking to ESPN, Rangers general manager Chris Young said: "That was the impetus for us getting a test on his shoulder, which revealed a level of damage that obviously required surgery.
"This is a tough break for Josh, but given his character and work ethic, we're fully confident Josh is going to make a full recovery and bounce back from this."
Jung's injury means that Isiah Kiner-Falefa is likely to start at third base, whenever the season begins.
