Since the 2012 high school season began, something was off about shortstop Andy McGuire (Madison High, Vienna, Va.). He knew it, his coach knew it and others familiar with his ability knew it. For months, McGuire couldn't figure out why he wasn't firing on all cylinders, and the answer finally came right before he was to report to Southern California with Team USA. A partial tear of his labrum and bone spurs in his left hip was limiting McGuire's mobility. After winning a gold medal in Korea at the IBAF 18U World Championship, he had surgery to fix the tear on Sept. 19.

"I had to play without really telling anyone something was going on," he said. "I wasn't really sure what to tell them because I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew it was throwing me off because my feet weren't working as quickly."

McGuire described it as discomfort rather than pain and saw an orthopedic doctor in March, but X-rays and an MRI didn't reveal anything so he took a few days off to see if the discomfort would subside. It came and went so he played through it and his on-field performance suffered.

"That was tough, not performing to the best of my ability after working really hard in the offseason," McGuire said. "That was more of a confidence and mental thing that I as struggling with."

At USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars, McGuire went off at the plate and flashed all of his tools except speed. He received good reviews from scouts in all facets of the game, but his speed was below-average at best. With the injury and surgery coming to light, it'll be interesting to see what the No. 24 high school prospect can do in the spring leading up to the draft.

"I tried to make it look as normal as I could when I was doing certain things," he said. But running, walking, sitting, all those things, standing, were extremely uncomfortable."

With American Legion at TOS McGuire went 8-for-13 with three doubles and a triple and made the 28-man roster after the Prospect Classic. Just before heading to Southern California for the last round of trials, McGuire sat down with his parents to discuss his injury. He wanted to make the final roster and go to Korea, but he also didn't want to sacrifice his health and future in baseball. He made another trip to the doctor, who referred him to Dr. Andrew Parker, M.D., who serves as a team physician for the Washington Redskins. He quickly found the problem with McGuire's hip and told him he could play for Team USA, but would need surgery within a year and a half. McGuire elected to have the operation once he returned to the United States.

McGuire has been rehabbing since the surgery and he was expected to be at 100 percent four to six months after the procedure. He recently had a check-up and looks to be almost two months ahead of schedule. He has another check-up next week and expects to be cleared to do more weight-bearing exercises.