Royals lefthander John Lamb will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow ligament in his pitching arm the team has announced. The surgery is scheduled for Friday, June 3.

Lamb was ranked 18th on our Top 100 Prospects list before the season on the heels of an excellent 2010 season that saw him climb from low Class A Burlington to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. But Lamb didn't show the same velocity this spring, touching 90-92 mph this year after touching 95 mph in the past. At the time, his reduced velocity was explained as a problem stemming from a strained oblique, but he left his May 19 start after only two pitchers because of elbow pain.

This is not the first time Lamb has had to deal with a significant injury. As a high school senior he was diagnosed with a fractured elbow that was discovered after a car accident. He did not pitch as a senior, which explained why he fell to the fifth round in the 2008 draft, but he had shown no ill effects since.