Long Recovery Ahead For Kolek

MIAMI—Righthander Tyler Kolek will miss the entire 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery on April 6. That puts a hold on the 20-year-old’s development but doesn’t make the organization’s No. 1 prospect unique.

Marlins ace Jose Fernandez had Tommy John in 2014, while relief ace Carter Capps, like Kolek, had the procedure this spring.

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Fernandez returned to the mound in 2015, but Capps and Kolek are out for the next 12 to 18 months.

Low Class A Greensboro manager Kevin Randel said Kolek would have been his Opening Day starter.

“It’s a tough break for him,” Randel said of Kolek, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft out of Shepherd (Texas) High. “He looked good this spring, and he reported in good shape.”

Kolek struggled in 2015, his first full season, going 4-10, 4.56 in 25 starts at Greensboro. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound righthander had control issues, issuing 5.1 walks per nine innings, while also failing to consistently miss bats with a strikeout rate of 6.7 per nine.

In addition, he struggled to hold runners, allowing 41 of 47 basestealers to succeed.

Randel, though, was impressed by Kolek this spring.

“He looked so much better than last season,” he said. “He was hitting 99 (mph). His offseason regimen was paying off—but then he felt discomfort.”

And just like that, Kolek, who signed for a franchise-record $6 million, will now have to work his way back to the mound.

“When he found out he was going to (have surgery), he seemed in good spirits,” Randel said. “He’s pretty mature. He’s going to work his butt off and, hopefully, come out of this a better man.”

FISH BITES

• Justin Twine began the season on the Greensboro disabled list with a hamstring injury. Randel said Twine will play second base every day when he returns, though he will receive “one or two” starts per week at shortstop, which is manned by the speedy Anfernee Seymour.

• Outfielder Isael Soto is back after missing about three months last year with a knee injury. He batted fifth for Greensboro on Opening Day, and Randel said Soto will bat in the middle of the order all season. “Soto has all the tools,” Randel said. “What he has to work on is strike-zone judgment. We’re going to pound him on that all year.”