Update: Yankees’ James Kaprielian Scheduled For Tommy John Surgery

RHP James Kaprielian is scheduled to undergo “Tommy John” surgery on Tuesday, 4/18. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) April 13, 2017

Righthander James Kaprielian’s 2017 season is over before it began, and the 2015 first-round pick will have Tommy John surgery, the Yankees announced.

Kaprielian, the No. 16 overall pick in 2015 out of UCLA, missed almost all of 2016 with a strained right flexor tendon in his pitching arm. He looked great in three early season starts but had to be shut down after just 18 innings. He returned to the mound in time for the Arizona Fall League and ranked No. 87 on BA’s Top 100.

Kaprielian would have ranked higher if not for the doubts several scouts raised about his ability to stay healthy with his high-stress delivery. However, that delivery helped Kaprielian deliver 94-96 mph fastballs, touching 97, both early last season and in the AFL, while he also flashed a pair of plus breaking balls. He was held back a bit in big league camp as the Yankees were cautious with the 6-foot-4 righthander, and now he’s out for all of 2017 as well.

Last week, Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo told reporters, “He’s got some great qualities as a person, and then you put that together with the athleticism and the abilities he has on the baseball field, it’s the full package.”

It’s a package that has yet to make it through a full pro season. Fellow 2015 first-round pick Dillon Tate, whom the Yankees obtained last year from the Rangers in the Carlos Beltran trade, also is out for the Yankees currently with shoulder injury.

Fortunately for the Yankees, that 2015 draft class also includes fast-rising righthander Chance Adams, who is back in Double-A after finishing his first full pro season there last year.