Left-handed flamethrower projected to go to SF Giants in MLB Draft suffers UCL injury

The MLB Draft is coming this weekend, and it’s an incredibly important one for the SF Giants – probably their most important one for the next few years, in fact. Some lottery luck gifted them the fourth-overall pick, and they also have the fourth-largest bonus pool they can use to sign solid college talent or lure high schoolers from committing to a college program.

Also, at this point in their competitive cycle (i.e., they’re terrible), it’s absolutely crucial to stock up the farm system and build from within. The minor league system is already much stronger than the major-league squad, but is still pretty light when it comes to pitching.

Perhaps that’s part of why MLB Pipeline’s latest mock draft had the Giants taking Brody Bumila with their second selection in the draft, the 29th overall pick. The only thing bigger than Bumila – he stands an imposing 6’9” – is his fastball. The high-school left-hander regularly runs his heater up to 100 mph.

Imagine walking up to the plate as a high schooler and facing an absolute 6’9” unit throwing cheese like that. It’s little wonder, then, that he was named the Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year after going 4-0 with a 0.60 ERA with 85 strikeouts and seven walks in 35 innings, including a 20-strikeout, seven-inning no-hitter in May, per Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. He was already committed to Texas ahead of the draft, but as the 23rd-highest ranked prospect in the draft according to MLB.com, there was a chance some team like the Giants could lure him away from that commitment.

Brody Bumila was projected to be on the Giants’ radar

That’s not nearly as likely to happen now, though – at least not in the first couple of rounds. After his velocity dipped in his last few high school starts, an MRI Bumila underwent showed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, which is the elbow he throws with, of course. It’s also the same elbow he already had internal brace surgery on last year.

When high school arms are pushed to throw as hard as they possibly can pitch after pitch, the risk of injuries like this skyrocket. It’s a tale as old as time, but it’s easy to see why it still happens, though. Kids want to showcase their best stuff and stand out among the herd, and coaches want their players to be noticed and go on to have fantastic careers. It can really hurt their development too, though, as looks to be the case here with Bumila.

The Giants organization does love hoarding broken arms, but even Buster Posey, Zack Minasian and their scouting team will probably move on to other potential targets this weekend. The strategy of taking a pitcher is still solid considering that’s an organizational weakness at all levels, even though the best strategy is usually to take the best available player with each pick and work out how they fit later.

Most prospects will never reach the majors, after all, or they’ll end up traded before they ever receive "The Call." Whether they choose from a stable of young arms, take yet another middle infielder or go a different route, it doesn’t look like the path they choose will lead them to Brody Bumila anymore.

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