Red Sox top pick Casas has season-ending thumb surgery

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Red Sox 2018 first-round draft pick Triston Casas' first pro season lasted just two games. The team announced he had successful surgery to repair a thumb ligament and will be out for the season. 

Casas, 18, a third baseman and first baseman from American Heritage School in Plantation, Fla., selected 26th overall in the June draft, was injured in just his second pro game in the Gulf Coast League on Monday when he dove trying to field a ball at third. He had surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb on Thursday at Newton-Wellesley Hosptial. 

The Red Sox' announcement said he's expected to be ready for the 2019 season and a source told NBC Sports Boston Red Sox Insider Evan Drellich that Casas will be able to participate in the fall instructional league. 

The 6-4, 228-pound Casas, a left-handed hitter, visited Fenway Park on Saturday and took batting practice. 

“This experience right here? It’s something I’ll never forget. It makes me hungry to get back here,” Casas told the Boston Globe. “It’s pretty amazing. The history here at this park, and just to imagine how many great players came through this dugout and the other one, it’s pretty amazing to think about.”

Casas' injury and surgery is just the latest setback this season for Red Sox top prospects. Top pitching prospect Jay Groome was shelved after Tommy John surgery and top hitter Michael Chavis is serving an 80-game PED suspension.

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