A new development in Zack Burdi's recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Burdi is done with his participation in this year’s Arizona Fall League, pulled from competition with “general fatigue,” per a tweet from The Athletic’s James Fegan.
Burdi, a Downers Grove native, was a first-round pick of the White Sox in 2016, but he hasn’t pitched in the minors since July of last year, spending the time since recovering from Tommy John surgery. His seven appearances in the Arizona Fall League were his first ones of note after he played in zero minor league games in 2018.
While this news might raise a few eyebrows considering Burdi’s not yet all the way back from his surgery, it’s important to note the other part of that tweet: that he is still expected to be full go for spring training in February. But it’s doubtful that will eradicate the questions about how Burdi will fare following this lengthy recovery process.
Burdi, currently ranked as the organization’s No. 17 prospect, is the biggest name among a group of relief-pitching prospects that also features Tyler Johnson, Ian Hamilton, Caleb Frare and Ryan Burr, among others. Burdi’s status as a first-round pick has had fans penciling his name in as a potential closer of the future for some time now, and his likely next stop at Triple-A Charlotte (where he threw 33.1 innings in 2017) would have him on the doorstep of the major leagues, if everything goes according to plan.
But Burdi is one of a large number of White Sox prospects who dealt with significant injuries over the past year, a number large enough — and featuring prospects with high enough rankings — to bring to question whether the timeline of the organization’s rebuilding effort has been impacted.
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Hence the reaction to any injury news, no matter how slight, involving one of the franchise’s primary pieces of the future.