Sadly, this category has returned, though it’s not nearly as long as some of the previous editions.
Seth Romero
Best-case scenario: Romero grows up, puts in the work necessary to rehab from Tommy John surgery, and shows up in the AFL in October in shape and ready to pitch. The problem is that he’s shown very little maturity and/or discipline for several years now. There’s not much doubt about his potential, but there’s plenty of reason to doubt he’ll realize it.
Yasel Antuna
Antuna holds the distinction as the most expensive July 2 IFA in Nats history. So naturally (Nationally?), he had to get hurt. And of course, it came after his best month at Low-A (July, .846 OPS vs. .506, .598, and .603, in April, May, and June). Three questions to be answered before Memorial Day: (1) Will he start in April? (2) Will he be used mostly at DH? (3) Will he abandon switch-hitting? We’ll get the answer to the first two fairly quickly. The last question is a bit more tricky, but Antuna has struggled as a RHB (.466 in ’18, .382 in ’17). If the conventional wisdom is that the “back arm” is the more important for a hitter, and that the surgery was indeed on his right elbow, then the decision may have been made for him by the injury.
Gabe Klobosits
Klobosits was a three-level pitcher in 2017, which particularly notable because he was a 36th Rd. pick out of Auburn and not a starter. He was moving along in 2018 at High-A and presumably on his way to perhaps a two-level season when he went on the DL in mid-May. He’s listed as having his surgery on May 1, 2018 but that’s probably May 21, May 31, or June 1, depending on the typo. He’ll be 24 if/when he pitches in the GCL and/or NYPL, so he’ll have to have a James Bourque-like resurgence in 2020 to get back on track.