Minor League Injury Report - May 2024 (2024)

Welcome to the Prospects1500 Minor League Injury Report for May 2024.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Shortstop phenom Jordan Lawlar received good news after a follow-up to his thumb surgery back in March. The team said that he is in a good place, indicating that all is how it should be at this time. He will be assessed in the near future to see how his body is responding to the resumption of baseball activities. It will be then that a timeline for a return could be estimated. There is still a chance that he will play for Arizona this year, but he still needs some seasoning in the minor leagues.

Baltimore Orioles

Third base prospect Coby Mayo suffered a big injury this past week, as he fractured his ribs while attempting to make a catch past the third base line.

Here’s the play where Orioles prospect Coby Mayo fractured his rib Thursday. The organization says he will miss several weeks with the injury. pic.twitter.com/HzdMMqZAJF

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) May 17, 2024

The timeline, as it stands, is for him to miss several weeks, though that is vague in nature. There were some rumblings about him possibly getting called up to replace a scuffling Ramon Urias, but it would appear that those dreams would have to wait for the time being. Prior to the injury, Mayo was batting .291 with thirteen home runs and three stolen bases. Should he recover as planned, there is still a good chance that he will make his Major League debut at some point this season.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox have been dealing with injuries at the Minor-League level this year as well. Now corner infielder Blaze Jordan will miss some time with a fractured ring finger after colliding at home on a slide.

Blaze Jordan is out of the game here at Hadlock after this play at the plate. Jordan tried to go 1st to home on a Nick Yorke double, but appears to get his left wrist jammed on the catchers knee while trying to touch home. pic.twitter.com/9LB54o1Zej

— Josh Ball (@JoshBall22) May 11, 2024

Jordan has already been placed on the 7-day Minor League Injured List, but the expectation is that it will be a multiple-week absence. The injury took place on May 11, and while a timeline has not been set out, Jordan himself did comment saying that this won’t keep him out of action for too long. A return sometime in late June or early July seems possible if everything goes right, that’s just speculation for now.

Cleveland Guardians

Outfielder Chase DeLauter had a breakout performance during Spring Training, and was thought to be in line for a promotion to the Guardians at some point this season. Unfortunately for him, not only did he struggle at the plate at Double-A Akron this spring, he also suffered a fracture in his foot. It turns out, this was an ongoing problem from a surgery he had years ago.

However, the team was recently given some tremendous news:

Chase DeLauter is back to doing baseball activities. He’s been hitting on the field and now just needs to begin a running progression.

— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) May 19, 2024

He has gone from being shut down completely to going through some baseball activities. This is a good step forward which gives hope for a debut this season. That being said, he is such an important piece to the team’s future, that they will likely be extra cautious to ensure that he is 100% healthy before sending him back onto the field. The only good news is that surgery is not required, meaning the team can plan accordingly.

Detroit Tigers

Jackson Jobe, widely regarded as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury. He suffered this at the beginning of May and will miss some time while he recovers.

Video of Jackson Jobe’s final pitch and clear discomfort around the hamstring/back of the knee: https://t.co/r24BvVmiZ0 pic.twitter.com/nc7OaVES9T

— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) May 1, 2024

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The good news is that this shouldn’t impact the team’s overall plan for him in 2024. Seeing as this is a lower-body injury, his arm remains intact, meaning that the Tigers can continue along the innings cap they set out for him at the beginning of the season. He will likely make his debut for Detroit at some point in 2025. As for the hamstring, the injury isn’t believed to be a serious issue that will cost him too much time.

Los Angeles Dodgers

As if the team needed more reinforcements in the future, the Dodgers have another one brewing in the lower levels of their Minor League system. Outfielder Zyhir Hope has been tearing through Single-A Rancho Cucamonga all season, but he has suffered a shoulder injury, which will keep him out of commission for the time being.

Zyhir Hope was placed on the 7-day IL today by @RCQuakes with a shoulder injury suffered on Sunday

— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) May 1, 2024

The nineteen-year-old has been on the team’s 7-day Injured List since the beginning of May, but the hope (pun intended) is that he can be back soon. He has made a strong impression with the Dodgers ever since he was acquired in the trade of Michael Busch. He is still a few years away from debuting, but he is someone to monitor going forward.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins received this much-needed good news regarding their two top prospects Walker Jenkins and Brooks Lee.

#MNTwins top prospects Walker Jenkins (left hamstring) and Brooks Lee (back) have both been assigned to the Florida Complex League on rehab assignments.

Lee has yet to appear in a regular season game, while Jenkins only got in one before his injury. https://t.co/NmSutSZCdN

— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) May 20, 2024

Both Walker Jenkins and Brooks Lee have one combined plate appearance this season due to their own ailments, but seeing them get into game action now has to be a big sigh of relief for everyone involved. While Jenkins is a long ways away from making his debut, his upside is borderline elite. Having missed some time due to injury does slow his timeline down a bit, but he’s good enough to make up for it the next time he steps in the batter’s box. As for Lee, he had a tremendous 2023 season and is a big part of the Twins’ future. He was projected to make his debut sometime this summer, but time will tell if he’s still able to play in Minnesota this year.

New York Mets

The Mets have two important prospects that are recovering from their own injuries, and both of them have some uncertain futures. Shortstop Jett Williams received a cortisone shot earlier this month in his wrist, with the hope that he can start swinging a bat. Williams has yet to do that, but keep in mind that injury updates in the Minor Leagues are few and far between. As for Drew Gilbert, the team will begin a running progression program at the end of this month (or early June) in an effort to see exactly where he is in his recovery. He has yet to play in a game since injuring his hamstring at the beginning of April.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays have their share of ups and downs with one of their stud prospects Ricky Tiedemann. He has had some difficulty staying healthy, but he seems to be on the right path for now.

Ricky Tiedemann (ulnar nerve inflammation) is back on a mound and throwing bullpens, per Ross Atkins.
Expectation is he’ll be back in game action “relatively soon.”
The missed time due to injury has also removed any potential workload concerns down the road this year.

— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) May 18, 2024

While that all seems like a good sign (which it is), it’s important to note that this is the latest in a string of injuries to start his professional career. Over the last fourteen months, Tiedemann has suffered injuries to his throwing shoulder, left bicep, left hamstring, left calf, and now his left elbow. He has compiled just 130.2 innings pitched since being drafted, and may not be able to add much more than that this year if he doesn’t get on the field soon enough. His stock is definitely dropping enough to warrant a buy-low opportunity with the risk of further injury down the road. The upside is there, but there is no guarantee that he will be healthy enough to fulfill it.