Kansas City Royals prospect Kyle Zimmer out 6-8 weeks with lat strain
The Kansas City Royals got dealt a double-does of injury news today. After sending starter Yodano Ventura to get an MRI on his sore elbow, the Kansas City Star is reporting that top pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer will be out 6-8 weeks with a lat strain.
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The muscle – technically known as the latissimus dorsi — is just below the shoulder, in this case, Zimmer’s right shoulder.
The 22-year-old prospect hasn’t seen much activity this season, as he experience shoulder soreness during spring training and has been bothered with some back issues during the season.
From the KC Star report:
"“He’s obviously down right now, because he knows it’s another six to eight weeks of no activity…We’ve had so many different images on his shoulder. We know that his shoulder’s fine. So we’ve ruled that out. I hate to say: It’s just one of those things. It’s almost a mystery.”"
Zimmer was the Royals’ No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft and finished the 2013 season pitching in Double-A, posting a 1.93 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.
These injuries can’t be of any help to the Royals, who are scuffling a bit of late. Potentially losing one of your best starters followed by one of your best prospects makes for a bad return from the holiday weekend.
The Royals currently sit third in the AL with a 24-26 record, 5 1/2 games behind division leader Detroit. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games, including a current 2-game losing streak.