Mets top pitching prospect to undergo Tommy John surgery

New York Mets pitching prospect Matt Allan has a partial tear in his UCL. As a result, he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery.

Allan turned 20 years old just last month, so he’s still a few years away from reaching his MLB potential. While Tommy John surgery is enough to scare any fanbase, it’s better the Mets found said elbow issue now, rather than down the road.

The Mets third-round pick in 2019, Allan underwent a physical earlier last week, revealing the UCL issue. It’s expected that he’ll miss the remainder of the season, taking away a critical year of minor-league development.

Mets still believe in Matt Allan despite injury

Allan was excited heading into his first full season. Here’s what he had to say at minor-league camp.

“Now being in minor league camp, I think I really feel — I think a good way to say it is just dominant,” Allan said in late April. “I think facing some of the big leaguers and 40-man guys and just generally older guys, to facing kind of my level, High-A guys, Double-A guys, I think honestly I just feel pretty dominant, and I’m looking to take that into the season.”

Tommy John surgery takes about 12-18 months to recover from, so Allan could miss a significant portion of the 2022 season as well. For a pitcher who was considered one of the top high school talents in the country in the 2019 draft class, this signals a significant delay in his development.

New York was very high on Allan in spring training.

“Matt Allan is one of the more special kids in terms of maturity I’ve ever talked to,” said current Mets assistant hitting coach Kevin Howard, formerly the director of player development, in an interview during spring training. “It’s unbelievable this guy’s makeup. He acts and talks like a guy who’s already completely matured. His focus is exactly where I’d want a young pitcher’s focus to be.”

Expect the Mets to remain cautious with Allan, who they’ve invested heavily in.