Mets' pitching prospect Marcos Molina undergoes Tommy John surgery

Mets' pitching prospect Marcos Molina has undergone Tommy John surgery. Molina, 20, burst onto the scene in 2014, carving up the New York-Penn League. As a member of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the right-hander went 7-3 with a 1.78 ERA, with 91 strikeouts and 18 walks in 76 innings. Coming into the 2015 season, expectations were high, as Amazin' Avenue ranked Molina the Mets' ninth best prospect.

Molina made six starts with the St. Lucie Mets before being shut down on May 14 due to a strained right elbow. In those six starts, hitters batted .293/.329/.406 against him, and the right-hander allowed 16 earned runs in 32.2 innings (4.41 ERA), striking out 32 and walking eight. After exploring the possibility of needing Tommy John surgery, Molina and the team opted to have him rehab the injury naturally instead. On August 5, he returned to the mound for the first time in roughly two-and-a-half months, starting a rehab game for the GCL Mets. Molina returned to the St. Lucie Mets a week later, but had his season come to an end after only two more appearances due to lingering elbow issues.

The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery when the season ended. He is the second Mets minor leaguer to need the surgery this season, as Domingo Tapia underwent surgery in early May. In addition, major leaguers Zack Wheeler and Josh Edgin had the procedure in March.

The recovery timeline for the surgery is about a year, so Molina will likely not pitch at all during the 2016 season.