Minor League Baseball

New York Yankees Pitching Prospect Thatcher Hurd Set to Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Former UCLA and LSU standout Thatcher Hurd, who the New York Yankees selected in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft, will reportedly miss the entire 2025 season.

Sam Connon

Hoover, AL, USA; LSU Tigers pitcher Thatcher Hurd (26) pitches against the Tennessee Volunteers during the championship game between Tennessee and LSU at the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Hoover, AL, USA; LSU Tigers pitcher Thatcher Hurd (26) pitches against the Tennessee Volunteers during the championship game between Tennessee and LSU at the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
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New York Yankees right-handed pitcher Thatcher Hurd will have Tommy John surgery next week, Baseball America's Geoff Pontes reported Friday afternoon.

Hurd will almost assuredly miss the entire 2025 season recovering from the procedure on the UCL in his right elbow. He will be the second Yankees pitching prospect to undergo the surgery this spring, as Chase Hampton went under the knife on Thursday.

The 22-year-old was the Yankees' third round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He finished 2024 ranked as the No. 23 prospect and No. 13 pitcher in New York's farm system, per MLB Pipeline.

Hurd was the top-ranked right-handed pitcher in California in the high school class of 2021, ultimately committing to UCLA. He opened the 2022 season 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA, 0.765 WHIP and 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings through nine appearances, only to have his freshman campaign cut short by a pars defect – a stress fracture of the bones of the lower spine.

After entering the transfer portal that spring, Hurd opted to go to LSU.

Hurd wound up recording the win in the 2023 College World Series Championship Game, lifting the Tigers to a title over the Florida Gators. Between his two seasons in Baton Rouge, however, Hurd went 11-6 with a 6.04 ERA, 1.640 WHIP and 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

The righty started a pair of games with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2024, going 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA and 0.724 WHIP.

The Yankees liked what they saw from Hurd, enough to give him an $836K signing bonus last summer.

Hurd did not make his professional debut in 2024, and he is now highly unlikely to do so in 2025, either. He has just 141.1 innings of organized baseball under his belt since graduating high school.

Related MiLB Stories

  • TIEDEMANN EYING 2025 RETURN: Ricky Tiedemann underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2024, likely knocking him out until the tail end of the 2025 season. CLICK HERE
  • COLE TALKS FACIAL HAIR: The Yankees softened their 50-year-old facial hair policy on Friday, but GM Brian Cashman still told Gerrit Cole and others not to go overboard with their beards. CLICK HERE
  • MARLINS' GO SIDELINED: Woo-Suk Go was poised to compete for a spot in Miami's bullpen during spring training, but he will miss the next few weeks with a fractured finger. CLICK HERE

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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