Phillies Pitching Prospect Suffers Career-Threatening Injury
Phillies 2014 2nd round pick suffered a major, career-threatening injury
Matt Imhof, the Phillies second round pick from the 2014 draft, underwent surgery on his right eye last week after suffering a freak workout injury following a game against Brevard County.
The 22-year-old was participating in a routine, post-game exercise when a piece of equipment broke and struck him in the eye. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnik says sources believe Imhof will need additional surgeries, and that the piece of equipment which malfunctioned was an arm band.
Imhof last pitched on the 24th against Brevard County, and pitched a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout in a 9-2 Threshers victory.
The Phillies drafted Imhof out of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo with the hopes of him being a starting pitcher. Imhof received a $1,187,900 signing bonus after being drafted 47th overall.
Prior to the Phillies roster-purge and influx of highly regarded prospects, Imhof was listed as the clubs’ 13th best prospect during the 2014 season. He watched his ranking drop to 19th the following season, and eventually fell off of the team’s top 30 all-together prior to 2016.
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Command issues relegated Imhof to the Clearwater Threshers bullpen earlier this month. He had a 3.91 ERA in 14 games this season with 48 strikeouts and 43 walks in 53 innings.
Imhof made his last start of the season on May 29, and allowed five earned runs in two innings of work. He made five relief appearances in the month of June, and pitched 9.1 innings with seven hits, two runs, 11 strikeouts, and six pesky walks.
Last season he started 18 games in his first year with Clearwater, and posted a 3.94 ERA.
The 6’5 lefty has a career minor league record of 13-10 with a 3.69 ERA, 154 hits, 93 walks, and 147 strikeouts in a total of 173 innings. Only one time in his two seasons as a Clearwater starter did he walk less than two batters in an outing.
Imhof’s agent Adam Karon says the family is asking for privacy as Matt recovers, and that there will be no updates on his condition in the near future. He has officially been placed on the Phillies minor league seven-day disabled list, but a return to the mound is unknown at this point.