DJ Herz was put on the 15 day IL with an elbow injury and that doesn’t sound good
DJ Herz has been placed on the 15 day IL with a left UCL sprain. This is an ominous sign for the southpaw who’s velocity has been down all spring. Hopefully he can bounce back from this, but a UCL strain is often a precursor for the dreaded Tommy John Surgery.
DJ Herz was a popular breakout pick heading into the Spring. When I interviewed Andrew Golden of the Washington Post and Ryan Clary of Locked On Nationals, both mentioned him as a pick to click. He was a name I was looking at as well due to his deception and nasty stuff.
However, he never looked right this spring. His control, a previous problem Herz had done a decent job of mitigating was all over the place. He walked 9 batters in 9.2 spring innings. However, control has been a long term problem for Herz, so that wasn’t the most surprising thing in the world. These struggles caused him to lose the race for the fifth starter spot to Michell Parker.
What was surprising was how hittable he was. He allowed 10 hits this Spring, a lot for a guy who has always missed barrels. MLB hitters hit .224 against him last year and in his Minor League career, he held hitters to a .178 batting average.
With his velocity and stuff way down, it was clear something was wrong with Herz. It was attributed to “dead arm” earlier in the Spring, but now we have a more concrete answer. Hopefully Herz can avoid going under the knife and come back as soon as possible. He is a talented and unique pitcher who will be a big loss for the Nats.