Nationals top pitching prospect Travis Sykora to have Tommy John surgery

New York Times

28-07-2025

Washington Nationals' right-handed pitching prospect Travis Sykora will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn right UCL, the team announced on Monday. Sykora ranked as the No. 51 prospect in The Athletic's Keith Law's recently released top-60 MLB prospects list and is the team's No. 2 prospect behind 2025 No. 1 pick Eli Willits.
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Sykora, 21, was a third-round pick in 2023 out of Round Rock High School in Texas. The 6-foot-6 right-hander had a 2.33 ERA in 85 innings last season, with 129 strikeouts for Low-A Fredericksburg. He had hip surgery after the season and began this year rehabbing before making his season debut May 3 in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League. After two starts there and two starts with Fredericksburg, he jumped up to High A, where he dominated in 29 2/3 innings, posting a 1.21 ERA, with 47 strikeouts and only eight walks.
He was promoted to Double A on June 29 but left his second start with Harrisburg after only one inning with what was initially termed right triceps soreness. Sykora missed the Futures Game and an MRI later revealed the torn UCL.
Law talked about Sykora's potential and his injury risk in the top-60 write-up:
'Sykora's stuff rivals the top pitchers on this list, as he's 95-98 with a plus splitter and a solid-average slider already. But his delivery is high-effort and his arm is very late, neither of which is great for durability. He came out of his last start on July 5 with lower right triceps soreness, with the hope that he'll be back fairly soon,' he wrote.
'He'd gotten off to a tremendous start, dominating High A after his return from offseason hip labrum surgery with 32 strikeouts and just two walks in 18 innings in four outings, and then walked 12 in 16 1/3 innings in his next four outings, including the one he left after an inning. It's No. 2 starter stuff, and he showed that kind of command and control earlier this season before the latest injury. I do have doubts about him holding up, given the whole operation.'
The injury is a big blow for a Nationals' organization that has a strong core of position players at or near the big leagues but is lacking top-shelf pitching behind ace MacKenzie Gore. It's been a disappointing season for a club that was hoping to take a step forward this year but instead is in last place in the National League East with a 43-62 record. The Nationals recently fired long-time president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez.