LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers right-hander Zack Hess underwent Tommy John surgery in late January. The procedure took place in Arlington, Texas.
He will miss the entire 2022 season.
Hess, a seventh-round pick from LSU in the 2019 draft, pitched for High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie last season, along with making 10 appearances out of the bullpen for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League.
“Not the way I thought 2022 was gonna start out, but, such is life,” Hess wrote in an Instagram post. “Tommy John surgery officially in the books.”
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His post continued: “If this has taught me anything so far, it’s that I’m one lucky dude. Thankful to be surrounded by others who care and support me, even when things take an unexpected left turn. I really appreciate you guys. Time to get back to work and hopefully found out a few things about myself along the way.”
Hess posted a 3.62 ERA with 34 walks and 66 strikeouts in 49⅔ innings across 43 relief appearances for the Whitecaps in 2021. He also tossed three scoreless innings, with one walk and one strikeout, for the SeaWolves.
In the Arizona Fall League, Hess had a 9.00 ERA with seven walks and 12 strikeouts in 10 innings.
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