A study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found undergoing ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction does not impede a pitcher's ability to advance in the MLB.
The researchers identified 38 pitchers in the MLB draft who had undergone ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction and 114 pitchers who had not undergone the procedure. They investigated whether these two groups experienced different rates of professional advancement, statistical performance or injury rates.
Here's what they found:
1. There was not a significant difference in professional advancement for the two groups; 34.2 percent of the pitchers with ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction reached the major league level compared with 25.4 percent of the other pitchers.
2. When considering statistical performance, the two groups of pitchers had similar outcomes in terms of average velocity, peak velocity, innings pitched, games started, innings per game, earned run average and walks and hits per inning pitched, among other characteristics.
3. When considering future injuries, the pitchers who had undergone ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction had an increased rate of being assigned to the disabled list; however, there was not a significant difference between the two groups in terms of days on the disabled list or in terms of placement on the disabled list for another elbow injury.