Cubs Two-Way Prospect Nazier Mulé Needs Tommy John Surgery

As initially reported by Meghan Montemurro of the Tribune, Cubs two-way prospect Nazier Mulé will miss what would have been his first professional season due to upcoming Tommy John surgery. A fourth-round draft pick out of Passaic County Technical Institute — which is a high school even though it sounds like a college — in New Jersey, Mulé is capable of reaching triple digits on the mound and has a nice power profile as a shortstop. He came in at No. 27 in MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings of the organization’s top prospects.

While you never want to see a player have to sit out an entire season, Mulé won’t turn 19 until October and has yet to play in an actual professional game. This year would have been mainly about gaining strength and honing his skills, so he’ll still be able to do quite a bit of that over the next 12-14 months. And since he’ll be able to work on his hitting and fielding well before he returns to the mound, he should be back on the field a little earlier than if he was just a pitcher.

Selfishly, I was looking forward to seeing what Mulé could do as a two-way player with the kind of pure athletic talent you don’t see every day. To have that kind of velocity as a high schooler isn’t incredibly common and to do so while still ostensibly being able to handle a premium position is exceptional.