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Former Illinois baseball star Tyler Jay is out with a long term injury. Jay, who is in the Minnesota Twins farm system in AA Chattanooga, is being evaluated for thoracic outlet syndrome according to Twin City Pioneer Press.
Jay has struggled with injuries since being drafted 6th overall in the 2015 MLB draft. The hard throwing lefty only made 2 appearances this season. He will likely be having surgery, which will end his 2017 season.
Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is caused when blood vessels and/or nerves are compressed in the area from the lower neck to the armpit. This can cause shoulder pain and weakness, as well as numbness in the fingers.
Matt Harvey, and some other well know MLB pitchers, have dealt with TOS in their careers. It can be a difficult condition to deal with as symptoms come and go, which seems to be why Jay and the Twins are electing to get surgery.
Tyler Jay is the best prospect to come out of the Illinois baseball program in recent memory. He played a key role as the closer for the 2015 Illinois baseball team that won the Big Ten regular season title, and hosted the first home NCAA regional in program history. Jay was named Big Ten pitcher of the year and was named a first team All-American in his junior season.