Danny Duffy Injury Sends Royals Starter To Disabled List

As a sophomore in 2012, Royals starter Danny Duffy has averaged just over 95 miles per hour with his fastball. That is an even better fastball!

Now, correlation is not causation and I can’t prove any link here, but while Duffy’s velocity is up, he’s also recently dealt with elbow problems. Sunday, Duffy had to be removed from a start after feeling elbow discomfort, and he was sent for an MRI. The Royals don’t yet know the results of the MRI, or they do know and haven’t yet made them public, but whatever the case, the Royals have gone ahead and placed Duffy on the disabled list:

Now, the Royals are hoping it’s just inflammation or a minor injury, although club officials privately fear the worst - that Duffy will require Tommy John surgery to replace the ligament.

Nate Adcock was recalled to take Duffy’s place on the roster. The Royals are a lot less interested in Adcock than they are in what’s up with Duffy, and they’re expected to know whether Duffy will be out for a little while or a long while in a little while. Of course club officials would fear the worst. Why wouldn’t they fear the worst? This isn’t even just about the Royals organization. This is about Danny Duffy being a young pitcher, and young pitchers being as fragile as falling eggs.