Milwaukee Brewers: Luis Ortiz Heading To DL

One of the Milwaukee Brewers top prospects is hitting the disabled list.

News came out that Luis Ortiz has what is being called a tight hamstring. According to a tweet by Adam McCalvy, it is thought to be a mild issue. It is still not good to see a top five prospect go down for any period of time. Ortiz is ranked as the fourth best prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers organization according to MLB Pipeline.

Injuries have long been associated with Ortiz. He was a top prospect for the 2014 draft, but some issues with his forearm caused him to drop to the back end of the first round. After that, the young righty started flying though the Texas Rangers farm system. The Brewers traded for him at the 2016 trade deadline. Then, in 2017, he suffered through hamstring tightness for a part of the year. That is starting to flare up again.

Performance

Ortiz has never played for anyone but Biloxi since Milwaukee acquired him, and things were not going all too well. His FIP has been above four each season. That is not to say he has not improved a ton. His K/9 increased, and his BB/9 did as well.

So far in 2018 things are off to a very hot start. Through 21 innings, he has an ERA just over two with a K/9 over nine. His xFIP is sitting below four as well. Hopefully the tightness does not affect a whole lot going forward.

Moving Forward

Remember, he had hamstring tightness last season as well. So if this is a chronic thing, something in his routine or delivery needs to change. A healthy Ortiz can be lethal. The health part is what has been elusive to this point in the 22 year old’s career.

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The hope is that his hamstring will not hold him back. There is no doubting his potential, but the fact remains that he is struggling at the Double A level. This is his third straight season at that level. Ortiz needs a good season, and the Milwaukee Brewers would love to see one.