Marco Gonzales, the former Rocky Mountain baseball pitching star in Fort Collins, has had Tommy John surgery and is recovering.
The left-hander, the only pitcher on Colorado record to win four consecutive decisions in state-championship games, missed some time in the 2015 season with elbow problems and recently decided to have the surgery and miss the rest of 2016. Various reports have him not returning to pitching until the latter part of 2017.
Gonzales was diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Here’s a link to Gonzales’ Twitter account in which he recently thanked everyone for their support:
Thank you all for your kind wishes today! I can’t wait to rise to this challenge ahead.
— Marco Gonzales (@MarcoGonzales_)
In the National League with St. Louis, Gonzales was 4-2 with a 4.82 earned-run average and 32 strikeouts.
As a schoolboy with the Lobos of the Class 5A Front Range League, Gonzales got the start and pitching victory in every big-school title game from 2007-10. As a junior and senior, he was All-Colorado by The Denver Post as well as player of the year in 2010, when he was 11-0, had a 2.20 ERA and struck out 87 in 54 innings. The first baseman also batted .486 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs.
He was drafted that June by the Rockies, but went on to Gonzaga and eventually was honored for his all-around abilities with the John Olerud Award, presented annually by the College Baseball Foundation to the best two-way player of the season (in 2013).
He was selected No. 19 by the Cardinals in 2013. He made his major-league debut the next year for the Cards on June 25 against the Rockies at Coors Field. He earned a no-decision.
