The news out of Viera on Sammy Solis is not good.  The 23-year old lefty was shut down by the Washington Nationals and will be evaluated by orthopedist Lewis Yocum, with the likely outcome of the dreaded Tommy John surgery.  Solis becomes the latest Nats high draft pick to fall victim to the procedure, following Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg.

Solis was a second round draft pick in 2009 out of the University of San Diego.  At the time, he was expected to be a quick riser to the big leagues, though his plateau was likely as a No. 3 or 4  starter.  He didn’t possess a huge fastball, but threw strikes with four pitches and always had a “bulldog” mentality in college.  He was rated by Baseball America as the organization’s sixth-best prospect in their latest evaluations. [Read more...]