Mike Mayer of MMN reports New York Mets pitching prospect Calvin Ziegler underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. At the moment, there is no timetable for his return, but it is anticipated he will pitch during the 2023 season.

The development of bone spurs is not uncommon for pitchers, and there are some who are able to pitch through it. Mets fans became familiar with this during the 2016 season where Steven Matz needed to undergo season ending surgery to remove his painful bone spurs while Noah Syndergaard was effective throughout the season and would throw seven shutout innings in the Wild Card Game against the San Francisco Giants.

Ziegler, 20, was rated by MMN as the 10th best prospect in the Mets system entering the 2023 season. He was the Mets second round pick in the 2021 draft out of TXNL Academy.

Ziegler is a Canadian who came to pitch in the United States because COVID restrictions prevented him from pitching in his home country. He would forego a commitment to Auburn University and signed with the Mets.

Notably, during the 2022 season, Ziegler was placed on the IL with biceps tendinitis. It is unknown as to whether this was related to the bone spurs which were just removed from Ziegler’s elbow.

After Ziegler came back from the IL last season, he made six starts for Low-A St. Lucie. Notably, Ziegler would average just under two innings per start throwing no more than 58 pitches in a game. Over this six start stretch, he posted a 7.15 ERA while striking out 13 and walking 14 over 11 1/3 innings pitched.

When healthy, Ziegler throws his fastball in the mid 90s with the ability to ramp it up to 97 MPH. He has a promising 12-6 curveball and a developing change-up. During last season, he had been working on a splitter to complement his repertoire.