When the Milwaukee Brewers selected Drew Rasmussen in the sixth round of last summer’s MLB Draft, they knew that the right-hander would not throw a competitive pitch for them in 2018. Rasmussen underwent Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2017 — his second such procedure while in college at Oregon State — and missed his entire senior season while recovering. After he inked for a below-slot $135K bonus, the Brewers took responsibility for completing Rasmussen’s rehab and getting him prepped for his professional debut in 2019.
Rasmussen’s history of arm troubles presents an extreme amount of risk for a prospect, but scouting director Tod Johnson wouldn’t have rolled the dice unless there was plenty of upside at the end of the rehab tunnel.