Just as one Texas Rangers prospect who underwent Tommy John surgery is set to return, another is headed to the operating table.
This time it's right-hander Alex Speas, the Rangers second-round pick in the 2016 draft. An MRI exam showed a torn ulnar collateral ligament, and he will undergo the ligament replacement surgery Monday in Arlington.
Speas was 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA as the closer at Low A Hickory. His surgery will come some two months after 2016 first-rounder Cole Ragans, a left-hander, underwent Tommy John.
"That one hurts," assistant general manager Jayce Tingler said.