Astros righty Velazquez has Tommy John surgery
Club's seventh-round selection in 2014 Draft will miss entire season
HOUSTON -- Right-handed pitcher Derick Velazquez, the Astros' seventh-round pick out of Fresno State last year, underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday and will miss the entire 2015 season.
Velazquez, 21, appeared in 18 games at short-season Class A Tri-City of the New York-Penn League in 2014 and went 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA with four saves, striking out 24 batters in 23 innings.
Velazquez, 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, pitched in relief his final season at Fresno State before moving into a starting role late in the season. In 56 1/3 innings, he had an ERA of 4.79 and a 3-5 record for Fresno State. Velazquez struck out 38 and walked 10.
Velazquez, who's from Los Banos, Calif., played at Merced College for one season, where he was a junior college All-American and the Nor-Cal Player of the Year. His record was 11-0 with a 1.43 ERA.
The timetable for recovering from Tommy John surgery is 10 to 12 months.