Top prospect Norris has arthroscopic surgery

TORONTO -- Blue Jays left-hander Daniel Norris underwent arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday morning to remove bone spurs and loose bodies from his left elbow.

The procedure was performed by Dr. David Altchek in New York City. The recovery time is approximately six weeks, and Norris should be ready for the start of Spring Training in February.

Norris made his Major League debut this season after getting promoted from Triple-A Buffalo at the beginning of September. The 21-year-old made five appearances -- one start -- and allowed four runs over 6 2/3 innings.

The surgery could help explain why Norris experienced a drop in velocity once he arrived in the big leagues. He threw a lot of fastballs in the mid-90s while in the Minors, but he was mostly in the low 90s in Toronto. Norris had a successful first stint with the Blue Jays, but he wasn't particularly happy with the way things went.

"It's obvious that my stuff isn't there," Norris said after his first career big league start on Sept. 25. "It's tough to try to pitch without your stuff, but sometimes that's the competitor that has to come out and I think that's what I tried to do ... go out and compete without your big guns."

Norris is the Blue Jays' No. 1 prospect, according to MLB.com. He was named to the Futures Game earlier this year and is coming off a season that saw him advance to the big leagues after beginning the season in Class A Advanced Dunedin.

The native of Tennessee went 12-2 with a 2.53 ERA in three levels of the Minors. Norris struck out 163 in 124 2/3 innings, and perhaps his biggest step forward was command, as he limited the walks to 43.