WACO, Texas — Baylor starting pitcher Tyler Thomas will not pitch again this season, a Baylor representative confirmed to 25 Sports. Thomas will undergo Tommy John surgery this offseason to repair an elbow injury suffered during the season.
Thomas served as the Bears' Friday night starter for most of the year. He started the first game of every weekend series until Baylor's matchup with Kansas on April 14, when he was kept out of the series due to injury.
He tried to play through it as the Bears' Sunday starter against Texas, but he only lasted one inning before being pulled. He allowed two home runs in that inning.
Thomas had a 1.97 ERA in his first eight starts for the Bears this season. He only allowed more than two earned runs twice during that span. In an early-season matchup with UCLA at the Shriner's Classic in Houston, Thomas pitched a season-high 8.2 innings, allowing just one run.
His departure puts increased stress on a Baylor bullpen which has struggled for most of the season. No Baylor reliever has an ERA of 4.50 or less. Now, those bullpen pitchers will have to pick up extra innings to help carry the load.
In addition to Thomas, Will Rigney, one of Baylor's other starting pitchers, left Friday's game with Texas early due to an apparent injury. Baylor did not have an update on his status as of Monday evening.
