Brady Aiken was slated to make his first start for IMG academy today. Here's how it went:
Keith Law, ESPN: "Brady Aiken had to shut his first outing down after 12 pitches."
John Manuel, Baseball America: "No indication of why Aiken was removed, but rumors that he's not 100% right physically have persisted all spring."
Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports: "Had been whispers by scouts about his health. Hate to see this."
Josh Norris, Baseball America: "Caught the HP umpire coming out of the locker room. He was in on the meeting and said Aiken told his manager it was "tightness" in his arm."
It may end up being much ado about nothing, and it may just be a total coincidence, but if Aiken's "forearm tightness" is a sign of a UCL problem, at least circumstantially it lends credibility to the idea that the Astros had legitimate concerns about his arm.
Regardless of what it says about the Astros, it would seem that Aiken and his agent "advisor" will end up losing their gamble. When you don't make it out of the first inning and have rumors circulating among scouts, it's hard to imagine a team picking him high enough this summer to top the $5 million offer he got from the Astros.
