Prospect Saunders Might Sit Out the Season

The rotator cuff within the left shoulder of Joe Saunders had probably started to fray before last June when the Angels drafted him in the first round and paid him one of the highest signing bonuses in franchise history.

Saunders is expected to sit out much, if not all, of this season because of a torn rotator cuff and partially torn labrum. Although the injury was not diagnosed until this spring, Saunders traces its origin to last spring, when he missed three weeks of his college season because of what was then believed to be tendinitis.

“I think that’s where it started,” Saunders said Saturday. “My shoulder was never 100% after that.”

There was nothing alarming about his performance for Virginia Tech last spring. He went 9-2 with a 2.86 earned-run average and 102 strikeouts in 98 innings. The Angels scouted virtually all of his starts, and scouting director Donny Rowland said they clocked Saunders at 91 mph on his final college pitch.

The Angels signed him for $1.825 million, the fourth-highest bonus in franchise history, after he passed a physical examination. Dr. Lewis Yocum, who administered the physical, said the rotator cuff could have torn so gradually that the injury would not have been detectable then.

“That’s not unusual,” Yocum said. “This isn’t something that just showed up.”

Saunders also pitched well last summer, going 5-2 with a 2.80 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 61 innings at Class A -- and, Rowland said, throwing as hard as 94 mph.

However, Saunders said, his arm hurt on the day after most of his starts. “It was hard to pick up a ball the next day,” he said.

After months of rest, he said, he began his off-season workouts and discovered he could not throw hard without pain. He hoped the pain would disappear by spring training, he said, and when it did not he spoke up and the injury was finally detected.

Saunders consulted with Yocum and another noted orthopedist, James Andrews, each of whom recommended intensive therapy rather than surgery. Saunders, 21, said he hopes to pitch again in July or August.

“I’ve got two of the best doctors working for me,” he said, “and they’ve told me I can rehab it. So that’s pretty positive.”

Said Rowland: “I’m just sick about what happened. He had a chance to come really quick. Hopefully, he still has a chance to be a quality big leaguer. It’s driving me nuts.”

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As the Angels traveled to Oakland, General Manager Bill Stoneman traveled to Las Vegas, where the Angels’ triple-A Salt Lake affiliate opened its season. Stoneman and minor league director Tony Reagins hand-delivered World Series championship rings to Salt Lake infielders Alfredo Amezaga and Chone Figgins, outfielder Jeff DaVanon and pitcher Mark Lukasiewicz.

The Angels provided rings for players who participated in at least one major league game last season.

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Aaron Sele will make the first of five planned minor league rehabilitation starts tonight, with the first three scheduled with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and the last two with Salt Lake.... Troy Glaus hit the 150th home run of his career Saturday, four behind Bobby Grich for fifth place on the Angels’ all-time list.... Through one turn in the rotation, the ERA of the Angel starters is 6.75. Without the six shutout innings thrown by Mickey Callaway, whose next turn will be skipped, the starters’ ERA is 8.71.