Prospect Rymer Liriano out for the season due to TJ surgery

I've learned #Padres OF Rymer Liriano, who has the most tools of any prospect in the system, will have TJ surgery and will miss 2013.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) February 15, 2013

Oof! More bad news for a highly touted Padres prospect. In his article at Padres.com, Brock says that Liriano injured his elbow on his throwing arm last month while playing catch in the Dominican Republic. Surgery is to be scheduled next week.

"He was coming off a real strong [Arizona] Fall League, was in great shape and he might have had a chance to see San Diego by the end of the year," said Padres director of player development and international scouting Randy Smith.

Keith law ranked Liriano 54th in his Top 100 prospects saying:

If his bat were slower, I'd be far more skeptical of his ability to hit enough to get his power to play, but he has the tools and athleticism to be able to adjust enough to hit in the mid-.200s and produce 25-plus homers on a regular basis.

We were watching a group of about 50 Padres prospects practice last Spring Training and Liriano instantly set himself apart by his size and quickness. Dude has wheels. I would not want to block the plate as a catcher for fear of ending up in surgery myself.