What happened to Chicago Cubs prospect Yohendrick Pinango?

Chicago Cubs minor league specialists Northside Bound recently tweeted a picture of prospect Yohendrick Pinango with his arm in a ham, I mean, outfitted in what seems to be the gear that recovering TJS (Tommy John Surgery) patients wear. This caught a lot of folks off-guard – and is a definite speed bump in his development as a ballplayer.

Pinango, who signed as an international free agent on July 2, 2018, has enjoyed a couple of decent seasons in the low minors, and had a breakout of sorts in the Dominican Summer League in 2019, has clearly sustained some kind of injury, about which the details are not yet known.

The 5’11” lefty has been pegged as a top prospect — Baseball America had this to say — “all the traits you want to see out of a young hitter,” in an article about 60 breakout possibilities.

So any lapse in his development is crucial – the young outfielder could be out for 2022 if this is true. MLB Pipeline had Pinango ranked No. 13 in the system, which is really solid footing considering the recent acquisition of impact players in the trade deadline fire sale. He did better as the year went on and his fellow Low-A Pelicans started hitting, too.

He had a good year at Myrtle Beach and might have been in the queue to advance. We will keep digging and see if we can’t determine what the nature of Pinango’s injury is, and his timeline for return. The team’s Twitter feed doesn’t yet have any information.

More Chicago Cubs minor league news out of Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach is also notable for having a female general manager in Kristin Call, who is getting ready for her tenth season with the team and her first at the helm. She was promoted to the role just last week.

“Kristin has played an indispensable role in the growth and success of the Pelicans organization… Her promotion assures the long term continuity of our senior leadership team and lays the foundation for even better days ahead for the Pelicans.”

More of that, please. And good luck to young Yohendrick Pinango.