Orioles minor league catcher Jonah Heim will likely require surgery after suffering a left-foot injury earlier this week playing for low Single-A Delmarva.
Heim, the Orioles' fourth-round draft pick in 2013, has a Lisfranc (mid-foot) injury that he suffered while sliding into a base Tuesday.
He is scheduled to see a foot specialist in Baltimore in the upcoming days, but the organization believes the injury will likely require surgery that could threaten the rest of Heim's season.
Heim was one of three catchers the Orioles drafted in the first six rounds in 2013 -- they also took Chance Sisco in the second round and Calvert Hall's Alex Murphy in the sixth round. But Heim emerged as the top defensive catching prospect of the three, often drawing rave reviews from Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
And the 19-year-old Heim was continuing to make strides at Delmarva, especially with his bat. As a switch-hitter, he was hitting .258/.285/.363 with 10 extra-base hits (eight doubles, one triple and one homer) and 16 RBIs in 36 games.
Lisfranc injuries are rare in baseball players -- they're more common in football and soccer -- and if Heim does need surgery, it often requires a player to be in a boot for six to eight weeks before he can begin rehabilitation.
Other minor league nuggets:
-- Orioles top prospect Dylan Bundy, who is on the minor league disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, will not pick up a ball for two weeks and will be re-evaluated after that.
An MRI on Bundy's shoulder showed inflammation in his rotator cuff area, but there was no structural damage. So the club is optimistic that rest and anti-inflammatory medication will alleviate the injury.
-- Another shelved Orioles prospect, right-hander Branden Kline, is also on the DL with right-forearm discomfort.
He received a platelet-rich-plasma injection this week, so he will not throw for approximately the next six weeks. He is currently in Sarasota, Fla., where he will rehab.
eencina@baltsun.com
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