Elbow surgery is supposed to derail a pitcher's helium. Dax Whitney is the anomaly.

The Oregon State right-hander went under Dr. Keith Meister's knife in May for a torn UCL. It was a hybrid of full Tommy John reconstruction and the Internal Brace. According to Whitney after the surgery, the expectation is a full 12+ month recovery. Whitney wants to pitch again in 2027, but that might not until a Beavers postseason run, if Corvallis gets that far. And yet, even with the derailment, Whitney is almost certainly still going to end up being the best pitcher in his class. He might still go higher than any arm has ever gone coming off a draft-year elbow reconstruction.

That bar has a number, and the number is seven.