Injury Forces Former Brewers First-Round Pick with 96 mph Fastball to Miss 2025 Season

Teenage right-hander Josh Knoth underwent Tommy John surgery, putting the timeline of MLB debut in question.

East pitcher Josh Knoth (20) throws during the Perfect Game All-American Classic high school baseball game at Chase Field in Phoenix on Aug. 28, 2022. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Right-handed pitcher Josh Knoth will miss the 2025 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel broke the news on Saturday night about the 19-year-old, posting it to social media site X:

“Some unfortunate Brewers prospect injury news: RHP Josh Knoth had Tommy John surgery and will be out for the 2025 season. A tough blow for the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 draft.”

Some unfortunate Brewers prospect injury news: RHP Josh Knoth had Tommy John surgery and will be out for the 2025 season. A tough blow for the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 draft.

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) February 15, 2025

Baseball America ranked him the No. 16 prospect in the Brewers system in its 2025 preseason prospect report.

Knoth was just shy of his 18th birthday when the Brewers drafted the 6-foot-1, 190-pound prospect out of Patchogue-Medford High School in Medford, New York.

In his first pro season last summer at the Single-A Carolina Mudcats of the Carolina League, he started all 21 games in which he appeared, finishing 4-6 with a 4.48 ERA. He struck out 96 batters but walked 40 over 84.1 innings, which were limited because of elbow soreness at the end of the season.

Baseball America had this to say about him over the offseason:

“Knoth is an athletic righthander with a compact, efficient delivery and good arm action. His fastball has cut and ride and he pitches at 92-95 mph, touching 96 in 2024 after reaching a tick higher the previous year, so there could be more still in the tank. In high school, Knoth used his curveball as his out pitch, but he has adjusted his approach to use his curve as a pitch to freeze hitters for called strikes and lean on his slider as a putaway pitch.”

The publication projected him to have “midrotation potential.”

Another top Brewers prospect, left-hander Robert Gasser – ranked No. 11 in the farm system by Baseball America – is nearing the end of his lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery and will start the season on the 60-day injured list.

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