Lucas Giolito Injury Update: Prospect Will Undergo Tommy John Surgery August 31, According To Report

Lucas Giolito, the Washington Nationals' first-round selection in the 2012 MLB Draft, will undergo Tommy John surgery on Aug. 31, the Washington Times is reporting. The news comes a day after Giolito visited Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles and found out his torn ulnar collateral ligament would require surgery.

Giolito's elbow issues stem all the way back to his high school days and have been watched very carefully by the organization. On Monday, the Nationals made it clear that surgery could be a possible outcome for their No. 16-overall selection.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound righty was projected to be a starter, maybe an ace, for the organization. However, this setback will push back his timetable to the majors a bit. The good news is, Giolito is in good hands as Yocum was the same doctor who performed Tommy John surgery on Nats' ace Stephen Strasburg.

For more on Giolito and the Nationals, check out Federal Baseball and stay tuned to SB Nation D.C.

Lucas Giolito Injury Update: Mike Rizzo Says Prospect Will 'Likely' Need Tommy John Surgery

Washington Nationals 2012 first-round draft pick Lucas Giolito will likely need Tommy John surgery. Reports surfaced on Monday that Giolito, who strained his ulnar collateral ligament during his senior year of high school, had re-injured his elbow. On Wednesday, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo went on the Holden and Danny Show on 106.7 The Fan in DC and indicated that the hard-throwing prospect will almost certainly need the now-common Tommy John procedure (via Federal Baseball):

"It looks like he is going to need Tommy John surgery," Rizzo said, "He's seen our medical people. We're going to give him a second medical opinion. Dr. Lewis Yocum is going to see him this week some time and we anticipate that he will have Tommy John and if and when he does, it will be done by Lew Yocum. We'll have a rehabilitation schedule in place the same as we've had with Jordan Zimmermann and [Stephen Strasburg] and [2010 2nd Round pick] Sammy Solis and... in a year he'll be a young 19-year-old guy that's come off Tommy John surgery and will begin his ascent up the minor league system."

As Rizzo has stated in the past, Giolito's injury history was a risk the Nationals were willing to take on when they selected him No. 16 this Summer in the MLB Draft. He was once thought of as one of the top two or three prospects in the Draft, but the always dangerous UCL concerns caused him to drop. On the positive side, the Nationals have a solid history of successfully rehabbing pitching prospects from Tommy John, and Giolito still had plenty of time before he was big-league ready.

For more on the Giolito and the Nationals, check out Federal Baseball and stay tuned toSB Nation D.C.

Lucas Giolito Injury: Nationals Prospect Re-Injures Elbow, According To Report

Nationals pitching prospect Lucas Giolito will have his elbow re-examined by orthopedic specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum. Giolito was selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft.