Ray Kerr, former Hug High student and now member of the Atlanta Braves, will undergo Tommy John surgery

Ray Kerr, who is in his first season with the Atlanta Braves, is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery after suffering an elbow injury earlier this month.

The 29-year-old, who went to Hug High, had started 10 games for Atlanta this season and moved from reliever to starter before the injury. The powerful southpaw had posted a 5.64 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 22.1 innings with the Braves.

“It’s bad because he had a good opportunity here and he impressed a lot of people,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters this week. “And he will come back stronger than ever.” I mean, that’s the problem. These guys, they make this adjustment like that, they end up, you know, extending their career most of the time.

The Braves had attempted to turn Kerr, who had spent almost his entire career as a minor league reliever, into a starter over the past month. He threw an MLB career-high 64 pitches on May 19 before back-to-back appearances with 72 and 76 pitches in late May. He returned to a bullpen role in early June and suffered an elbow injury four appearances later.

Kerr transitioned from starting pitcher to reliever in 2019 and had started just two games in 131 appearances since then. The Sacramento-born Kerr grew up in Reno and attended Hug High, becoming the school’s third alumnus to reach the big leagues in 2022. He was the first to do so since Rob Richie in 1989.

Kerr’s path to the major leagues was unusual as he left baseball for a year, working at IMAX and 7-11 in Reno/Sparks before enrolling at Lassen College in Susanville. From there, he signed an undrafted free agent contract with Seattle in 2017 before being traded to San Diego ahead of the 2022 season. He was traded this offseason to Atlanta. In 39 major league games, Kerr is 2-3 with a 5.30 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 54.1 innings.

Given the typical timeline for Tommy John surgery, which is 12 to 18 months, Kerr could also miss all of next season, although a late-season return to action in 2025 is possible. Kerr had been sent to Triple-A Gwinnett on June 15, but the Braves voided that option to place him on the MLB Injured List, allowing the team to place him on the 60-day injured list and open up a spot on the 40-man roster. The move also means Kerr will be paid prorated towards the major league minimum salary of $740,000.

Kerr is the second Northern Nevada product to require Tommy John surgery this season, the other being Kansas City Royals prospect Christian Chamberlain, a 24-year-old Reno High product who underwent surgery in March after tearing his UCL in spring training.