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The 2015 season has not been kind to Monte Harrison. The Brewers' 2014 2nd round pick began the year with some heavy struggles in Class-A Wisconsin before moving back to rookie ball once that league started up.
Just when Harrison was starting to find his groove, he's suffered a tibia fracture as well as a dislocated fibia in his left ankle, according to Adam McCalvy. That's enough to end his season early.
Harrison suffered the injury while running the bases during the Helena Brewers game against the Orem Owlz on Tuesday. The speedy outfielder had reached base on a walk, then attempted to make it home on a single. However, as he rounded third he appeared to slip on wet grass with his foot pointing in an awkward direction. Unfortunately, bad luck set in and Harrison needed a stretcher to be carried off the field.
The good news is Harrison seems to be keeping in good spirits:
Broken ankle....but can't be sad now, all u gotta do is just smiling and get back to work ! #TheComeBack #Selfies lol pic.twitter.com/TtJZOQmFIu
— Monte Harrison (@Team_Harrison3) July 22, 2015
In 46 games for the Timber Rattlers earlier in the season, Harrison had hit just .148/.246/.247 while looking over-matched by more advanced pitching. Since a move to Helena, he had appeared in 28 games and hit .299/.410/.474 with three home runs and 14 stolen bases, a line more befitting of his status as a top prospect.
Prior to the season, Harrison was ranked the Brewers' third-best prospect by John Sickels and MLB.com, fourth-best by Baseball America, and fifth-best by Baseball Prospectus. Though still raw after being drafted out of high school, Harrison has received a ton of praise based heavily on his sheer athleticism. Harrison had an offer to play football as a wide receiver for Nebraska, but chose to sign with the Brewers after they selected him 50th overall.
This is the second unfortunate injury to a top Brewers prospect this season. 2015 first rounder Trent Clark missed time after crashing into a wall running down a fly ball earlier in the year. Fortunately, Clark only missed a couple of weeks and has been playing well since his return.