Talented and resilient
Talon Haley (Lewisburg HS, Olive Branch, Miss.) is one of the top prep left-handers in the Draft and also perhaps the best human-interest story. He had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow before his high school career began, then was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after recovering from his elbow reconstruction. Pronounced cancer-free in December 2022, he sustained another tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow last spring, requiring internal brace surgery that truncated his junior season and kept him off the showcase circuit. Healthy again, he's suddenly showing a fastball that reaches 97 mph, a hammer curveball, a solid slider and feel for a promising changeup. Clubs have to figure out how to treat his medical history and lack of track record, so he could end up attending Vanderbilt, where he'd be a Draft-eligible sophomore in 2027
Talon Haley (Lewisburg HS, Olive Branch, Miss.) is one of the top prep left-handers in the Draft and also perhaps the best human-interest story. He had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow before his high school career began, then was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after recovering from his elbow reconstruction. Pronounced cancer-free in December 2022, he sustained another tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow last spring, requiring internal brace surgery that truncated his junior season and kept him off the showcase circuit. Healthy again, he's suddenly showing a fastball that reaches 97 mph, a hammer curveball, a solid slider and feel for a promising changeup. Clubs have to figure out how to treat his medical history and lack of track record, so he could end up attending Vanderbilt, where he'd be a Draft-eligible sophomore in 2027
