Former No.1 pick Brady Aiken undergoes Tommy John surgery

The uncertainty regarding the health of Brady Aiken's prized left arm dissipated when the first overall draft pick from 2014 announced Thursday that he underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week.

Aiken famously failed to reach an agreement with the Houston Astros last summer after being chosen with the first selection in the amateur draft, after an MRI reportedly revealed a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament that deterred the Astros from offering the 18-year-old a competitive signing bonus. 

The young left-hander ultimately turned down a $3.1-million signing bonus from Houston and opted instead to pitch this summer at IMG Academy in Florida with the intention of entering the 2015 draft. Aiken, however, tossed just 12 pitches before being removed from his inaugural start of the season last week, and revealed Thursday that he underwent the infamous ligament replacement surgery shortly thereafter.

"Since last summer, a lot of people have wondered how I could have turned down a multi-million-dollar signing bonus after being picked first in the draft," Aiken wrote in the Players' Tribune. "Now, I know they’ll probably be wondering about it again. I can honestly say I don’t regret not signing. It was a very difficult decision, but it also was an informed decision based on circumstances only a few people know the truth about. My family and I planned for all the possible outcomes. We weighed the pros and cons, talked with friends and mentors and doctors whose opinions we value and discussed it over a number of family dinners. This wasn't a decision we made lightly."