Tigers' top pitching prospect Mize losses velocity, suffers apparent injury

LAKELAND, FL - MARCH 04: Casey Mize #74 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the Spring Training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 4, 2019 in Lakeland, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Cardinals 9-5.

Mark Cunningham / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Casey Mize left Thursday's game with Double-A Erie in the third inning due to an apparent arm injury.

Casey Mize has just been taken out of the game. Catcher Kade Scivicque saw something, and brought everybody with him. Not good... not good at all. pic.twitter.com/uHtVegvlxV
— TigersProspectsVideo (@ProspectsVideo) June 14, 2019

Mize's fastball velocity had dropped significantly during his final inning, and the 22-year-old was pulled after one pitch to the last batter he faced, according to Mike Drago of The Reading Eagle.

The first overall pick in the 2018 draft was storming through the Tigers' system. He's currently the top-ranked pitching prospect in baseball, and MLB Pipeline's third-best prospect overall.

Since being promoted to Double-A earlier this season, Mize was 6-0 with a 1.27 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings before Thursday's abbreviated start.