CHICAGO _ The newest Yankee became the latest to go down.
Dustin Fowler, a top outfield prospect called up to the majors Thursday afternoon and immediately put in the lineup as the starting rightfielder for his major-league debut, suffered what appeared to be a serious right leg injury in the first inning of Thursday night's 4-3 loss to the White Sox.
The Yankees announced that he suffered an open rupture of the right patella tendon and was scheduled to have surgery Thursday night at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
The 22-year-old, brought up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre because of the conga line of Yankees who have hit the disabled list this week, slammed his right leg against the wall while pursuing a two-out foul ball hit by Jose Abreu in the first inning.
Fowler hit the wall at full speed. After extricating himself from the fans, he took a step back, then collapsed to the ground, unable to put any weight on the leg. Joe Girardi, coaches Rob Thomson and Tony Pena and trainers Steve Donohue and Michael Schuk ran out to Fowler as concerned teammates, both in the field and from the dugout, looked on. Girardi covered his face with both hands as he stood over the fallen Fowler.
Eventually, Fowler's right knee area was put in a large plastic brace and he was taken off the field on a cart. Rob Refsnyder replaced him in rightfield and dropped a two-out fly ball in the second inning, opening the door for two unearned runs that gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead.
Fowler, batting sixth, would have led off the top of the second. The game was delayed for 2 hours, 50 minutes because of rain and began at 11:01 p.m. EDT.
The Yankees were hurt by Refsnyder's key error in the second and a two-out, two-run double by Willy Garcia in the fourth. In the fifth, White Sox leftfielder Melky Cabrera robbed Aaron Judge of his 28th homer, going high to make the catch and waiting several seconds before showing the umpires that he had the ball.
Fowler's injury produced a sad end to a day that had begun so well for him. "Obviously overwhelmed right now," said Fowler, who landed at O'Hare International from Syracuse at about 3 p.m. and, after a bit of Chicago traffic, arrived in the clubhouse about 1{ hours later. "I'm very excited, glad to be here. It was nice to be in spring training so there's a lot of familiar faces. It's been a hectic day. Hectic yesterday too, but glad to finally be here. Obviously, your mind's going a million miles an hour."
Fowler, an 18th-round selection by the Yankees in 2013, had a .293/.329/.542 slash line, 13 homers, 49 runs and 43 RBIs in 70 games for Scranton. He also had 19 doubles and eight triples.
Fowler became the third Yankees rookie to make his MLB debut in as many days, following in the footsteps of Tyler Wade on Tuesday night and Miguel Andujar on Wednesday night.
"He's going to play," Girardi said of Fowler, 22.
Andujar went 3-for-4 with four RBIs in his debut. He was sent back to the minors to make room for Chris Carter. Wade's opportunity came about after Starlin Castro hit the disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Aaron Hicks went to the DL on Monday with a right oblique strain.
"We're young," Girardi said of the sudden remake of his roster. "And it's something that was a focus. I think we did a really good job of rebuilding our minor-league system and developing the kids that we had. You look at all these kids, they were in Double-A last year, they made the move to Triple-A and now they're making an impact here."
The 6-foot, 195-pound Fowler is primarily a centerfielder, starting 39 games there for Scranton this season. But he also started 14 games in rightfield and 12 in leftfield. "Should be pretty comfortable out there," Fowler said of the corner outfield spots.
Scouts who cover the Yankees have raved about Fowler, both offensively and defensively.
"Top-of-the-order speed," said one opposing team scout who covers the Yankees' minor-league system. "Brett Gardner-type player who can cover ground and has some pull. Ideal for Yankee Stadium."
A sampling of a handful of opposing team talent evaluators resulted in comparisons to Steve Finley, Brady Anderson and Jacoby Ellsbury "at the same stage of Ellsbury's development," one said.
Said a third scout: "Quick stroke and plus speed on both sides of the ball. Somewhat surprising pop. Plus instincts and very high energy.''
A fourth talent evaluator put it in even simpler terms.
"Just a natural ballplayer," he said. "Good approach at the plate. Smooth actions. Game just seems to come easy to him."
Fowler laughed about the mental gymnastics he went through Wednesday. He was pulled at the last moment before Scranton's doubleheader but wasn't told until about midnight that he would be going to the majors.
"I sat there both games, head going crazy," said Fowler, a Georgia native whose parents couldn't make it to Chicago but had been scheduled to attend Friday night's game in Houston. "I think I had every thought you could possibly have in that situation. Didn't really know what was happening. A lot of things can happen at this point of the year (including a trade). You just never know. They finally told me and it was great."
