Smith carries on despite elbow surgery

For college athletes, conventional wisdom says when it comes to deciding whether to head to the professional ranks or stay in school, injured players should choose the latter. There’s too much at risk and too much to lose by turning pro. Or so the thinking goes.

USC junior closer Chad Smith is facing that dilemma.

The 6-foot-3 Los Angeles native, who injured his right elbow during a mid-April home series against Oregon, underwent Tommy John surgery May 20 at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Anaheim, Calif.

Because of the serious nature of the procedure, in which a ligament in the elbow is typically replaced with a tendon from the knee, and the lengthy rehab process, Smith would be sidelined for the entire 2011 college season, provided he returns to USC.

“It would be a great honor, just to be a captain my senior year and really finish what I started,” Smith said. “But with me being out all of next season, it’s now a different situation.”

In a surprising turn of events, the hard-throwing right-hander was recently selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 17th round of this month’s MLB draft — 527th overall.

Smith had anticipated his draft stock to plummet in the aftermath of the injury, considering the extent of the rehab process.

“I talked to a lot of teams and knew I would get drafted,” Smith said. “But for them to pick me up in the 17th round was really a lot higher than I expected.”

If Smith chooses to remain at USC, he will be on track to graduate in spring 2012, fulfilling a promise he made to his parents in high school, but he would be forced to watch every game from the dugout.

Signing, as a result, which must be done before the MLB Aug. 15 deadline, remains a particularly intriguing option. Smith could finish summer school before leaving for the Tigers’ spring training facility in Lakewood, Fla., for a rehab session until fall classes begin. This would leave him just a couple courses shy of graduation.

After the semester, Smith would be able to continue recuperating in Lakewood before playing Class-A short season in Connecticut, which begins in June.

Despite some of the advantages of going pro, Smith remains mum on his future.

“I’m really just going to wait and see how it goes and see what they want to offer,” Smith said. “I’ve still got some good options.”

Before the injury, Smith’s future looked like it was falling into place.

Smith, who throws a fastball and a hard slider as his out pitch, finally found a role he was comfortable in this season, thriving in the closer role after originally coming to USC as a starting pitcher under then-coach Chad Kreuter.

In 2009, Smith posted a pedestrian 3.40 ERA in four starts, before regressing as a sophomore in 2010, finishing with a 4.47 ERA through six starts.

“I would throw a great four innings, and then I couldn’t get out of the fifth inning,” he said, recalling some of his past struggles. “And that happened to me quite a few times. I couldn’t keep that focus.”

Playing for the Peninsula Oilers of the Alaska Summer League in summer 2010, Smith came out of the bullpen for the first time and watched things turn around, finishing with a 0.46 ERA and three saves in 14 appearances.

“I really liked coming into a game, throwing strikes and just getting outs,” said Smith, who expects to be a reliever in the Tigers’ system should he sign. “There’s nothing better than closing a game out.”

His performance last season indicated as much for the junior, when he held opposing batters to a .216 average while sporting a 2.66 ERA and four saves — until the injury.

“From a selfish perspective, we knew it’d be tough to move on considering we were losing one of our better arms,” said senior starter Andrew Triggs. “But also as a friend, it was real tough to see him go down like that.”

Smith, who still hopes to play professionally at some point, admits the injury has changed his outlook moving forward.

“I had never been hurt before,” Smith said. “I was always thinking baseball would be there, baseball would be there, but once it’s taken away, you have surgery, you undergo rehab, you realize how great you really had it.”