Chicago Cubs News: Top prospect Brennen Davis underwent back surgery

The consensus top prospect in the Cubs system, outfielder Brennen Davis, has not played for the Iowa Cubs since May 12 with lower back issues. Now he’s going to miss even more time as Meghan Montemurro reports that Davis underwent back surgery in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Davis is expected to make a full recovery after the surgery. However, there is no current timetable on his return.

Davis complained of lower back stiffness back in Spring Training, which may help to explain the poor start that Davis got off to in Triple-A this season. The pain did not improve with rest, instead spreading to his legs. The surgery found that Davis had a mass of blood vessels that were pushing against a nerve. This is good news, as it was feared that Davis had a disc injury or other structural injury to the spine.

It was hoped that Davis would get off to a strong start in Triple-A and join the major league team later in the season. Obviously, the surgery this week delays the timetable for Davis. For Triple-A Iowa this season, Davis is hitting .195/.286/.299 with two home runs in 22 games. But at least this injury provides a reason for Davis’ struggles this season and the injury is far less serious than it could have been.

Davis was listed as the 41st-best prospect in baseball earlier this week by Baseball America.