Tuesday’s game between the Hill City Howlers and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers turned scary in the first inning. A 23-year-old Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect saw his eighth start end early. He spent all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. Now, another brutal setback is testing his toughness. The young pitcher took a sharp line drive straight to the face. He collapsed to the ground, drawing prayers from the baseball community.

Right-handed pitcher Aidan Major took the mound on Tuesday for Hill City to record his eighth start of the season. But could not complete the inning as a line drive hit him square in the head in a concerning turn of events. Major was carted off. Guardians Prospective posted a clip of the distressing incident on X.

With two outs in the top of the first, Major was pitching to Xavier Neyens of the Woodpeckers, who sent a solid line drive towards the pitcher. The comebacker caught Major’s cheek hard as his hat flew from the impact.

The hit immediately sent the right-hander to the ground as trainers rushed to help him. The hard-to-watch video shows the young player writhing in agony on the field. While the Howlers retired Neyens on first base, all the focus on the field shifted to Major’s treatment.

It has been a rough week for minor league prospects. Just a night before Major’s injury, Dodgers prospect Kendall George suffered a freak accident in a Double-A game. George was jogging to the dugout after scoring a run. Suddenly, he had to jump to avoid hitting the Tulsa Drillers’ bat dog. He twisted his left knee on the landing and had to leave the game.

But back in Hill City, the focus stayed on Major. Among the top-30 prospect rankings in the Guardians’ farm system, 2026 is Major’s first year in pro baseball. He has posted an impressive 3.10 ERA in 8 starts, holding a 2-1 record. The former West Virginia University pitcher has recorded 26 strikeouts across 29 innings.

When play resumed after an injury delay, Hill City opened the scoreboard with a two-run homer from Jose Pirela. The Howlers held on to that lead as they won 5-4 against the Woodpeckers in a game that was hampered by rain delays.

As the game took an unexpected turn, the commentators were heard saying, “Neyens is retired, but all of our concerns are with Aidan Major. Caught that line drive on the back of the head. We are gonna step aside when we come back, we will try to give you an update. But all our thoughts and prayers are right now with Aidan Major.”

As it turns out, Major fortunately appears to be alright after the initial scare.

Aidan Major’s father shares health update on son

After the initial bout of pain, Aidan Major had reportedly shown signs of improvement by the time he was carted off the field. According to play-by-play man Jason Prill on the broadcast, Major was responsive and alert when he exited the game after Lynchburg EMS arrived. He had reportedly stopped to shake hands with Xavier Neyens and showed a thumbs-up before exiting.

Major’s father, Chad, revealed on X that Aidan has undergone scans to assess the extent of his injury.

“Aidan is doing well considering the scary event. Currently still in the hospital, awaiting results from scans. He wanted to get back to the stadium to cheer on his teammates,” per Chad Major on X.

The Guardians selected Major in the fifth round of the MLB Amateur Draft in 2024. He underwent Tommy John surgery in the same year due to an elbow injury in the 2024 College World Series.  He is ranked 29th among the Guardians’ prospects.