The Tampa Bay Rays put their young star pitcher Matt Moore on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday due to soreness in his left elbow, according to ESPN.com.

The Rays, currently first in the American League East, announced the decision through their Twitter account:

Moore has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season posting a 14-3 record with a 3.41 ERA and 115 strikeouts. (He leads his team in each of those categories.)

The 24-year old left-hander is ranked second in the American League in winning percentage at .824. He also No. 3 is opposing batting average at .212.

Moore’s injury seemed to take place during his Sunday start against the Yankees. He did not tell Rays manager Joe Madden about the injury until he was taken out of the game, according to the team website. Moore had previously never been on the DL.

"You're still bulletproof until you hurt your arm for the very first time," Maddon said. "Then it's a different world. Next time something comes around, I'm sure he's going to be a little more telling in regard to what's going on, but I know everything is fine. We backed off in time."

According to Madden and Moore, if the Rays were in a late September pennant race, Moore would not be on the disabled list. They both said the injury is not extremely serious. Andrew Friedman, Executive Vice President of baseball operations for the Rays, said the team was dealing with the situation in an “overly cautious” manner.

"This is the best decision for us going forward," Moore said. "If this was the playoffs, I could do it without a doubt. With the schedule and how well everyone is throwing the ball, there's really not a reason for us to push things right now."

The Rays called up utility infielder Ryan Roberts from Triple-A Durham.

Moore will be able to return on Aug. 13. He issued a statment to fans through Twitter earlier today: