Jacob deGrom delivered a solid performance on Monday against the Miami Marlins as he continues to extend deeper into games with just 12 days left to Spring Training. In four frames, all scoreless, he tossed 51 pitches and allowed four hits while striking out five.
All of the talk during and after the game though was on the dip in velocity in his fastball. DeGrom, used mainly breaking balls and off-speed pitches against the Marlins batters, and he wasn’t too concerned about his fastball.
“Today was short rest. I don’t really know where my velocity was at, but I felt fine out there, I think the swings and misses tell you the most. It doesn’t matter what that gun says,” deGrom said. (NY Daily News)
DeGrom, 27, seemed genuinely annoyed after being questioned so much on a day where he looked and pitched pretty good. His fastball has averaged around 91 to 93 mph this Spring, but during the regular season he normally sat between 95 and 97 and maxing out at 98. There does not seem to be much cause for concern from those in the Mets clubhouse, including his manager.
“I am glad he’s back out there. I really didn’t pay much attention to velocity,” Mets manager, Terry Collins said. “I’ll check to see if there is anyone concerned from the pitching side, but I didn’t have any. He was down in the zone, had a great changeup and threw some sliders. I thought he threw the ball good.”
Despite missing his last start due to a minor back issue, deGrom still threw a strong bullpen that same day. Earlier in camp, he also suffered from a tight groin, all of which could have slowed him up as he readies for the season.
“I think that everybody gets caught up because these guys are power pitchers,” Collins continued. “For some guys it takes a little longer than others to get it back.”
Kevin Plawecki, who caught deGrom on Monday, felt he looked just fine as well and also seemed unconcerned.
“I have no idea how hard he was throwing,” Plawecki said. “He had a good live fastball when he struck out (Marlins first baseman Justin) Bour, but I thought he had some good life on it and he made some pitches when he had to make them.”
After a solid rookie campaign in 2014, deGrom was even better in 2015, posting a 2.54 ERA, 0.979 WHIP and 9.7 K/9 over 30 regular season starts.
“It’s spring training,” deGrom said. “I am not worried about it at all.”
