Bobby Parnell continues to make progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. In his second rehab appearance yesterday behind Tradition Field in Port St, Lucie, Parnell pitched one inning, and did not allow a run.
Dave Lennon of Newsday analyzed Parnell’s fastball velocity from his appearance using PITCHf/x data. He also included some good quotes from Parnell.
“At his peak, before snapping the ulnar collateral ligament on Opening Day last April, Parnell’s fastball averaged 95.2 and maxed out at 99.1 during the 2013 season — down a few ticks from 95.8 and 100.4 the previous year, according to PITCHf/x. As for Wednesday’s performance, when his velocity ranged from 88 to 91, Parnell explained that was partly due to using more two-seam fastballs, a slightly slower pitch than the four-seam.”
“I went in to this outing trying not to overthrow, so I knew the gun wasn’t going to be anything outstanding,” Parnell said. “I backed off and wanted to work on my two-seamer because it wasn’t there last game. It’s more of a ‘go out there and knock the rust off’ kind of thing more than overthrow.”
“The last time out, it was the first time seeing batters in a long time,” Parnell said. “The intensity went up when the batters stepped in, and everything kind of moved a little fast. I was able to slow it down this game and work on a little bit more stuff to go in the right direction.”
Lennon also said that Parnell has a chance to take over as the Mets closer when he returns.
“Parnell was 22-for-26 in save attempts with a 2.16 ERA during his last full season in 2013. He struck out 44 and allowed one homer in 50 innings. With the Mets committed for now to Jenrry Mejia as their Opening Day closer, the team has been vague about its plans for when Parnell does return, which could be as soon as early May. That probably will have a lot to do with how Mejia is pitching — and Parnell’s timetable.”
“I want my body to tell me when to go,” Parnell said. “I don’t want to look at the calendar to tell me when. I want to be 100 percent. I want to help the team more than just being there.”
Thoughts:
Regardless of who ends up pitching the 9th, the Mets back end of the bullpen is considerably stronger than it has been in recent years. Parnell, Mejia and even Jeurys Familia give the Mets three solid options for the late innings, which is a luxury the Mets have not had in a very long time.
