Photo: Ed Delany, Metsmerized Online
Jacob deGrom wasn’t at his best in his latest rehab start.
But that doesn’t change a thing for when they want him to return.
Buck Showalter stated the Mets saw no issues with his arm after Wednesday’s start and said he “felt good.”
“We hope his next outing is with us,” Showalter said. “We’ll see.”
The Mets ace was sloppy for Triple-A Syracuse as he works his way back from a shoulder injury. His velocity sat around 95 for his fastball, down from his usual 99. He topped out at 98 miles per hour.
DeGrom’s first inning was a success. After walking his first batter, deGrom retired the next three with a flyout and two strikeouts. One of the strikeouts was Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez who is rehabbing as well.
DeGrom’s second inning was a rollercoaster. He allowed a leadoff home run to Brewer Hicklen. Then he walked the next two batters. Struck out the following two. Then allowed a three-run home run to Drew Waters putting Omaha up 4-0. DeGrom then struck out Perez again to finish the inning. He had 47 pitches.
Through two innings, deGrom allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out five.
He settled in for the third inning, retiring the side. He opened with a strikeout of Michael Massey (his seventh) then recorded a pop out and a flyout to end the inning. DeGrom had now thrown 60 pitches, 36 of which were strikes.
DeGrom remained in control for his fourth and final inning. He got three flyouts on just seven pitches. He finished his afternoon retiring his final seven batters. He had 67 pitches.
It was his fourth minor league rehab start (fifth with a simulated game over the All-Star break) and by far his worst. The main positive is that his pitch count continues to rise.
Last week deGrom suffered a minor setback that pushed back his simulated game. But the Mets said it was “out of an abundance of caution.”
In two starts at Single-A, deGrom threw 4 2/3 innings, allowed three hits, no runs, and struck out 11. In his other start for Syracuse, deGrom went four innings, allowed two hits, and struck out four.
