adminAfter two minor league starts in Single-A, Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) is starting to make his big league debut. Now, he’s making a Triple-A start.
“Hyun-jin Ryu will pitch for Triple-A Buffalo tomorrow (Nov. 16),” MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson reported on Friday (Nov. 15), calling it an important step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Ryu underwent the second Tommy John surgery of his career last year after suffering from forearm pain. Tommy John surgery is a major procedure that typically requires a year or more to return to the field and can be life-threatening for a pitcher. Despite his young age, Ryu decided to undergo the surgery in order to continue his active career.
Ryu planned to return to the big leagues around the All-Star break, and he was well on his way, losing a whopping 13 kilograms. So far, Ryu’s rehabilitation is going very well. In his first rehab start with the Detroit Tigers’ Single-A affiliate on May 5, Ryu threw three innings of four-hit ball, striking out five and allowing one run (one earned).
His second outing was even more solid. On April 10, Ryu started a home game against the New York Yankees’ Single-A Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Rays and threw four innings of three-hit ball, striking out one and walking none. Even though he was pitching against Single-A, he only needed 37 pitches to get through four innings.
The challenge for Ryu will be to increase his pitch count and innings pitched, as well as his velocity. In his first and second outings, he topped out at around 88 mph (142 km/h). With two good outings at Single-A under his belt, Ryu is now on track to return to the majors. He will make his third post-surgery start at Triple-A on April 16.바카라사이트
According to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and Canada’s Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, Ryu is targeting four to five innings and 65 pitches in his start on April 16. If he ends up pitching as little as he did in the last 10 games, the bullpen will likely pick up the slack. Toronto general manager Ross Atkins expects Ryu to be able to throw 80-100 pitches by the time he returns to the big leagues.
“Ideally, Toronto would like to see him throw at least 85 pitches in the minors before he returns to the majors,” Ben Nicholson-Smith said, adding that he expects two more rehab appearances. In other words, Ryu’s return is now truly imminent.
According to Ben Nicholson-Smith, Ryu, who will make his third post-operative start, will throw a workout with the major league team at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, on Friday. We can expect to see him in the big leagues in August.