Here are some news and notes for players who have been rehabbing. All stats are as of games played through June 11.
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Carson Kelly – C Arizona Diamondbacks
Carson Kelly's productive night continues 😤
He follows up his double last at-bat with a SAC fly to score Dominic Fletcher. https://t.co/S15VGBs4WB pic.twitter.com/eCPtJioOfk
— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 7, 2023
Kelly has been on fire in his rehab assignment, hitting the ball all over the place. Through eight games played, he has a .345/.412.448 slash line and a 3:8 walk-to-strikeout ratio. He’s working on getting strength, mobility, and stability as he is re-acclimated to being a catcher. His return may impede on some playing time for current catcher Gabriel Moreno.
Codi Heuer – RP Chicago Cubs
Heuer has accumulated 11.1 innings while rehabbing at Triple-A Iowa for the Cubs. He has struck out thirteen batters in that time while walking nine and has surrendered eleven runs. Needless to say, he’s not ready and the sentiments from Cubs’ president Jed Hoyer echo that. Heuer had Tommy John Surgery last March, and his return now would be along the 15-month timeline.
Cincinnati Reds – Tam Update
Nick Senzel (knee) joins Votto and Ramos on rehab assignments. Senzel isn’t expected to miss much time. https://t.co/zIfteTAfdP
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) June 11, 2023
This was a very experienced lineup, for a game that ultimately got canceled. Wil Myers isn’t expected to miss much more time as he has been rehabbing since Friday and is hitless in his two games. Joey Votto has just three hits over twenty-two at-bats in his return to Louisville, but one of those hits is a home run. He likely still has a long way to go before returning. Henry Ramos has seven hits in his six rehab games thus far and has mashed three of them for home runs. While that is encouraging, he may not be a stalwart in the lineup when he returns due. toother options on the team. As for Nick Senzel, he’s been scuffling in his rehab thus far and will need some more time to get things clicking.
Cody Morris – SP/RP Cleveland Guardians
#Guardians RHP Cody Morris allowed one run over 3.0 innings tonight in his rehab start for Columbus that included a strikeout of a rehabbing Joey Votto. Morris fastball topped out at 95.1 mph & averaged 94.0.
Line – 3.0(IP) 3H 1R 1ER 2BB 3SO (46 Pitches 25 Strikes)#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/rRWvnh1j3B
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) June 7, 2023
Morris has been purposely stretched out to cover three innings of work. He will be used as a long-reliever upon his return. This was his second consecutive three-inning performance and it was spread out over five days. Look for him to do it at least once more before getting the call back to the Guardians to try and do the same.
Matt Vierling – OF Detroit Tigers
A rehabbing Matt Vierling singles to right to score Parker Meadows and tie the game for Toledo. pic.twitter.com/TQXWOME2om
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 9, 2023
Vierling went on the Injured List on May 30 with lower back soreness but seems to be on the right path back to the Tigers. The rehab assignment isn’t expected to be a long one. The aforementioned hit was his only one to date in seven at-bats thus far.
Tarik Skubal – SP Detroit Tigers
Tarik Skubal looked excellent in his second rehab start last night for @wmwhitecaps
3 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 6 K–46 pitches/35 strikes
Fastball touched 98 mph twice. Averaged 96 mph. Feel for the change already there. Slider 87-90 mph.
(📹: @wmwhitecaps) pic.twitter.com/VEn83R55Yv
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) June 10, 2023
This is a very encouraging outing for many reasons. First, the velocity was there, averaging 96 mph. Also, the secondary pitches looked to be on par with prior years too. It’s all about sustainability with him now. Can his body recover and do this again? We will find out. Keep in mind too that this was in High-A, so tougher competition looks to be next for Skubal.
Daniel Hudson – RP Los Angeles Dodgers
Daniel Hudson made his second rehab appearance in Arizona Complex League. Dave Roberts said #Dodgers are optimistic he will be ready to join them in “the next couple weeks”
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 10, 2023
Interesting here, as Hudson looks like he’ll be with the Dodgers before July. He tore his ACL last June and would be twelve months removed from that. He has yet to pitch on back-to-back days, so that might be the next hurdle before anything more substantial than the Arizona Complex League.
Jesse Winker – OF Milwaukee Brewers
Jesse Winker homered again today for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds before the game was suspended due to rain. https://t.co/x1RWd4IuGm
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) June 11, 2023
That home run won’t count in the stats, but it’ll be there in our hearts. That would be the second rehabbed home run hit by Winker as he looks to return from neck pains. Had that counted, he would have had two home runs in his first three games played over five or so at-bats. He looks to be close to ready to return soon, though there’s been no indication that coming back is imminent.
Eric Lauer – SP Milwaukee Brewers, Wade Miley – SP Milwaukee Brewers
Brewers rehab starts today:
Wade Miley (AA- Biloxi): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 65 pitches.Eric Lauer (AAA-Nashville): 2 IP, 8 H, 7 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 1 SO, 69 pitches. His second rehab start.
— Sophia Minnaert (@SophiaMinnaert) June 11, 2023
Somewhat of a mixed bag of results for Lauer, as his previous outing was filled with positive results and good velocity. Yesterday, however, Lauer struggled to do much of anything well and got rocked. As for Miley, it was a solid start and he could be back with the Brewers soon.
Kenta Maeda – SP Minnesota Twins
Updates on rehab assignments at AAA St. Paul:
– Kenta Maeda threw four scoreless innings in 60 pitches. Five strikeouts and no walks. He topped out at 91.5 mph with his fastball.
– Joey Gallo hit a homer out of the ballpark (estimated 445 feet).
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) June 11, 2023
While the box score numbers and pitches thrown are nice, the biggest eye-popper is the velocity. It’s great to see him topping out at 91.5 mph, though other reports say he went up to 92 mph. Regardless, he is close to returning and could be taking over for Louie Varland if he (Varland) continues to struggle. There hasn’t been a mention of a six-man rotation either. Maeda out of the bullpen would be an interesting twist, but it seems like he will start.
Joey Gallo – OF Minnesota Twins
You want a @JoeyGallo24 home run, you get a Joey Gallo home run. Just a simple 445 foot blast off the Cubs #30 prospect. Lead 2-0 going to top 4. pic.twitter.com/NfT6RgNwHD
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 11, 2023
Gallo is eligible to return this Tuesday and looks every bit the part of someone who will.
Darick Hall – 1B Philadelphia Phillies
Darick Hall gets out front on this changeup, but still launches it 408 feet at 108.7 mph for a 3-run homer … It’s Hall’s first homer of his rehab, and he drove in 4 tonight for the Pigs pic.twitter.com/2eJuoVIDRe
— Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) June 10, 2023
Hall went 3-8 in Single-A before heading over to Triple-A, where he’s since gone 8-273 with one home run. He’s one week removed from being officially eligible to return. That said, Phillies’ manager Rob Thompson has mentioned more than once that Hall has been out and that he will need a lot of at-bats in the minors to get his rhythm back. He also stated that he needs to do things to improve, such as having good at-bats, walking more, and using the entire field.
Nelson Cruz – UT San Diego Padres
Minors or Majors … it makes no difference to Nelson Cruz.
The rehabbing @Padres DH clubs one 427 feet for the @epchihuahuas. pic.twitter.com/1uPW3Hccrj
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 8, 2023
Cruz is batting .313 with one home run and a double after four games played in Triple-A. He may be called up by the time you’re reading this as he looks ready to return.
Pete Fairbanks – RP Tampa Bay Rays
#Rays Fairbanks, on the IL with left hip inflammation, will throw to hitters on Friday at the Florida Complex League team site in Sarasota. How that goes will determine if he needs another minor-league rehab outing or could return Monday when eligible.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) June 7, 2023
There is no word yet on how Fairbanks fared while rehabbing on Friday. This is something to monitor, and unfortunately, we likely won’t know about his status until Monday, just before the games start.
Danny Jansen – C Toronto Blue Jays
Down in Triple-A, a rehabbing Danny Jansen just went deep.
Tuesday in Baltimore feels like the most likely date for him to rejoin the #BlueJays. pic.twitter.com/w3JK2IyLiq
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) June 10, 2023
This was Jansen’s first game in rehab, and he looked good while hitting that home run. It’s interesting to note that he did not play in Saturday’s game. Was that planned or not to mimic a typical day off for him? He did return on Sunday with three hits, with two of them being doubles. All that being said, he is eligible to return on Tuesday, and chances are that he does.
Victor Robles – OF Washington Nationals
Victor Robles will be joining the Wings on a Major League Rehab Assignment! @rocpt_585 | Rehab Report pic.twitter.com/ch9c3NjeoG
— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) June 9, 2023
The interesting part here is that Robles was pulled out of game one after two at-bats and then did not play in the second game. He did return on Sunday, only to go hitless.