Detroit — Jahmai Jones just shook his head in wonder.
“Oh, man,” he said after facing Tarik Skubal three times in a simulated game Tuesday. “It looks like such a low-effort 97 mph.”
Skubal, just three weeks removed from an arthroscopic procedure to remove a loose body from his elbow, threw 40 pitches over three innings. The only hit he allowed was a home run that Jones off a changeup.
“It was good,” Skubal said. “The velo was good. The execution wasn’t as great. I was one-for-five on curveballs in the zone and that should be a high-zone percentage pitch for me. Just some little misses with the sinker in to righties and a little spin away, barely missing.
“But all things considered, it was a good day.”
Skubal kept his sense of humor, too. When he finally threw a curveball for a strike, he raised his hands and yelled, “I can still do it!”
Manager AJ Hinch said the next step, barring any setbacks, will be to throw another simulated game in five days, probably doubling the innings and the volume of pitches.
“This was a really encouraging day,” Hinch said. “It was good to see him out there and letting the ball go freely.”
The hitters were right-handed hitting Jones and Zack Short and lefty-swinging Gage Workman. Skubal struck out three and didn’t walk anyone.
“You work so hard in the offseason and in season to go out and play,” Skubal said. “And to not be able to do that now is killing me. I am trying to do everything I can to be back as fast as possible, but also as healthy as possible.”
Normally, it takes up to three months to come back from an arthroscopic procedure. But Skubal’s surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, used a relatively new procedure, using a smaller, less invasion scope (NanoScope), which they believe will drastically reduce recovery time.
“We’re doing stuff that’s kind of unprecedented,” Skubal said. “So we have to walk that line. I want to push the envelope but still be smart. I don’t want to come back in, whatever it is, two or three weeks, and go right back on the shelf. My goal is to come back and pitch the rest of the season healthy and play postseason baseball.”
The Tigers, as they have been, will closely monitor Skubal’s recovery in the next couple of days ahead of his next bullpen session.
“He felt great,” Hinch said. “That was the first thing he said to me on the field. But now we wait as things calm down. Is there any soreness. He’s going to get pitching sore again. That’s not uncommon. All attention is going to be on anything to do with is arm but it’s been perfectly fine.”
Skubal said he would be concerned if he felt unusually sore after throwing just 35-40 pitches.
“Usually you get that soreness when you throw five, six, seven innings,” he said. “Throwing a 35-pitch, up-down bullpen, you’re not going to feel a lot of soreness. And it’s good I’m not getting sore from this thing.”
On Wednesday, Justin Verlander (hip) is scheduled to throw a four or five-inning sim game and get up toward 70 pitches. It’s his third live session. Skubal will likely follow the same program, probably throwing four innings next time out.
“The hope is you build the ups and the volume to a level where the next stresser would be competition,” Hinch said. “And it’s going to be a rehab assignment somewhere. He’s going to pitch in a game somewhere other than in the big leagues before he comes back to the big leagues.
“And that will come when it can.”
It can’t come soon enough for Skubal.
“I hate it,” Skubal said when asked how he was dealing with not being able to help the team right now. “I hate it because I can’t go make an impact on the field and help these guys out. It sucks. I know a lot of these guys in here trust me and they instill a lot of confidence in me with that. Because I know on the days I go out there, everyone expects to win.
“Not being able to provide that for the team, especially when you’re scuffling a little bit, it hurts.”
Tigers at Angels
First pitch: 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, Comerica Park, Detroit
TV/Radio: Detroit Sports Net/97.1, 107.9 FM
Scouting report
RHP Jose Soriano (6-3, 2.44), Angels: He’s been alternating blow-up starts (six runs in 5.1 innings vs. Dodgers) and quality starts (two runs, 6.2 innings vs. Athletics) over his last four. But on the whole, he’s been a monster, holding hitters to a .187 average and .264 slug. He’s drawing X’s with 97-mph sinkers and 98-mph four-seamers, then breaking knuckle-curves (45% whiff rate) and splitters (46% whiff) off them. He’s also been better on the road than at home (4-1, 1.114).
RHP Casey Mize (2-3, 2.47), Tigers: He’s allowed two runs in 12.2 innings since coming off the injured list, a much-needed shot in the arm for the pitching staff. Those starts also showcased how his arsenal has matured and diversified. Against the Blue Jays, his bullet slider was as sharp as it’s been, and he leaned on it to keep the left-handed hitters off his splitter. Against the Guardians, the slider wasn’t as sharp, but he was able to show it enough to again keep the lefties off his splitter. All the while expertly commanding his four-seamer.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tarik Skubal, Tigers ‘encouraged’ after 40-pitch sim game
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
