Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays), who is progressing smoothly with rehabilitation pitching, is raising the possibility of returning to the big league against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On the 10th at 1:00 a.m. (Korean time), Ryu Hyun-jin will start his second minor league pitching match against the Tampa Tarpons (affiliated with the New York Yankees) as part of the Dunedin Blue Jays at TD Ball Park in Dunedin, Florida, USA. This is a single-A level Florida State League home game.
On the 5th, he wore a rookie-level FCL Blue Jays uniform and pitched 3 innings against the FCL Tigers (under the Detroit Tigers), then rested for 4 days before taking the mound.
According to the Toronto club, Ryu Hyun-jin throws 3-4 innings that day, and the number of pitches is expected to be around 50-55. Ryu Hyun-jin threw 42 balls during his first rehab appearance, giving up 4 hits, 5 strikeouts and 1 run in 3 innings, and his velocity formed 87 to 88 mph.
If he successfully completes his second rehabilitation pitching assignment, Ryu Hyun-jin is highly likely to be called up to the big leagues after playing two more minor league games. After increasing the number of pitches to around 65 in the third rehabilitation appearance expected on the 15th or 16th, and then throwing about 80 pitches in the fourth appearance on the 20th or 21st, the next stage is the major league. Of course, this assumes that everything goes smoothly.
After completing 4 rehabilitation games like this, Ryu Hyun-jin will stand on the mound in the major leagues after the 25th, and around that time, Toronto’s schedule is interesting. Toronto is scheduled to play three consecutive away matches against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the 25th and 27th and three home matches against the Los Angeles Angels on the 29th and 31st.
If you play a comeback against the Dodgers, it will have a special meaning. The Dodgers is Ryu Hyun-jin’s ‘parent’, and the stadium is Dodger Stadium, where Ryu Hyun-jin showed his strongest performance. It may be difficult for the Toronto staff to send a pitcher who has just completed rehabilitation against the NL’s strongest team, the Dodgers, but Ryu Hyun-jin is a different story.
Ryu Hyun-jin threw 7 seasons from 2013 to 2019 as a member of the Dodgers. He pitched in 62 career games at Dodger Stadium, where he marked a 28-14 record with a 2.62 earned run average, 1.125 WHIP, and 0.247 batting average. Ryu Hyun-jin has never faced the Dodgers since moving to Toronto.
However, the current Dodgers batting line is burdensome. As of the 8th, the Dodgers are 4th in team OPS (0.781), 2nd in team home runs (144), and 3rd in average score (5.5) among 30 teams. It’s a mighty line. Mookie Betts, Freddy Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy, JD Martinez, numbers 1 through 5 are formidable hitters. There is no doubt that it is a burdensome opponent for pitchers before returning.
If he skips the Dodgers game by having one more rehabilitation appearance or extending his rest days, the opponent before returning is the Angels. It is also burdensome as they are struggling to advance to the playoffs. Mike Trout is out with an injury, but Shohei Ohtani, who will become a free agent after this season, will lead the pitching.
If not both, the Baltimore Orioles in early August will be the opponent before returning. If the rehabilitation pitching is going well, there is no reason to delay it so much.
In minor league rehabilitation, the number itself is not important, such as hits, runs, strikeouts, and walks. It is important that the overall checkpoints such as pitch, speed, control, and pitching form are on the right track. Toronto’s Alec Manoa pitched 6 innings and 2 runs against the Detroit Tigers in the return match on the 8th, becoming the winning pitcher. He made two minor league appearances earlier. In his first game on the 28th of last month, he gave up 10 hits and 2 walks, including 2 home runs, in 2⅔ innings and gave up 11 runs.메이저토토사이트
However, coach John Schneider, who received the report at the time, showed confidence, saying, “We saw his strike, pitching form, tempo, and velocity, and they were all positive. Other parts can be taken into account.” And the second pitcher, who took the mound on the 3rd as a member of Double A, recorded 3 hits, 3 walks and 1 run while striking out 10 in 5 innings. Speed in the mid-90s, and above all, regaining confidence was the decisive factor in promotion to the big leagues.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s average fastball velocity was 90.7 miles in 2019, 89.8 miles in 2020, and 89.9 miles in 2021. 90.0 miles is considered a normal orbit. We need to watch the speed he will raise in the remaining pitching for rehabilitation.