Inside The Rangers

'Felt Really Good.' Texas Rangers Ace Jacob deGrom Takes Mound For First Time In 2024

Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom made his first rehab start for Double-A Frisco on Thursday. He struck out three in two innings.

Stefan Stevenson

Stefan Stevenson/Rangers On SI
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FRISCO — Jacob deGrom was back in a game for the first time in more than a year Thursday night.

The Texas Rangers right-hander, who has been recovering from June 2023 Tommy John surgery, made his first rehab start for Double-A Frisco at Riders Field.

It was short, but impressive, and the two-time Cy Young winner feels good after his his 29-pitch, two-inning appearance.


"It felt really good. It's still a work in progress," deGrom said. "Just left a couple of fastballs up, but the sliders good, changeup is good. When fully healthy, I'm constantly working on things, and try to eliminate misses over the heart of the plate. And that's going to take a little bit of time, but hopefully I can get that ironed out here and make better pitches when I'm back with the team."

deGrom's first pitch of the night was measured at 99 mph and his fastball routinely hovered in the same velocity. He threw four changeups and a bunch of sliders.

San Antonio Missions outfielder Cole Cummings ripped a 1-1 double down the first-base line to the surprise of most of those in attendance. He scored moments later on Connor Hollis' soft single to right-center on an 0-2 pitch.

"Yeah, it was frustrating," deGrom said with a smirk. "I was trying to go fastball up a little bit more than that. I wanted to try to throw my fastball up through the zone, and it didn't work. That's going to be part of this. You're still trying to make the pitches you need to make [in the Majors]."

deGrom was more concerned with experimenting with his pitch arsenal than making the appropriate pitches in certain counts during specific at-bats. That included throwing four changeups.

"I could go out and throw all sliders and probably have decent success, but it's trying to throw everything," he said.

deGrom was shut down in May 2023 with an arm injury and had Tommy John surgery a few weeks later. He likely won't be an option for the Rangers rotation until the about Sept. 10.

As is custom, deGrom paid for a nice postgame spread for his RoughRiders teammates after Thursday's game. deGrom had The streak and lobster from The Capital Grille catered. You can only imagine the bill for about 30 to 40 players and staff.

This was the first of four possible rehab appearances for deGrom before he's ready to rejoin the Rangers rotation. He'll gradually build up his pitch count to 70-75 pitches before the club will have him start in the majors. It will be his first MLB start since April 28 when he left after 3 2/3 innings with an arm issue. He was 6-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings in six starts for Texas before the injury.

Max Scherzer, who has been on the injured list with right shoulder fatigue, was scheduled to make a rehab start for Frisco on Friday but that has been postponed. The Rangers said he's not ready to resume yet.

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Stefan Stevenson

STEFAN STEVENSON

Stefan Stevenson worked as a journalist and editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 25 years, covering sports, concerts, and general news. His beats have included the Dallas Cowboys, the Texas Rangers, and Texas Christian University football.

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