Jacob deGrom is back.
All the elbow and shoulder troubles appear to be a distant memory.
Last night, he took the mound for the New York Mets for the first time since July 7 of 2021.
Starting against the Washington Nationals, who had just traded away Juan Soto, deGrom was somewhat limited pitch-count-wise, but he went five innings and gave up just one run on 59 pitches.
Not only was he crazy efficient, but he threw a 94.5 mph slider.
Yes, you read that right.
In fact, he averaged 92.9 mph on his slider last night, which is the highest average for a slider all season, according to Codify on Twitter.
Jacob deGrom AVERAGED a slider velocity of 92.9 mph last night. It's the highest average for a game this year by any starting pitcher because of course it is. https://t.co/vdpejx5HhR
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 3, 2022
deGromination Time
It’s clear that deGrom isn’t showing any signs of rust and is still capable of blowing hitters away.
But a slider that averages 93 mph?
That’s unheard of.
That just goes to show how dominant deGrom truly is.
Sure, the Mets had to limit his pitch count, but for the five innings he was out there, he did not disappoint and did the unthinkable with his slider.
It appears his arm is doing just fine after months of rest and rehab.
If he can still top out at 93-plus on his slider, he’s still fully capable of being an ace.
That’s an impressive mark he set last night.
Now, the Mets have both him and Max Scherzer healthy in their rotation.
These are two guys who throw hard and have a ton of veteran experience.
The two of them finally have a chance to form the top one-two punch in all of baseball in the Mets rotation.
We’ll see if deGrom can continue to average speeds in the 90s for his slider.
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