Tigers' Justin Verlander to make second Triple-A rehab start Wednesday
· Yahoo Sports
Detroit — He doesn’t love it, but he understands it.
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Justin Verlander’s next start is going to be a second rehab game. It will be Wednesday with the Triple-A Mud Hens in Toledo. He would’ve preferred it be against the Twins at Comerica Park.
“That’s what they want,” Verlander said, meaning the Tigers’ front office and medical staff. “I would like to pitch, but I guess I pitched too efficiently in the 60-something pitches (in his first rehab start), which sucks. Like, I did too well.
“But they want some more volume, and I think that’s fair.”
Verlander, out since April 1 with hip inflammation, threw 64 pitches in five innings on Monday with the Mud Hens in Iowa. The Tigers hope he can build that up closer to 80 pitches and six or more innings.
“I always want the player to want the ball and want to pitch,” manager AJ Hinch said. “But two things have to be there. They need to be ready physically for the demands that are different in the big leagues than they are in Triple-A.
“He is as established and as accomplished as anyone. But you are still trying to prepare for the volume and intensity that’s going to come in the big leagues.”
Sixty-four pitches in Iowa against Triple-A hitters, Hinch said, is not the same as 64 pitches in big-league competition.
“The second part is that the rotation has to be ready for the influx of new starters that are coming back,” Hinch said.
Tarik Skubal, who will make a rehab start at High-A West Michigan on Sunday, could, barring any setback, slot back into the rotation as early as Friday in Cleveland.
Casey Mize, who is also eligible to return Friday, is scheduled to make a rehab start with Low-A Lakeland in Clearwater on Tuesday. He would be on track to rejoin the rotation next week in Houston.
Verlander, if he hits his volume target Wednesday, also would be in line to make his return start next week in Houston.
“We will work our way through slotting guys back in and getting them ready as soon as possible,” Hinch said. “But it’s not as simple as just disrupting everything and inserting three-fifths or three-sixths of a rotation, if we go to a six-man rotation. The best thing for these guys and the best thing for our team is for them to get their outings in and we’ll address what is needed when it comes.”
The weather forecast made the logistics difficult on planning these rehab starts. Because heavy rain is forecasted for Toledo on Tuesday, Verlander’s start was pushed to Wednesday and Mize’s was moved to Clearwater.
Reliever Kenley Jansen is still scheduled to pitch an inning Tuesday in Toledo.
“We could push him back a day if we need to,” Hinch said. “But we’re not going to prep a starter to pitch Tuesday with the weather.”
The Tigers also are entering a stretch where they will be playing 20 games in 21 days. That’s another reason the Tigers will be doubly certain Verlander is ready to go.
“I understand the volume thing,” Verlander said. “Especially started a stretch of a bunch of games with no off-day. You don’t want to go out and you haven’t stretched yourself and you have to come out early and put the bullpen in a bind. I understand that.
“But I definitely want to be out there. This has been way longer than anybody anticipated. I’ve made some adjustments in the last few weeks and really responded well. So I am definitely anxious to be in this uniform and pitching.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander to make second Triple-A rehab start