Minnesota's ace threw three innings in Triple-A as he works back from a glute strain.
Joe Ryan's return to the Minnesota Twins' rotation may be closer than anyone expected, but the most encouraging part of his latest rehab outing probably wasn't sitting on the radar gun.
Ryan threw three innings for Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday night in Omaha, allowing one earned run on one hit while striking out four without issuing a walk. He needed 42 pitches to get through the outing, throwing 29 for strikes, and then added roughly 10 more pitches in the bullpen.
The bigger question afterward was how he felt.
Ryan's answer was encouraging because he didn't describe an outing that got away from him physically. In fact, he felt better as it went along.
“I didn't feel stellar in the first inning, and maybe in the second,” Ryan told reporters, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. “And then the third inning actually felt the best.”
That progression is important for a pitcher who has been trying to work his way back from a left glute strain.
Ryan even went back out for a fourth inning in the bullpen, which gave him another chance to test how his body responded once the competitive portion of the outing was over.
“So, it's good to see a progression there instead of the opposite,” Ryan told Leach.
That may explain why the Twins are already considering something that seemed less likely a few days ago. Ryan could potentially return during the current road trip through Chicago and Detroit.
Manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday that possibility is “on the table,” although he stopped short of putting a percentage on it.
Ryan still has some work to do before the Twins make that decision. He is expected to throw a bullpen session this weekend, most likely in Chicago, and the club will then determine whether he needs another rehab outing.
There was one number that could have raised questions.
Ryan's fastball sat around 91-92 mph in Omaha, below his 93.4 mph season average. He didn't sound concerned. Ryan said the heat in Omaha played a role and acknowledged that he wasn't reaching back for the same velocity he would use in a Major League start.
“I'm still throwing competitive pitches, and the intensity’s the same,” Ryan told Leach. “There's just another gear that you can tell you're not going to get to.”
That distinction matters given how Ryan's season had unfolded before the injury.
He had a brilliant first half before struggling after the All-Star break, losing all three of his starts and allowing 17 runs over 15 1/3 innings. His final start before landing on the injured list also featured a 92.1 mph average fastball.
So the Twins have more to evaluate than simply whether Ryan can take the mound again.
For now, though, Tuesday gave them a pitcher who felt better by the end of his outing than he did at the beginning. If that continues this weekend, Minnesota may not have to wait much longer to find out what Ryan looks like back in its rotation.
