Jacob deGrom made his second rehab start with the Low-A St. Lucie Mets on Friday night, allowing three hits over three scoreless innings and striking out six against the Daytona Tortugas.
The second start in Daytona Beach was a bit of a homecoming for deGrom, who grew up in nearby DeLand and attended high school at Calvary Christian Academy in Ormond Beach, roughly 20 minutes from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
A sellout crowd of 3,379 saw deGrom throw 29 of his 36 pitches for strikes and retire eight of the first nine before allowing a pair of two-out singles in the third, but deGrom struck out Jamal O'Guinn on his final pitch to end the threat.
DeGrom hit triple digits on the radar gun again, a phenomenon that reportedly irked the Mets organization in his first rehab start, but reported no trouble with his arm or shoulder.
"I felt really good. Coming off the first time in a game after a five-day routine felt really good and I'm happy to get three complete innings," deGrom said. "I feel really good. It's step-by-step but I've been following the process how it was laid out and not do too much."
DeGrom noted that his arm "responded really well" after his first rehab start, and that fastball command was his mission on Friday.
"Everything feels good. Pitching my first game in a couple of months and responded really well and was able to go out there and throw three innings," he said. "I'm working on trying to command the fastball, and pitch off that. Wasn't as good as the first [start] but still felt really good out there."
DeGrom now has 4 2/3 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts over his first two rehab starts, and will likely move up to Double-A or Triple-A for his next outing – a move he didn't make yet because of logistics,
Thursday marked exactly one year since deGrom's last MLB start, and while he feels good through two rehab outings so far, he's not going to rush anything – even if he is chomping at the bit to return.
"Just try and stick with the program needed to get back out there," deGrom said. "Not many guys have this injury as far as the stress reaction in the scapula, so it's been a process. I felt good in spring and then it popped up out of nowhere. Trust the process, not do too much because I definitely don't want any setbacks, but hopefully keep moving forward like this and be back in the big leagues before too long."
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