Mets news: Bobby Parnell struggles during rehab outing

Bobby Parnell was shaky on Monday night for High-A St. Lucie as he restarted his rehab assignment.

In one inning of work, Parnell blew the save while allowing three runs on two hits and a walk. Parnell also uncorked two wild pitches.

During the outing, Parnell’s fastball sat between 90 and 92 MPH, touching 95 and 96 on a few occasions, according to Jeff Moore of Baseball Prospectus. Moore added that Parnell struggled badly with his fastball command and bounced a number of curve balls.

Monday was Parnell’s first appearance since April 21. After that outing, where his velocity was alarmingly low, Parnell was diagnosed with forearm soreness and his rehab was shut down.

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Parnell is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent last April.

Thoughts:

Parnell being rusty is to be expected, but the main takeaway from Monday’s outing should be his fastball velocity.

While Parnell sat between 90 and 92 MPH for the majority of his outing, the fact that he dialed it up to 95 and 96 MPH a few times is certainly a good sign.

It needs to be pointed out that Parnell is just 13 months post-surgery, while Matt Harvey went roughly 17 months between game appearances after rehabbing from his own Tommy John surgery.

During 2013, Parnell averaged 95 MPH with his fastball. Hopefully, Parnell’s regular velocity will return as he shakes off the rust, since the Mets can definitely use him toward the end of games. However, even if he doesn’t get back his 2013 velocity, Parnell – with his knuckle curve as a legitimate weapon – can still be effective if he can come close to it.