MLB
Alex Reyes’ rehab assignment went far and beyond better than anyone could have expected. Reyes burned through minor league batters in every one of his rehab starts, including his final one in Memphis on Thursday. The young Redbird starter set a Pacific Coast League record for consecutive strikeouts with nine in a row at one point. Overall, in his four starts, Reyes threw 23 innings, didn’t allow a run, only gave up seven hits, seven walks, and struck out 44 batters.
Alex Reyes’ Rehab Assignments
Peoria Chiefs (A)
Alex Reyes’ rehab assignment started in Peoria Illinois with the Cardinals’ Single-A affiliate the Chiefs. In that start the young flamethrower went five innings. Over those five innings, he allowed just one hit, struck out 12, walked two and didn’t allow a run.
Palm Beach Cardinals (A+)
The next stop for Reyes was Palm Beach. This stop was the worst one of the whole rehab stint, but it still was a step in the right direction. Despite going just 3 1/3 innings and allowing four hits, Alex didn’t allow a run, only walked one batter, and still struck out six. The six strikeouts pushed his 2018 minor league total to 18, in just 8 1/3 innings.
Springfield Cardinals (AA)
Next, for Reyes, was Double-A Springfield. This was his first chance to see if he could go deep into a game, which he did. Not only did he record two outs in the eighth, he also only allowed one hit. He didn’t just prove his arm strength was good enough to pitch late in a game, he proved he was ready to do it effectively. Over 7 2/3 innings, Reyes struck out 13 more batters, walked three, and again didn’t allow a run. This start set him up for his final test on Thursday night, at Memphis.
Memphis Redbirds (AAA)
To say Reyes passed his final test with flying colors may be an understatement. On his way to proving he was in fact ready to pitch at the big league level again, Alex threw the best seven innings of his entire rehab assignment. He only walked one batter and struck out 13, including the Pacific Coast League record nine straight. That’s right, Reyes struck out every batter an entire turn through the lineup. In three of those nine K’s, every strike was a swing and a miss. All in one start at Triple-A, Alex Reyes set a PCL record, improved his 2018 minor league record to 3-0, pushed his strikeout total to 44 over four starts, and proved without a doubt he is ready to make an impact in the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting rotation.
This article was originally written by former TSJ101SPORTS MLB Department editor and writer Canyon Clark. Due to systems modalities, the article has been assigned to the author tag designation “Former Writers”.
