In first 'A' game as a Ranger, deGrom displays 'A' stuff

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Mitch Garver considers guys like José Berríos and Kenta Maeda when thinking about the best pitchers he’s caught in his career.

Garver spent the first five years of his MLB career with the Twins, where he caught Berríos and Maeda, but he’s undoubtedly looking forward to the Rangers’ reworked rotation, highlighted by ace Jacob deGrom. With a week left in Spring Training, he believes the rotation has lived up to the hype and will continue to do so.

“This is like A-tier starting pitching,” Garver said. “It’s pretty fun to catch. … Catching [deGrom and Eovaldi] on the starting side, and Cole Ragans, and I haven’t caught Andrew Heaney yet, but Jon Gray looks the best I think he's looked in a long time, it’s just exciting times.”

It’s only right that Garver was behind the plate on Sunday afternoon for deGrom’s Cactus League debut in a 2-1 win against the Mariners. The Rangers’ ace looked like himself, tossing three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and just two hits allowed. He hit 100 mph twice in three innings, while the fastball consistently sat around 97-99 mph.

"I mean, I think he would tell you it wasn't his best outing,” Garver said. “But he was sharp. I thought he looked good. … It was fun, for sure. There's going to be times where it might not be fun, right? But just in this environment for him to get out there and compete, it did [live up to the hype]. It was good.”

deGrom worked around a one-out triple from Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic in the first inning, getting the next two hitters to strike out swinging. The only other hit he allowed was a leadoff single from Mason McCoy in the third, but deGrom worked quickly to get out of the inning and strand him at first base.

In all, deGrom threw 34 pitches (28 strikes). Manager Bruce Bochy said they planned for him to throw more pitches, but because he worked so efficiently through Seattle’s lineup, they had him go down to the bullpen to get the rest of his work in.

“I felt like I threw the ball well,” deGrom said. “Whether it’s spring or during the season, the goal is to try to put up zeros. So that's what I was trying to do out there today. The second batter of the game, I gave him a triple and I'm like, ‘OK, let's leave him there.’ That's what I was trying to do. It was good to be in a real game and have to bear down there and make pitches.”

The 34-year-old deGrom entered camp with "a little tightness" in his left side, and the Rangers’ training staff decided to shut him down for a few days out of an abundance of caution. It’s been a slow ramp up ever since, including a series of bullpens and live batting practice sessions on the backfields.

deGrom had his first spring game action on March 13 when he faced Triple-A Omaha (Royals affiliate) on the back fields in Surprise. That day, he faced eight batters, giving up one hit and logging five strikeouts, as he continued his progress throughout camp.

While the coaching and training staff decided to slow-play deGrom in order to prevent further injury, the ace has felt healthy and comfortable for most of camp after the initial shutdown.

For Bochy, he was just happy to see deGrom back on the mound in an “A” game.

“You saw what he can do, and this is early in Spring Training [for him],” Bochy said of deGrom. “The most important thing with everybody would be just keeping them healthy. … I don't know what you can really do better because, again, he worked so efficiently. That's what you're looking for. He pounded the strike zone, he's using all his pitches, and he's not holding back or anything.

“You just saw what one of the best pitchers in the game looks like today. It is just fun to watch him again. We were excited to see him out there.”