Marlins ace Jose Fernandez had another impressive minor-league rehab start Monday at Single-A, throwing seven innings of one-run ball as he nears a return from Tommy John elbow surgery.
Fernandez struck out 10 batters in a rehab outing last week. This time around he struck out nine, walked one, and allowed four hits while recording 21 outs on just 90 pitches. And afterward the 22-year-old right-hander told Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press that he had “no pain” and “this start did a lot of good things for my mind.”
He’s scheduled to make one final rehab start Saturday at Double-A before coming off the disabled list and rejoining the Marlins’ rotation July 2 against the Giants. It’ll be Fernandez’s first MLB action since May 9, 2014, after which he was shut down with a 2.25 ERA and 257 strikeouts through 224 career innings.