Zumaya throws 150 mph change-up, poised for return

LAKELAND, FL — Detroit Tigers flamethrower Joel Zumaya threw a bullpen session yesterday in preparation for his second rehab appearance with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Detroit’s Class A-advanced minor league affiliate, and with his fastball topping out at 177 mph.

Zumaya has been sidelined since hurting his shoulder in the off-season, allegedly while helping his father move heavy boxes. Other reports have claimed his shoulder spontaneously combusted while he was playing catch with his brother in his backyard.

“His fastball is consistently in the mid 170’s, and his curve was breaking sharply; but his change-up still needs a little more work,” said Lakeland pitching coach Joe Coleman, updating Zumaya’s progress. “He was throwing it at around 150, and we really feel like it’s most effective down in the 140-145 mph range – so he really gets that speed differential from his fastball and keeps hitters more off-balance.”

The Tigers’ Zumaya-less bullpen has an ERA somewhere near Mars, and with closer Todd Jones’ ridiculous mustache growing grayer every day, news that Zumaya is nearly ready to return is welcome indeed.

“I felt good today,” Zumaya reported, addressing the media shortly after his workout. “The shoulder is healing a lot stronger than we expected, and I haven’t lost much velocity on the fastball.”

He went on to say that he would pay to have a three-foot divot in the Lakeland bullpen replaced, which was carved when he threw a curveball in the dirt during his session.

The downside of Zumaya’s imminent return is the injury suffered by promising young catcher Jeffrey Kunkel, who had a specialized catcher’s mitt made after catching the fireballer’s first rehab appearance, one that would fit over his original mitt to provide extra padding. Unfortunately, Zumaya was just warming up – after the most recent bullpen session, Kunkel was rushed to a Lakeland area hospital, where he was fitted for a prosthetic hand.

“I felt a snap in my wrist and hand on that last fastball he threw,” Kunkel said. “I took the mitt— well, mitts off, and there was nothing there. He completely vaporized my left hand!”

It’s going to be tough for this sport to sweep any nations, but it’s still pretty frickin’ cool!