Alex Reyes is ready to fulfill his promise

By Miles Chavez

It sucked, absolutely sucked.

That’s the best way hard-throwing right-hander Alex Reyes could describe the way he felt on Feb. 15, 2017, when he learned that he needed Tommy John surgery.

Reyes, who was ranked as the top pitching prospect in baseball at the time, was done for the 2017 season before throwing a single pitch in spring training. He returned to his apartment in Jupiter, Fla., and cried. He was dejected, if not necessarily despondent, but he was committed to returning to work after undergoing ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow.

This painful memory will help make Reyes’ return to the majors on Wednesday (against the Brewers) even sweeter.

On that disappointing morning on Feb. 15, St. Louis Cardinals leader Adam Wainwright, who had gone through Tommy John surgery and still regained his All-Star form earlier in his career, put his arm around Reyes’ shoulder in the clubhouse and told him he would be fine. Dominican ace Carlos Martinez also offered words of encouragement, as did Puerto Rican superstar Yadier Molina. Reyes’ older brother Adriel, who was in town, also made sure to keep his brother’s spirits up.

“My brother was in town, and he was there for me,” Reyes said. “It was a collective group of just my family in general and the guys. Waino put his arm around my back. He spoke to me a little bit. [Zach] Duke was a huge guy going through that rehab process the first few months. We drove each other, and he really motivated me in the right direction.”

Now Reyes is the one primed to give the Cardinals a boost while Wainwright, Martinez and Molina are on the disabled list.

What it takes

Reyes, 23, never stopped working toward a return to the big leagues in the 15 months since his surgery. He didn’t necessarily learn to appreciate his talent more, because he never took his talent for granted while sprinting through the Cardinals’ farm system. But he missed the game itself.

“You appreciate the game more because you’re away from it,” he said. “You appreciate the small things, the fact of being out there.”

Reyes is almost back. He’ll return to the Cardinals’ starting rotation this week in one of the most anticipated starts in baseball this year since the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani’s big league debut.

Reyes is eager to showcase the form that helped him dominate hitters during his first cameo in the majors in 2016, when he went 4-1 with 1.57 ERA over 12 games (five starts) while posting a 2.0 Wins Above Replacement in such a brief stint in the majors that he’s still considered a rookie.

“I think he has the potential to be an ace-type pitcher his first year,” said Wainwright, a three-time All-Star and World Series champion. “He’s got the mental maturity. He’s got the physical tools. If he puts it together, I don’t see a guy who needs four or five years of seasoning before he’s an ace.”

With a 99-mph fastball, a wicked curveball and an awesome changeup, Reyes has put together one of the most impressive rehab stints in recent memory over the last month. He also had a breaking pitch that appears like a slider, but he claims only a fastball, curve and change.

Whatever the case, he looked like a seasoned All-Star veteran against, well, minor-leaguers while throwing 24 scoreless innings over four rehab starts spanning four levels.

Starting over

At times it was completely unfair. He began his rehab assignment on May 9 at Class A Palm Beach, striking out six while giving up one walk and four hits over 3 1-3 scoreless innings against Jupiter.

Five days later he pitched for Class A Peoria of the Midwest League, doubling his strikeout total with 12 over five scoreless innings. He walked two and gave up one hit while stealing the lumber from the Clinton LumberKings.

The step up to Class AA Springfield also went smoothly five days later. He struck out 13, walked three and gave up one hit over 7 ⅔ innings against Northwest Arkansas. He saved his best for his last rehab start, though.

Facing the Dodgers’ Class AAA affiliate Oklahoma City, Reyes struck out 13, including nine in a row during a full turn in the order last Thursday for Class AAA Memphis.

Reyes became the first pitcher in the rich 116-year history of Pacific Coast League to strike out nine in a row. The previous pitching record for most strikeouts in a row in the PCL had been set in 1910 and tied three times before Reyes broke it.

If there were any doubts that he was ready, Reyes erased them by breaking a 105-year-old PCL record.

He’s ready to help the Cardinals chase the Brewers in the NL Central race.

“Watching these guys play and just seeing where they are in the division and competing day in and day out it’s exciting to think about playing for this club,” Reyes said. “And to think about being a part of this team and being able to contribute.”

With Wainwright and ace Martinez on the disabled list, the Cardinals definitely need Reyes back. He has empathy for those two veterans.

“Waino’s definitely one of those guys who spoke to me often last year about some of the things that he went through,” Reyes said. “It was huge for him to just share some of the thoughts that he had for me.”

Reyes paid attention to Wainwright’s advice. More importantly, he put in the work that was recommended. He lost nearly 15 pounds from 2016 to get closer to 175 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame. The loss of body fat was obvious.

Though dejected immediately after the surgery due to time away from the game, he remained involved with the team. He went through his rehab at Busch Stadium last year so that he could be part of the team.

“The beginning of it it was definitely the down part,” he said. “You go through the whole season and you’re not in any games. You’re doing as much as you can to get healthy, but again you do know your time is far away.”

He set modest goals this spring, beginning with the desire to pitch in the majors. He’s talented enough to be the ace of the staff at some point, perhaps as early as this year. But he doesn’t need to be the ace because Martinez and Miles Mikolas are already top frontline starters.

He has confidence and appreciation for those who view him as an ace.

“Now it’s about taking what (Wainwright) said and using it for the drive and putting it all in and trying to get the best out of me. If he sees that and he’s been in the game for a long time, that puts, I wouldn’t say pressure, but that puts something on me where it says I gotta exceed my abilities because if he sees that I got to believe it and I gotta want it as much as anyone else.”

Featured Image: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images Sport

Inset Image: Jon Durr / Getty Images Sport