Pitcher Drew Rasmussen is back in action. Just over a year has passed since his third major elbow surgery, and he is already pitching in the major leagues. That in and of itself is a great achievement. Of course, the right-hander for the Tampa Bay Rays has higher aspirations.
Rasmussen had a hybrid internal brace treatment on July 24, 2023, to fix his ulnar collateral ligament. On August 7, 2024, he made his Rays comeback, throwing two scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
As the youngest pitcher to return from a third UCL repair, Rasmussen, 29, has already made history. Despite the fact that he will likely pitch out of the bullpen for the remainder of the 2024 season, he is trying to become the first starting pitcher to return from his third such operation.
In addition, the right-hander hopes to make history by being the first player to pitch in Major League Baseball for several seasons after a third UCL surgery. Although it’s early, Rasmussen is already well on his way to realizing his objectives.
Seven Years, Three Elbow Surgeries
When Rasmussen was eighteen years old ten years ago, he heard the news that every budding athlete dreams of hearing: his name called in the 2014 MLB draft. He was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 39th round.
But he decided to go to college instead. It seems that Rasmussen thought he could get better and place significantly higher than 39th in a subsequent year.
Then, in his sophomore year at Oregon State, he had his first Tommy John surgery due to a UCL tear.
At such a young age, UCL injuries can be fatal to a player’s career, yet Rasmussen overcame his injury to the point that he was chosen highly in the 2017 draft. With the 31st overall pick, the Rays selected him.
However, Rasmussen decided to return to school and placed another wager on himself.
Regretfully, following his junior year, he tore his UCL once more. He need more Tommy John surgery. Pitchers are even more likely to have their careers ended by a second UCL injury, but Rasmussen recovered well this time.
The Brewers selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 draft the following year. Rasmussen executed a contract this time. After being traded to the Rays in 2021, he made his way to the big and became an instant star. In 2022, he was awarded a full-time position in the starting lineup.
However, the injury bug returned to haunt him in 2023.
Reliever Jonny Venters is the only pitcher in MLB history to have ever recovered from a third UCL surgery. Even yet, he was only able to continue pitching for another 15 months before more ailments compelled him to retire early.
Jose Rijo and Jason Isringhausen are frequently mentioned as more instances. Despite this, one of the three elbow surgeries performed on each pitcher was to repair a flexor tendon rather than a UCL.
Rasmussen is aiming to create history in this way.
Drew Rasmussen Is Well-Dressed
Since his comeback, Rasmussen has appeared in three games for the Rays. In one of those appearances, he gave up three runs in one inning, which caused his ERA to soar to 5.40. All of his other actions, though, have been nothing but positive.
The right-hander has zero walks and six strikeouts (27.3% K%). Over half (56.3%) of the batted balls he has surrendered have found their way to the ground. His SIERA is 1.96 and his xERA is 2.24.
The most positive thing, maybe, is that Rasmussen is still spitting gas. From the bullpen, his fastball is averaging 97.4 mph. That is to be expected, as that will decrease until he eventually makes a rotational appearance. When Rasmussen pitched as a reliever in 2021, his fastball registered at a little over 97 mph. That’s a strong sign that he still has a lot of charisma.
Up until that time, everything about his offerings appears just as repulsive as before. His stuff is substantially above average on all four of the pitches he has thrown so far this year, according to pitch modeling programs PitchingBot and Stuff+: a cutter, a sweeper, a sinker, and a four-seam fastball.
This season, he hasn’t yet to deliver his curveball. It’s unclear if that has anything to do with his elbow or if he is just pitching out of the “pen” and cutting down on his arsenal.
Either way, he doesn’t need any more given how well his four main pitches are performing.
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