Jake Peavy Makes First Rehab Start

At one point this spring it looked likely that White Sox starter Jake Peavy (can I call him a ace anymore?) looked as though he might be able to make a rather impressive return from his torn lat muscle. Initial estimates suggested that Peavy wouldn't be ready until early May at the soonest, but Peavy was trying to defy those expectations, and perhaps even looking at being ready for opening day.

Unfortunately after suffering shoulder soreness, later revealed diagnosed as tendinitis, his return date was once again pushed back. There was a small measure of controversy surrounding the diagnosis as Peavy had tried to pitch through it without alerting the team or it's medical staff to his pain. That's something that's become a disturbing tendency for some. While many appreciate Peavy's tough guy mentality, his willingness to pitch through too much pain, to the point of causing further injury has become a bother.

In the wake of it all, Peavy vowed to be more open with the White Sox staff regarding his condition. That's something we won't be able to know until Peavy is suffering again of course, but for now, all the right things are being said.

When he's right, Peavy is a top of the rotation caliber pitcher who's won the Cy Young award during his tenure in the National League. Peavy attacks hitters with a 91-92mph fastball with plus arm-side run, a cutter, changeup, and slider that he utilizes as his primary out pitch. He'll also show a curve on occasion. Over the past few years however his stuff simply hasn't had as much life as it used to, but he remains a candidate for the top of a rotation.

In Peavy's place the White Sox decided to keep Philip Humber who has bounced around the central since being acquired by the Twins in the Johan Santana trade. Before being claimed by the White Sox this past off season he had last worked for the Royals in 2010. Working out of the bullpen thus far, Humber has pitched a pair of ugly innings, but with the Sox being able to skip his spot in the rotation just once more, he'll soon be asked to make 2-3 starts before Peavy is expected to be back.

In the meantime, Peavy was expected to make four rehab starts in the Minors, the first of which occurred last night to mixed results. He missed bats, striking out four in 3 2/3IP but allowed five hits, walked one, and threw a wild pitch. The outing took 72 pitches to complete while he was scheduled for 75. His next start will come Wednesday the 13th, and if everything goes well he should be on track for a late April, early May return.

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Corey Ettinger is a Senior Writer for Baseball Digest as well as a proud contributor to both 612Sports.net, 312Sports.com, and 313sports.com. He also provides extensive analysis of the American League Central Division at his own blog, AL Central In Focus. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @Coreyettinger for the latest updates, random thoughts and general tomfoolery.