Zack Greinke Ready To Return To Brewers

On Friday night, Greinke made his final rehab appearance with AAA Nashville, striking out seven batters over five incident-free innings, meaning that Greinke is now ready to join the major league rotation.

The Brewers’ rotation already has a collective 3.67 ERA, and now it gets to add the guy who was supposed to be the Opening Day starter before his rib injury. In three minor-league rehab starts, Greinke threw 10.2 innings, with two walks and 13 strikeouts. His stuff and command are apparently all there, and he should hit the ground running.

Greinke isn’t only back on a mound; he’s back on a mound in a competitive environment, facing live hitters. Greinke reportedly felt great, and threw his fastball in the low-90s with good command.

So this is a sign of progress. He’s still going to make at least another couple rehab starts - Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he wants Greinke to throw at least three games before coming off the DL - but the date of his return is drawing nearer, with one possible target date being May 4.

Greinke’s making progress in his recovery now, which is good. However, that initial three-start timetable? That doesn’t look like it’s going to come true. Writes Adam McCalvy:

Once Greinke gets onto a mound, it then becomes a matter of building up arm strength, facing hitters, and stretching out. And as you can imagine, that can be quite the process. The Brewers thought they’d be able to get Greinke onto a mound earlier, but he had some lingering discomfort, so it was delayed.