It was only for five minutes, and to five of his teammates, but Kris Medlen faced hitters for the first time in more than 13 months Saturday in live batting practice and came away happy and ready for the next step in his comeback attempt.
Medlen is scheduled to throw another round of live batting practice Sunday, and if all goes well, he’ll head to the instructional league in Florida for some game action.
If all goes according to plan, Medlen will rejoin the Braves for the final series of the season against the Phillies (Sept. 26-28), pitching some in relief, and have a chance to prove he’s ready to help in the postseason.
After a scar-tissue pop, a platelet-rich-plasma injection and five weeks off derailed Medlen’s plans to return in August, he’s back on track now. He could concentrate on the hitters, Saturday, and not his elbow.
“Dr. [James] Andrews said ‘Your ligament is fine.’ That alone is good enough,” Medlen said. “But throwing and me being able to hump up and not think twice about it, it’s huge for me.”
Medlen threw a five-minute warm-up, then 25 pitches in a five-minute session to hitters. He missed the strike zone on occasion, but none of the five hitters made solid contact. Brooks Conrad broke two bats on his first two pitches.
“He looked good,” said Matt Diaz, one of the hitters who saw five pitches each. “It’s hard to get a gauge when you’re in a cage, but his velocity didn’t seem that far down, his location is obviously there. I think he’ll always have that.
“And I saw a breaking ball which was sharper than I anticipated it being, coming off an elbow injury. He looked really good.”
Medlen said he was a little wild at first, but felt more comfortable as he went on, being able to make adjustments.
“I let a couple fly away, but for the most part I was able to correct myself, which is super important,” he said.
It had been a year and 44 days since Medlen tore his ulnar collateral ligament in a start against the Mets.
Hanson’s final bullpen
Tommy Hanson threw his third and final bullpen session of the week and now plans to head to Orlando to make a start in the Braves’ instructional league as he continues his comeback attempt.
The Braves are holding out hope he could give them another option in the postseason rotation, but need to get him in a game before the season ends to find out if he’s ready.
Hanson hasn’t pitched since Aug. 6 because of an undersurface tear in his right rotator cuff. After Saturday’s 30-pitch bullpen, Hanson said his shoulder continues to hold up well.
“Felt good,” he said. “My command isn’t quite there obviously, just throwing a couple sides, but it’s not far off. I realize what I’m doing wrong, and I’m able to make adjustments. It’s just getting back out there and throwing to live hitters.
Prado back at second
Gonzalez put Martin Prado back in the No. 2 spot in the lineup Saturday for the first time since Sept. 7 in Philadelphia. Prado had gone 5-for-17 (.294) in his previous four games, including a home run Friday night against the Mets, while batting sixth and seventh in the order.
“That was the plan the whole time, was to give Prado a chance to get going again and move him down,” Gonzalez said. “He’s had some pretty good at-bats, so maybe that’ll help him a little bit.”
Gonzalez moved Chipper Jones from second in the order to his old spot, batting third. Brian McCann has hit third much of the season, but Gonzalez dropped him lower given his struggles since coming off the disabled list.
Saturday was the 67th time Jones has hit third this season and the 1,780th time in his career, more than any other major leaguer since 1961 outside of Billy Williams, who batted third 1,898 times.
