Marlins' Jennings has never seen anybody rehab harder than Jose Fernandez
Miami Marlins manager Dan Jennings has been around baseball for over three decades, and yet he's never quite seen anyone approach an injury rehab like Jose Fernandez has from his Tommy John surgery.
"I tip my hat to the kid and the effort that he's put into this rehab. In my 31 years I've never seen anyone go about it any harder," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said, per the Orlando Sentinel.
The 31-46 Marlins could use a spark to turn around a disappointing season, and while Fernandez will only pitch once every five games for the Fish, he could easily provide a morale boost with a dominant performance.
After over a year of rehab, Jennings knows Fernandez will come out fired up, which will be good for the team but will have to be tamed in order to assure he doesn't push himself too hard in his first major-league outing of the season.
"He's got to come in and calm his emotions and execute good pitches against a good ball club," Jennings said. "I fully expect him to do that. I know he's excited; we're excited about him coming back. He's going to be amped up, but I think he's wise enough to calm things down and stay in the frame of mind that he needs to compete to give us a chance to win."
Fernandez is expected to be capped at 90 pitches in his first outing, the same limit that was placed upon him in his most recent rehab starts.
His debut, which will take place this Thursday against the San Francisco Giants, has been anticipated by not just the Marlins and their fan base, but baseball fans around the globe.
"It's going to be a fun, exciting day Thursday to watch this young man back on the mound," Jennings said.
(h/t Orlando Sentinel)
