Josh Tomlin Makes Season Debut In Rehab Outing

It’s been quite a while since we saw Josh Tomlin on the mound. On Friday night, however, the right-hander made his season debut following Tommy John surgery less than one year ago. Per his own Twitter account as well as Tony Lastoria of IBI, Tomlin pitched a scoreless inning in the Arizona Rookie League.

Nice to see @jtomlin43 out on the hill tonight for the first time in a rehab outing for the AZL Indians. Went 1.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K.

— Indians Baseball Insider (@Official_IBI) July 27, 2013

First rehab game tonight. Felt good to compete again. And a good win for the tribe tonight.

— Josh Tomlin (@jtomlin43) July 27, 2013

Tomlin struggled before the injury last season, going 5-8 with a 6.36 ERA in 21 games (16 starts). He was a big part of the team’s early success in the 2011 season, where he 12-7 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, walking just 1.1 hitters per nine innings.

There’s an outside chance that Tomlin could help the team in late August or September. His low-walk, strike-throwing style could work out of the bullpen where he would be less susceptible to long balls from hitters seeing him a second or third time in the game. Even in his best year in ’11, Tomlin allowed 24 dingers. He has allowed 52 homers total in 59 big league appearances.