Jonathan Cannon is back and will pitch for the Bulldogs when Georgia travels to Alabama for another big SEC series.
The big right-hander, who missed his last two starts after feeling a twinge in his forearm, will be on 50-60 pitch count against the Crimson Tide.
However, for a Bulldog pitching staff in need of some good news, any contribution made by Cannon should be considered a positive.
“Once I felt good, I was ready to get back out there last week. But obviously, it’s a process, that I’m really healthy and in it for the rest of the season,” said Cannon, who threw a final bullpen Wednesday.
Before the setback, Cannon was one of the best in the SEC.
In seven starts, the projected first round pick in the upcoming Major League Draft was 6-1, with an ERA of 1.71 in 47.1 innings, with just three walks and 46 strikeouts.
“Huge boost, especially for our bullpen,” teammate Shane Marshall said. “Having him around and seeing how he goes out there and gives his all, all the emotion—he’s electric out there and everybody just follows him. It’s just awesome to have him back.”
Head coach Scott Stricklin liked what he saw from Wednesday’s bullpen session.
“He had two bullpen sessions leading up to this, so we knew he was healthy. But just to see him throw 94-96, throw all his pitches for strikes, see the confidence … he feels good about his outing,” Stricklin said. “I’ll probably ask him five times tonight and five times in the morning how are you feeling, but he looks like he hasn’t left, and it will be good to have him back.”
Cannon suffered the injury while stretching prior to a throwing session almost three weeks ago. He wasn’t throwing at all when he felt a twinge.
“We went and got it looked at, and all the doctors said yeah, there’s nothing wrong with it, through the imaging and X-rays, and as soon as the swelling goes down, I could go back out there,” said Cannon. “It went down last week, and I haven’t had any problems at all.”
Pitching coach Sean Kenny said when Cannon revealed the injury his heart almost stopped.
Georgia had lost Sunday starter Dylan Ross and Will Childers to season-ending elbow injuries. The thought of possibly losing Cannon was almost too much to bear.
“I think I said bad words,” Kenny said. “It’s been one of those years where you say OK, it’s just the next one on the list. In the moment you never think it’s going to be a big deal, but even if he missed one start that’s significant. When you have a guy that talented you have to be really careful.”
Although the tests were meticulous, Cannon did not think a UCL injury had occurred, although “when you get an MRI in the middle of the season, you’re hoping they don’t find anything.”
It’s expected Cannon will pitch on Saturday.
“He wanted to pitch last weekend and probably could have pitched an inning, but we decided not to,” Stricklin said. “It’s going to be warm; it’s going to be in the 80s, so that will help. We’re leaning toward Saturday for him, but we’ll announce tomorrow. We just want to make sure he feels fine.”
