Towards the end of the 2023 campaign, South Carolina starting pitcher Eli Jerzembeck heard three of the most harrowing words in baseball: Tommy John surgery.
Jerzembeck, then a true freshman, had never dealt with a serious injury, dating back to his high school days. But as the season went along, his arm started to feel “tight” and “dead” as he continued throwing.
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“I kind of just knew in the back of my head something was up. But with this type of injury, you can’t really go in and get it checked out until the wheels fall off,” Jerzembeck said on an episode of 107.5 The Game’s “The Extra Point” on Sept. 26. “I kind of was just keeping it to myself and was trying to get the numbers I could do and help the team any way I could before that all happened. But it ended up happening against Kentucky, and yeah, (my) season came to an end.”
In the 16 months since his injury and subsequent surgery, Jerzembeck has been working to rehabilitate his arm and elbow in the hopes of returning to full action. And in his first media availability of the fall, head coach Paul Manieri said that return is not far away.
“Except for a couple little nagging non-baseball related issues that he’s had to deal with that, hopefully, aren’t long-term type things, he should be good to go,” Mainieri said.
Jerzembeck is expected to take the mound on Wednesday in South Carolina’s third preseason scrimmage of the fall. He will pitch one frame in the three-inning scrimmage, Mainieri said.
Mainieri added that the team will continue building his arm as the fall season continues.
“He’s a priority for us because, obviously, he missed all of last year, and there’s such great potential there. There’s such great talent,” Mainieri said. “I’m certain that, if everything’s going according to plan, that he’ll probably pitch in both those scrimmage games against other teams just to get him out there and get the experience of facing players from another team.”
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Jerzembeck’s first outing back will come 514 days after he last pitched in a regular season game on May 7, 2023. At the time of his injury, he had appeared in 16 games, including three starts. Jerzembeck pitched to a 2.84 earned run average and struck out 36 batters across 23.1 innings.
But undergoing Tommy John surgery, it forced him to miss the South Carolina’s entire 2024 campaign. During that time, Jerzembeck took part in a “day-by-day” rehabilitation process that involved both lifting and throwing.
“You got to toss the ball after six months. Every day, you’re going out there throwing a little through soreness trying to loosen out that arm. And once you finally get to month 12, you, you feel really loose and you feel good,” Jerzembeck said. “Now that I’m at month 15, 16, I’m beyond ready to go.”
Jerzembeck said, looking back on his injury, that “it only happened for the better pupose.” He added that he took advantage of the lost time by continuing to grow physically and mentally.
“Looking back at it, being able to get that full year to develop myself, develop my body and develop my mind, I couldn’t be more grateful for the game I play and be able to take that time and be able to basically just develop myself and better myself for this year to come,” Jerzembeck said. “Now that the time is here, I’m beyond ready for it.”
If his bullpen sessions are any indication, Jerzembeck is more than ready, Mainieri said.
“He’s got electric stuff,” Mainieri said. “When you watch him throw a bullpen, you think, ‘Friday night starter.’ There’s no question about that.”
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