PEORIA, IL – According to reports from St. Louis and if he doesn’t suffer a medical setback this weekend, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes is expected to start for the Chiefs in a rehab stint on Monday at 6:30 p.m. against the Clinton LumberKings.
Reyes has missed the last 15 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery and began his road back to St. Louis this week with the Advanced-A Palm Beach Cardinals. On Wednesday he threw 3 1/3 shutout innings against the Jupiter Hammerheads allowing four hits and one walk while striking out six.
Reyes pitched for the Chiefs in 2014 going 7-7 with a 3.62 ERA in 21 starts. He struck out 137 batters and walked 61 over 109 1/3 innings while holding MWL hitters to a .207 average. He pitched for both Palm Beach and Springfield in 2015 with a combined record of 5-7 and a 2.49 ERA in 22 starts. In 2016 Reyes was 2-3 with a 4.96 ERA in 14 starts for Triple-A Memphis before getting the call-up to St. Louis. In the Majors he was outstanding with a 4-1 record and a 1.57 ERA in 12 games and five starts. He struck out 52 in 46 innings and held MLB hitters to a .201 average.
Reyes was a Florida State League All-Star in 2015 and an Arizona League Rising Star that fall. He was selected to both the 2015 and 2016 Futures Game and at one point was ranked as the #1 pitching prospect in all of MiLB. After missing the 2017 season he was ranked #17 by Baseball America and #18 by MLB Pipeline in their top 100 rankings before the 2018 opening day.
Reyes will be the first former Chiefs player to return on a MLB rehab with the Chiefs since Peoria native Joe Girardi did so in 2003. The only other former Chiefs to later return on a MLB rehab was pitcher Mike Harkey in 1992. Reyes is also the first MLB rehab of the 2018 season. Last year the Chiefs had outfielder Stephen Piscotty, pitcher Tyler Lyons and infielder Kolten Wong. In 2016 Jhonny Peralta played five games on the infield for the Chiefs. Former Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia threw the first five innings of a no-hitter against Clinton on July 23, 2015 in a rehab start. Jon Jay also rehabbed for the Chiefs in the outfield in 2015 while Jake Westbrook threw seven innings in a win against Quad Cities on June 9, 2013.
Monday is a Half Price Ticket Monday and a Movie Monday with Goonies as the featured movie for clips, trivia and more. Tickets for Monday’s game are available immediately online at www.peoriachiefs.com with the Dozer Park Box Office opening at 10:00 a.m. on Monday. Per the Chiefs ticket policy, the Never-A-Wasted Ticket exchange plan is suspended for all MLB Rehab appearances.
In honor of the Alex Reyes Rehab Start in Peoria on May 14 we have a week long promotion on Ticket Packages. If you purchase a 2018 Ticket package during the May 12th- 20th time frame you will get a Alex Reyes Chiefs Bobblehead with purchase. On May 21st we will draw 2 lucky winners to receive a signed Alex Reyes Bobblehead. Get your package now by calling 309-680-4000 or email [email protected]
