Rays ‘thrilled’ with how Cobb has progressed

ST. PETERSBURG — Doubt crept into the mind of Alex Cobb — his rehab after 2015 Tommy John surgery indefinitely paused after a far-from-sharp July 11 appearance. His 2016 season — and future — were uncertain. His mechanics weren’t there. His two starts with Class A Advanced Charlotte were a mess.

Fast forward less than two months, and Cobb is three starts into his five-start MLB season. In 17 2/3 innings, he’s allowed six earned runs with 12 strikeouts and just four walks. He’s ahead of anyone’s expectations given the uncertainty he battled earlier in the summer.

“That was a temporary-moment feeling,” Cobb said. “When you look back at it as a whole, you realize how insignificant a few starts here and there are in the big leagues. I wanted to get back so bad and so quickly that I kind of lost perspective of the big picture.”

Cobb will make his fourth start of the season on Wednesday against the Yankees — his second and final at Tropicana Field. Before getting back to Majors in early September, Cobb hadn’t appeared in a game since 2014, nearly two full years.

In his Minor League rehab appearances, he was 0-3 with a 6.65 ERA …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com