AJ Russell ready to help his team win as 'much as humanly possible'

AJ Russell made his return for Tennessee baseball on Tuesday against Tennessee Tech, appearing in a game for the second time this season and the first since tossing a scoreless first with three strikeouts against North Alabama on February 25.  

The outing was also his second since Tommy John surgery last June. Russell continued throwing behind the scenes for the Vols in the last month, but appeared in a game for the first time in 35 days.

“I’ve just been kind of working up a pitch count and kind of the same thing from what it was before,” Russell said afterwards. “Live ABs [at-bats], bullpens. Just making sure everything was good.

“I want to be out there. I want to help this team win as much as humanly possible. It’s also, we have got to be smart about it. Not rush back and do anything that can hurt you in the long run too.”

It was a solid return, too, as Russell handled business in the first inning to throw a zero on the scoreboard. He allowed a two-out single, but struck out a pair and delivered a groundout to second base. Russell hit as high as 95 miles per hour at least four times in the frame.

“I feel great. I could have probably gone another 20-30 pitches. I felt great,” Russell said. “I threw a couple of extras in the bullpen when it was all over. Hopefully we can go two innings next time and see what happens with how I recover. We’ll talk to coach A [Frank Anderson] and coach V [Tony Vitello] and see what the plan is.”

That would be it for his first time back out, needing only 12 pitches (11 strikes) in the first inning. Russell went down to the Tennessee bullpen to throw some more in order to likely reach his pitch count for the day as it was a long bottom of the first inning with the Vols at the plate.

Pair of Ks for AJ in a scoreless first!

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“It was good that it was efficient,” Vitello said postgame. “You saw the velocity kind of sporadic there, and that’s intentional. It’s not because he can’t repeat his delivery or anything like that. So, a lot of positives and I think he even went down to the bullpen and worked on some things off-speed wise. So, the more reps, the better for him.”

He was flawless in his return to the mound on February 25 against North Alabama, tossing a clean inning with three strikeouts while hitting 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. He hadn’t pitched since then prior to Tuesday, however, though there were no setbacks, according to Tennessee coach Tony Vitello.

“Zero. Not even close,” he said in early March. “The opposite. No setbacks.

“It was a deal where AJ’s an abnormal kid and he got ahead of that program quicker than the average guy. So, I think it’s time for everybody that’s involved to take a deep breath, have a conversation and say, ‘he showed what he can do’. We feel good about the throwing program and the protocol, but let’s take a deep breath and look out for the long run of what we’re trying to do with our season and his career combined.”   

Against the Lions, Russell struck out the side while hitting 97 miles per hour on the radar gun on a couple of occasions. He needed just eight pitches to strikeout the first batter, five to retire the second batter and five more for the third – bringing his inning total to 17 with 11 strikes.

Russell was limited for the majority of his second year in the program after beginning the 2024 campaign as the club’s Opening Day starter. After some time off, rehab and a couple of returns to the mound following the initial injury, Russell needed Tommy John surgery in June.

Surgery was a success and proved a shorter recovery timeline as the repair was done with an internal brace. Russell now eagerly awaits his third trip back to the mound this season in what will likely be next Tuesday, according to the skipper. All this setting up to be a main factor on weekends down the line.

“Probably next week,” when asked when Russell will pitch again. “Probably just to get more in a routine where it’s a preparation, bullpen and then a competitive day. And you know, more than likely that next competitive day would be next Tuesday. And try and stack another inning on top of another one would be ideal.”