Marcus Stroman is starting tonight. For the Lansing Lugnuts, the Toronto Blue Jays’ A-ball affiliate, but still: He’ll be throwing baseballs to professional batters. Five months ago, that was something that no one but Stroman foresaw. And five years ago, the chronological realities of rehabbing from in-season surgery might have proven his prediction wrong. But Stroman’s is a special case, a partnership of personality and science that points the way toward the future of injury rehab.
Stroman’s comeback story starts with what appeared to be a knockout blow, struck on a spring training field in mid-March. During pitchers’ fielding practice, Stroman and third baseman Josh Donaldson converged on a bunt.