WATCH: Jacob DeGrom marks his MLB Spring debut with Texas Rangers

The much-anticipated debut of Jacob DeGrom finally took place during the Spring Training game of the Texas Rangers against the Seattle Mariners in Surprise, Arizona. DeGrom had signed a $185 million contract with the Rangers during the off-season in December 2022. Since then, fans expected to see him quite eagerly pitch for the Rangers this season.

In the match against the Mariners, DeGrom faced the reigning AL Rookie of the year, Mariners’ center field Julio Rodríguez. In the three innings he pitched, DeGrom held the Mariners scoreless and struck out four. DeGrom allowed two hits and did not walk a batter during his pitch.

Julio Rodriguez had previously wrecked the Rangers’ pitching lineup last season. He had hit .281/.344/.485/.830 with 21 home runs and 62 RBI last season. This gave him a much-deserved seat in the All-Star lineup, earned him the Silver Slugger award, and made him finish seventh in the AL MVP voting.

However, the two-time Cy Young winner DeGrom was determined not to disappoint his fans in his debut for his new team. He had pulled his ‘A-level’ performance which has impressed several within the MLB community.

Related: WATCH: Fernando Tatis Jr. records first hits since 2021 in Spring Training

Jacob DeGrom impresses the MLB community with his ‘A-level’ performance for Rangers’ Spring Training

Jacob DeGrom definitely put up his A-Game in the Spring training with the Rangers against the Mariners. In the three innings that he pitched, DeGrom recorded 34 pitches, out of which 28 were strikes. DeGrom also bagged eight swings of misses, four strikeouts, and sat 97-99, with his balls touching the 100mph mark twice!

Texas Rangers catcher Mitch Graver was in absolute awe of DeGrom’s performance in his Cactus League debut. Speaking about the same, he says, “This is like A-tier starting pitching. It’s pretty fun to catch. … Catching [deGrom and Eovaldi] on the starting side, and Cole Ragans, and I haven’t caught Andrew Heaney yet, but Jon Gray looks the best I think he’s looked in a long time; it’s just exciting times.”

Speaking of his own performance, DeGrom says, “Whether it’s spring or during the season, the goal is to try to put up zeros. So that’s what I was trying to do out there today. The second batter of the game, I gave him a triple and I’m like, ‘OK, let’s leave him there.’ That’s what I was trying to do. It was good to be in a real game and have to bear down there and make pitches.”

The season looks quite fulfilling for the Rangers ahead as they have finally filled the gap in their starter pitching lineup. All thanks to DeGrom’s performance, the Rangers won the match 2-1 against the Mariners, showing a promising form for them in the season ahead.

In case you missed it:

Kate Upton flaunts support for husband Justin Verlander’s Mets

Rafael Devers aims to continue Xander Bogaerts’ legacy with Boston Red Sox