AJ Russell was sitting in class Tuesday morning when Tony Vitello sent him a text. Did Russell want to make his 2025 season debut later that afternoon against North Alabama or face Tennessee batters live on Wednesday and target next Tuesday against Radford for his debut?
It was a no brainer for Russell.
“I’m tired of live ABs and all that kind of stuff,” Russell said. “He kind of gave me the option and I felt good and have been recovering really well and feeling really good when I’m throwing. It all lined up.”
That was that. Russell made his return to the mound 259 days after he underwent Tommy John Surgery and 275 days after he last pitched in a game.
It was a short but productive return for Russell. He threw 17 pitches in the first inning, striking out all three batters he faced. Russell said he was “hoping” his fastball would hit 94 or 95 mph “here or there.” His go-to fastball sat at 93-94 mph and touched 95 and 96 mph two times each.
After battling an arm injury all last season, Russell easily could have pressed in his return. But the junior’s cool demeanor is what his head coach most liked.
“I was just glad he didn’t try and do too much and almost looked like he was actually being more methodical than I’ve ever seen him,” Tony Vitello said. “I don’t know if that’s the trend he wants to keep or that was him keeping himself under control. But to me, I was happy that the adrenaline – it was certainly there – but it wasn’t out of control.”
What’s next for Russell after a strong debut? Don’t expect to see him pitch this weekend as Tennessee heads to Texas for the Astros Foundation College Classic. Vitello said they won’t have the talented right hander throw twice in five days at this point in his recovery.
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But expect Tennessee to continue to ramp up Russell’s workload as the Vols get closer-and-closer to the start of SEC play.
“The next stop will be getting him out there maybe multiple innings,” Vitello said. “But we had talked about him getting a start like the fifth week of SEC play. … His work and his character will lead him into forcing our hand maybe a little quicker than we want, but we’re also going to be pretty dang patient.”
“Just feeling better every day and feeling strong on the mound,” Russell said of what’s next. “More confident in myself on the mound. I was very confident when I got out there today. It felt like the right place to be and I don’t really know my expectations going forward. I just want to throw as much as possible.”
Russell won’t see a major work load of innings right away but his return coming this early in the season changes the dynamic of what he can be for this team. The tall right hander is a potential first round pick in this summer’s MLB Draft and has the stuff of a top-end SEC weekend starter.
“I think he’s more comfortable starting,” Vitello noted.
Tennessee’s pitching staff has already earned a myriad of praise early this season due to the success of Marcus Phillips and particularly Friday night starter Liam Doyle. After Tennessee had a unique pitching staff last season, the Vols have a power pitching arsenal this year and Russell only adds to that.
“Another arm to be used, right? Just another weapon in the stable,” Russell said of what his addition brings to the staff.
