Inman Returns For Postseason Run

There are even things that perplex baseball players with economics degrees from Stanford University.

Jeff Inman bypassed a professional contract offer with the Kansas City Royals five years ago to attend the prestigious Pac-10 school in Palo Alto, Calif., where he dazzled scouts from major league organizations while balancing baseball with a stringent academic curriculum. After three seasons with the Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Inman in the 12^th round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

While the 6-foot-2, 190-pound pitcher from Bakersfield, Calif. accomplished one lifelong dream of graduating from Stanford, Inman’s professional baseball career has been limited to 11 appearances and 31.0 innings. His big-league pursuit stymied by pain in his right (throwing) elbow, which cost him all of last season and sent him to the disabled list after eight appearances with the 2011 Bradenton Marauders of the Class-A Advanced Florida State League.

“It was definitely frustrating because I had the same injury last year,” Inman said. “I think it was a little worse last year. I caught it early this season. It put me out. I had to go through all the rehab process again and all that, but I’m finally out of it.”

Unlike last year when Inman’s rehabilitation process was shut down in July, the work on the practice fields at nearby Pirate City translated into a three-outing test with Pittsburgh’s Bradenton-based affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. From Aug. 8 to 15, Inman pitched hitless innings against the GCL Tigers, GCL Phillies and GCL Yankees and yielded one walk against two strikeouts in three appearances.

On Wednesday, he was recalled to the Marauders. He will be used primarily as a reliever after starting in six of his first eight appearances with the club, which entered the day with a two-game lead over the second-place Palm Beach Cardinals in the race for the FSL South Division’s second-half championship.

How Inman's elbow responds during the second-year franchise’s run toward a second straight playoff appearance could give him a better idea of what has caused the pain. Some doctors have told him that the culprit is a sprained ligament.

“It’s tough mentally to go through the whole thing again, but I trust the trainers, the coaches and everybody here,” Inman said. “If I can play and it’s healthy, I should be fine. You know it’s going to be awhile before you play when you go on the (disabled list). You just take the rehab process day-by-day and one step at a time because eventually you know you’re going to feel good again.”

As a sophomore, Inman was the ace of Stanford’s 2008 College World Series team. Baseball America named him as the ninth-best prospect to emerge from the Cape Cod League’s season a few months later.

Interest in Inman may have waned after he was 2-6 with an earned run average of 6.11 over 53.0 innings as a Stanford junior in 2009, but the Pirates were still required to make a significant investment to prevent him from returning for a fourth-year of college eligibility. When healthy, he has compiled numbers that reflect his potential.

In addition to the three scoreless frames he tossed in the Gulf Coast League this season, Inman pitched four scoreless innings with the State College (Pa.) Spikes of the New York-Penn League in 2009. He was 1-2 with an earned run average of 2.25 over his first 28.0 innings and eight appearances with the Marauders.

“I’m just looking forward to doing whatever I can to help this team win,” Inman said. “Hopefully, I can come out of the pen sometimes, do well, and help this team win a championship.”