Building momentum for September, Jacob deGrom's spring training debut starts off slowly.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, during his playing days, shared the field with several current players on the team, including ace pitcher Jacob deGrom. He doesn't recall many of his own at-bats against this former National League opponent, but he did go 2-for-3 against deGrom in his career. He became more impressed with deGrom later while coaching for the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals.

"When I was the first base coach for the Padres, we went to New York, and the game plan was if anyone got on base, we'd hit and run on the first pitch, no matter who was up," Schumaker said. "That's how dominant he was then, and still is now. It's incredible that he can keep pitching."

deGrom made his first spring training start today in a pre-Classic exhibition game against Brazil. He allowed three hits, including a home run by Lucas Ramirez, son of Manny Ramirez, while also recording three strikeouts. This marks the first start in the Rangers ace's gradual ramp-up process.

"I think we'll take a very similar approach, trying to bring out his best, which also benefits us," Schumaker said. "We want to stay strong and prepare for a push in September. Hopefully, there will be important games in September where we can use him, and he should be fully tuned up by then. So I think it will be a very similar progression. It worked well for him last time. We'll try to keep him at that level. Depending on our situation in September, he might even exceed it. But obviously, there's still a long way to go, and I'm just excited to see him pitch today."

deGrom mentioned that earlier in the offseason, there were discussions about the most efficient way to prepare for the regular season. In 2025, the slow ramp-up was necessary as deGrom was recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. This plan worked effectively for deGrom, who made the All-Star team and finished the season with a 2.97 ERA over 172.2 innings. He liked the approach from last spring and the early regular season, and together with the coaching staff and management, agreed it was the best way to keep him moving forward and healthy through the end of the season.

"I tried to set personal goals," deGrom recalled of the 2025 season. "I wanted to pitch 200 innings again. We'll see. Last year I made 30 starts and felt I could keep going. If we make the playoffs, I feel I'll be ready. So we'll build on that and see how this year goes. Hopefully, I can take the mound as much as possible."