Tell a friend. The man who was once acquired by the Cubs as a part of the Alfonso Soriano deal is set to make his return to the diamond on Saturday. According to his Twitter account, he will be throwing to live hitters for the first time since his Tommy John Surgery that kept him off the field for the entirety of the 2017 season. The surgery was the second such procedure that he has completed, with the first coming during his time in high school. During the month of February, Black slowly worked his way back to the mound. Going under the knife in March of 2017, he worked this past month on his timing, leg kicks, and off-speed deliveries.

But it is not his off-speed that will get him to Chicago one day. It will be his blazing fastball that was clocked in the upper 90s prior to his surgery. At only 5’10”, Black started his career in the starting rotation before being moved into the bullpen where he finished in Triple-A before his surgery.

He will continue pitching out of the bullpen, but this time he will be free of pain. In interviews, Black has reported that he was in severe pain during the years leading up to his surgery. With a clean slate of health and a fiery arm, we could see Black making a name for himself during the 2018 season.

While he will obviously be eased into things this season, don’t be surprised to see a fully healthy Corey Black start to kill it on the mound again this year. He has a long road ahead, but that road starts on Saturday with facing live hitters.