We've been waiting and waiting and waiting to see the Neftali Feliz of old make a reappearance on the Rangers scene. It's seemed with each passing outing, for some time now, that day would just never come and we'd be living with a closer trying to become a "better pitcher" and live with a lower velocity on his fastball.
Feliz has started to find that old upper-90s velocity again, though, and he's now converted three straight save attempts and done it with relative ease and vintage Feliz stuff with the added luxury of a sick, filthy slider.
Feliz got into a bit of trouble on Sunday, but did touch 98 mph with his fastball — the fastest he's thrown on a radar since his Tommy John surgery in 2012.
In his last four outings, he's fanned six batters and hasn't allowed a run, and it's been over an eight day stretch, so it's not like he's getting a ton of time off between those outings. It's encouraging to see the velocity returning, and it's really promising given the fact that Feliz, in fact, is a better pitcher than he was in 2010 and 2011 with more secondary stuff and that nasty slider working at the moment, too.
