Janish's scouting report on Gallardo's simulated game

CLEVELAND - Yovani Gallardo threw a three-inning simulated game this morning at Progressive Field that consisted of 45 pitches, allowing him to get up and down as if making a regular start.

I'll pass along Gallardo's quotes later, but you can safely assume that he was pleased with how his shoulder responded. He was encouraged by the late breaking on his pitches. It was a success.

Gallardo isn't certain what's next. It could be another simulated game or a rehab assignment in the minors. Stay tuned.

Gallardo faced infielder Paul Janish and coaches Wayne Kirby and Einar Diaz. The following is Janish's scouting report:

"Actually, I faced him quite a bit in my career, so I've got a pretty good idea of what he looks like to begin with. Honestly, I thought he looked pretty sharp. All his breaking stuff was relatively crisp, I guess is probably the best word. In terms of velocity, I don't really know. In terms of a simulated game, I don't think that a really good evaluation of what he's going to have velocity-wise anyway, but his pitchers were crisp.

"He looked like he was throwing freely. He wasn't apprehensive in any way, so for all intents and purposes, I thought he looked about as good as you could hope for. He took his breaks and at the conclusion it still seemed like his body felt pretty good. He wasn't too taxed or anything.

"In terms of sim games, I think it went about as good as it could, and I think he felt good. For us, I think it was about as good a sign as we could hope for."

The Orioles are eager to get Gallardo back in the rotation - the healthy and productive version.

"In terms of that, anytime you can plug somebody like him in who has done what he's done over his career in terms of just being reliable in terms of innings and consistently having good starts over the course of a season, he has the ability to do that once he gets back up to speed in terms of stamina and all of that stuff, that can't do anything but help the team," Janish said.

"It's like Buck (Showalter) talks about, it's a snowball effect in terms of the bullpen and saving guys. It's just good for everybody involved, so getting him back healthy and right, it can't be anything but good for the team, so we're looking forward to it."

Janish got four at-bats against Gallardo and was able to evaluate the entire repertoire.

"He did three different sessions of 15 pitches, so simulated three innings," Janish said. "I think I stood in for four simulated at-bats, so I saw all of his pitches. He threw his changeup, his cutter, his curveball and his regular fastball. Everything was crisp and he seemed to have good control of everything, which I think is another indication that he's not having any kind of tweaks or discomfort. I think control would be the first thing to go, so he looked good. Best way to say it is he looked good."