A young fireballer with a 100-mph fastball has made his debut.
It was Los Angeles Angels right-hander Ben Joyce, 23. Joyce entered the game as the team’s second pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning with a 4-3 lead against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on July 30 and pitched one inning of one-hit ball, facing four batters and striking out two.
The Angels went on to win 6-4, and Joyce recorded the hold in his debut.
After a shaky start in which he gave up a leadoff single to Andrew Vaughn, Joyce struck out Gavin Sheets and Romy Gonzalez on consecutive swings and got Yasmani Grandal to fly out to left field to end the inning.
His sinker, which he threw on 11 of his 12 pitches, was all over 100 mph. His sinker topped out at 102.2 mph (164.5 km/h) against Grandal and averaged 101.3 mph. His cutter, which Vaughn connected on for a hit, was 89.3 mph.
Joyce received his big league call-up from Double-A the day before. He had been scheduled to start the game.
“Ideally, you’d like to have a soft landing, but he stepped up today in a situation where he needed to step up, and I don’t think any other time 스포츠토토 would have been the same,” manager Phil Nevin said after the game. “The first two pitches were really good, the cutter wasn’t, but other than that, he was solid.”
“He was very calm, cool and collected,” said catcher Matt Tice of Joyce’s delivery. I was really impressed with his extension. He’s a big guy. I felt like I could touch him (if I reached out) on the release. It felt very close. I felt like I was going about 103 mph.”
Joyce said, “I was very nervous, but I also felt comfortable. It was more comfortable than I thought it would be. I trusted my pitches and threw strikes. It worked. It was a pretty cool moment.” Joyce’s parents, brother, girlfriend, and her family were in attendance for the game.
After the game, Angels players presented him with a lineup card as a debut gift. “I’m a big leaguer now. The more I think about it, the more overwhelmed I get,” he said.
Joyce made headlines last year before the draft when he threw a 105.5 mph (169.8 km/h) fastball against Auburn in May while at the University of Tennessee. He hit 105 mph or higher three times in that game.
Drafted by the Angels in the third round of last year’s draft, Joyce is a big guy at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. His velocity could improve as he adds strength.
After appearing in 14 games at Double-A this season, going 1-0 with a 4.60 ERA, 13 walks, and 24 strikeouts in 15⅔ innings, Joyce spent last year at Double-A, pitching 13 games with a 2.08 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
All 27 of his minor league appearances were in relief, not as a starter. It remains to be seen whether the Angels will develop him as a starter or closer.
Meanwhile, the fastest fastball in the majors since Statcast was introduced in 2008 is 105.8 mph (170.3 km/h) thrown by Kansas City Royals’ Aroldis Chapman in 2010 while he was with the Cincinnati Reds. Joyce is the favorite to break that record, but it’s still a long way off.