The Los Angeles Angels may have found their closer. Ben Joyce, whose rookie status is intact through 2024, has displayed tantalizing velocity in his first full season at the big league level this year.
Tuesday night, he reached a new mark, hurling a 105.5 mile-per-hour fastball with pinpoint accuracy, dotting the lower inside corner of the strike zone. Joyce turned around in confidence after getting the batter, Tommy Edman, to whiff.
BEN JOYCE JUST THREW 105.5 MPH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3BNim2It0P
— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2024
A strikeout pitch to end the top of the ninth inning in a tie game is great in any situation. But this one was even more special, as it was the fastest strikeout pitch of all time (since MLB has tracked pitch velocity).
Other pitchers (mainly: Aroldis Chapman) have thrown faster pitches, but never on strikeout pitches.
As Sarah Langs pointed out, Joyce joins elite company here:
pitchers to throw 105.0+ mph pitches, pitch-tracking era (2008, incl PS):
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 4, 2024
Aroldis Chapman: 9
Jordan Hicks: 2
Ben Joyce: 1
With the season winding down, the Angels have begun to use Joyce in a closer role. Since August 4, he has finished nine of the team's most recent 11 games, earning a save in four of them. The Angels didn't get the win Tuesday, losing in extras, but it was to no fault of Joyce, who held the Dodgers scoreless in his one inning of work.
The Angels have Joyce under team control until 2030, and he has made it clear he should be one of their most prized possessions to build around.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rookie Ben Joyce Broke a Record for Fastest Strikeout Pitch in MLB History.
