There was a time when I would’ve said the limits of the human body, and the ability to throw a baseball into a relatively small area, dictates that no pitch in the current game can be thrown over 104mph. And even that is an extreme outlier stretch.
But then Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce came along. Not only has he touched 104mph multiple times this year, he just now threw a pitch 105.5 freaking miles per hour. I am speechless.
Ben Joyce's 105.5 MPH Fastball. pic.twitter.com/4a2R8iMw1A
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/Vol_Baseball/status/1520836083520573440
excuse me? pic.twitter.com/JiENFcINIR
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 1, 2022
I love the note on the graphic – “fastest in college baseball history.” YEAH, YA THINK?!?!?!
Joyce, a pure reliever, is eligible for the draft this year, and might test the limits on how high a team will draft a college reliever based on velocity. It’s hard to see him going in the first 50 picks, but you never know. That’s a special, special arm.
UPDATE just to confirm it passed the post-game check:
***Adjusted official numbers.***
Today #Vols’ Ben Joyce threw…
– 3 pitches at 105 mph or better
– 15 pitches at 104 mph or better
– 28 pitches at 103 mph or better
Of his 33 fastballs, 28 were 103-plus
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) May 1, 2022