Angels’ Ben Joyce Sets Pitch Speed Record

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 4, 2024

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels were amped up to play against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night in Anaheim, but what flamethrowing reliever Ben Joyce did to Tommy Edman left the switch hitter in disbelief.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the ninth inning, Joyce fired a 105.5 mph fastball to strike out Edman to end the top of the ninth. It was the fastest pitch thrown by any player this season and the third-fastest since pitch tracking began in 2008.

BEN JOYCE

105.5 MPH

THAT'S THE FASTEST STRIKEOUT PITCH IN THE PITCH-TRACKING ERA (2008) AND 3RD-FASTEST PITCH OVERALL (105.8 & 105.7 FROM AROLDIS CHAPMAN) IN SPAN https://t.co/aQ9iGP4LcZ

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 4, 2024

“I looked up right after and saw it,” Joyce told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “It was just a big-time game and all the fans were into it. So I feel like that helped a little bit. It was two strikes, so I kind of just tried to give everything I had.”

The 23-year-old noticed his velocity on the scoreboard after the strikeout and couldn’t help but smile as he headed back to the dugout. With a 2.08 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 34.2 innings this year, he’s also added a sinker to his arsenal, making him even tougher to hit.

Joyce has become an elite reliever in a short amount of time. He inherited the role after the Angels traded Carlos Estevez to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline.

His previous top speed on a fastball was 104.8 mph, which he’s hit twice this season, and his four-seamer has averaged 102.1 mph this year.

“He needed every part of it to get through those guys,” manager Ron Washington said after the 6-2 loss. “That's a juggernaut over there. But Ben has been doing that ever since he got here. So it's nice to see that he was able to come in and shut that down in the ninth and give us a chance to get out there and win it. But it just didn't happen.”

The only pitcher to throw harder than Joyce is Aroldis Chapman. He reached 105.8 mph in 2010 and 105.7 mph in 2016.

However, Joyce used his gas to strike out a batter — a velocity unmatched in the pitch-tracking era.

“I think 105, any harder than that, good luck to anyone in that ball’s direction,” catcher Logan O’Hoppe told Bollinger. “It’s pretty cool but is also a testament of the work he puts in and the kind of human he is, too.”

Joyce believes there's a little more in him that will unlock a couple more ticks on the radar gun.

“I would like to think so,” Joyce said. “I guess we’ll find out.”