Mariners' Josh Rojas Saw the Fastest Pitch in Baseball This Season on Friday
Seattle Mariners infielder Josh Rojas saw the fastest pitch of the 2024 season on Friday night as the Mariners lost to the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium.
Hitting in the top of the seventh inning against Angels' flamethrower Ben Joyce, Rojas fouled off a 104.5 MPH fastball.
Per @MLBPipeline:
Ben Joyce dials it up to 104.5 mph!
The @Angels rookie throws the fastest pitch of 2024 and becomes just the 4th hurler to hit that mark in the Statcast era.
Ben Joyce dials it up to 104.5 mph! 🔥
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 13, 2024
The @Angels rookie throws the fastest pitch of 2024 and becomes just the 4th hurler to hit that mark in the Statcast era. pic.twitter.com/6X3sLQG27S
People have always said that MLB hitters will find a way to catch up to velocity and that's what Rojas did, btu he eventually ended up striking out on a slider.
For Joyce, he worked a scoreless seventh, allowing just one base runner. He now has a 2.93 ERA in 13 appearances this year. The 23-year-old made his major league debut last May. He was a third-round pick of the Angels back in the 2022 draft out of the University of Tennessee.
Joyce has graduated out of the Angels Top 30 prospects, per MLB.com, but he was ranked No. 11 in the 2023 season.
In addition to Joyce's work out of the bullpen, the Halos brought a ton of velocity in the ninth inning when closer Carlos Estevez worked a scoreless frame.
The Mariners will get another crack at the Angels on Saturday night with first pitch coming at 6:38 p.m. PT. The M's will send right-hander George Kirby to the bump against hard-throwing righty Jose Soriano. He's 4-7 this year while Kirby is 7-6.
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