Can Syndergaard Keep Bringing the Heat in World Series Game 3?

Noah Syndergaard has shown increased velocity this October, and he'll hope to keep it up when he takes the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies in World Series Game 3.

Leo Morgenstern | Oct 31, 2022

Can Syndergaard Keep Bringing the Heat in World Series Game 3? /

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Philadelphia Phillies

Noah Syndergaard is throwing the ball harder this postseason.

That's not exactly uncommon – many pitchers up their velocity in playoff games – but for Syndergaard, it's an especially encouraging sign.

You see, back in his heyday, Syndergaard was one of the hardest-throwing pitchers on the planet. In 2016, when he made his first All-Star team and finished eighth in Cy Young voting, Syndergaard led all starting pitchers in average fastball velocity. His four-seam clocked in at 98.9 mph, more than a mile per hour faster than the next-best starter. His sinker was nearly as quick, measured in at 98.5 mph, a full mph faster than that of the second-best starting pitcher.

Then, he lost nearly the entire 2017 season to injury, and when he came back the following year he didn't have quite as much juice on the fastball as he did before. Yet although he lost something off both his four-seam and his sinker, he was still one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

And then he lost another two years to injury.

Upon his return from Tommy John surgery, Syndergaard wasn't the flame thrower he used to be. He lost several miles per hour on both his four-seam and his sinker, and he no longer looked like the frontline starting pitcher he was in his youth. He upped the velocity on his slider after a midseason trade to the Philadelphia Phillies, but his fastballs remained in the 93-mph range.

Philadelphia Phillies Starter Noah Syndergaard / © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Now, however, in the postseason, Syndergaard seems to have found some extra gas. Thanks to some playoff adrenaline combined with the knowledge that he only has to pitch one time through the order, Thor is bringing a little more heat.

In his first appearance of the playoffs, Syndergaard impressed with his slider. He used the pitch five times, and each time it clocked in over 87 mph. In his next outing, he was throwing his slider even faster. He averaged 88.3 mph on five sliders, topping out at 89.6 mph.

Finally, in his latest outing, he continued to throw his slider with a little more oomph, and this time the rest of his pitches were faster too. Each was one up by at least 1 mph. He averaged over 95 mph with both his sinker and his four-seam. He looked like a more imposing pitcher than he had earlier in the season. It was only one 17-pitch outing, but it was a promising sign to see.

To be clear, this doesn't mean Syndergaard will be able to maintain higher velocity next season. That's probably not the case. But because he knows he will only be making brief outings this October, Syndergaard has been able to throw the ball harder in short bursts.

If all goes well, that trend will continue on Monday night. The Astros built early leads against the Phillies in both Games 1 and 2, and it would be nice to keep them off the board in the first few innings for a change. Noah Syndergaard has proven that he's capable of pitching without blistering velocity, but it's impossible to deny that he's a better pitcher when he's throwing faster. Hopefully, he can find a few more 95-mph fastballs and 89-mph sliders in his arm for Game 3.

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Published Oct 31, 2022

LEO MORGENSTERN

Leo Morgenstern is a writer and editor for Inside the Phillies. He also writes for FanGraphs and Just Baseball, and his work has appeared on Pitcher List and Baseball Prospectus. He previously covered the Phillies for SB Nation's The Good Phight. You can follow him on Twitter @morgensternmlb.