105.5 mph: Angels draft decide Ben Joyce is most difficult thrower in school baseball historical past

Ben Joyce, the right-handed fireballer from the College of Tennessee, went viral two months back for throwing a pitch clocked at 105.5 mph through a match towards Auburn.

Joyce, the toughest-throwing pitcher in university baseball background, drew interest with the velocity of his fastball, in accordance to MLB Pipeline — which rated him at No. 112 among draft prospective buyers.

The Angels, who drafted Joyce at No. 89 overall Monday, see him for a lot more than just his fastball.

“It’s a huge arm and he has things,” Angels scouting director Tim McIlvaine explained. “I feel we come to feel like there are a couple of items that we can do the job on with him and make him even far more productive, instead of just getting to throw as really hard as he can all the time.”

Of currently being drafted, Joyce mentioned his advisor, Hunter Bledsoe, referred to as him two picks before his identify was named and requested, “Do you want to be an Angel?”

“I thought I was gonna have a coronary heart attack,” recalled Joyce, who was with his household in their dwelling in the vicinity of the University of Tennessee when he bought the phone. “It was a ridiculous call. Just to hear those words that the dream was finally coming real.”

Joyce’s fastball is hard for batters to stick to, considering the fact that he throws it from a small arm slot on a flat technique angle and it commonly averages 101 mph. It can get hit on the decrease spectrum of the velocity assortment, particularly when he does not have total command of it, for every scouting reports on MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, which also express skepticism over his durability.

Joyce by now has a sizeable damage background, lacking time in significant school and college with advancement-plate, shoulder, and elbow concerns. In the course of his senior calendar year of substantial college, he missed months of video games at a time dealing with extreme suffering, MLB reported.

That senior yr at Farragut Superior also included a immediate progress spurt of 8 inches. Joyce, now 6-foot-5, 225 kilos, attributed his speedy progress to some of people accidents.

He required Tommy John surgery in 2020, which compelled him to overlook all of 2021, and he has pitched only about 50 innings due to the fact 2019. (The 2020 college season was also shortened because of to the coronavirus pandemic.)

Joyce does not see any of his previous injuries as a hindrance and seems forward to his future as a expert baseball participant.

“I never have any skepticism at all,” Joyce said. “I’m seriously just completely ready to see what my human body can do and how much that I can acquire pitching-intelligent. And just how significantly I built it up and my expertise this calendar year, receiving to go for a longer time outings, I feel I’m all set to go.

“I have no problems about how my body’s gonna keep up.”

McIlvaine claimed he’s observed Joyce’s development and progress from when he attended Walters State Community School to his time at Tennessee. McIlvaine said he sees possible in Joyce’s breaking ball pitches, which he did not throw quite considerably in college. Scouting reports particularly highlight his slider as his upcoming-best pitch so considerably.

Joyce stated he’s likely to carry on developing his secondary pitches, notably his slider and his splitter, and operate on including a cutter, a pitch he’s “been messing all-around with.”

The Angels were being also drawn to his frame of mind, and McIlvaine described him as “fun to watch,” which was affirmed when McIlvaine and other associates of the Angels front business traveled to see Joyce at the MLB Draft Incorporate in San Diego previous month.

“He’s a superior child. He’s bought a great head on his shoulders, really disciplined,” McIlvaine defined. “For us, it is not just how difficult you can throw or how significantly you can hit it, but also what’s inside of, you know, in amongst the ears and he checks that box from us as properly.”

McIlvaine claimed they system to use Joyce out of the bullpen but will not shut the door on him getting produced into a starter.

“It’s not out of the realm of opportunities, but we’re just gonna form of get it slow and see wherever it goes,” McIlvaine explained.

Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce throws from Notre Dame on June 10 in Knoxville, Tenn.

(Randy Sartin / Involved Push)

Joyce mentioned he desires to fill no matter what purpose the Angels place him in and just desires to make an influence on the future of the group. He manufactured 5 commences in junior college and just just one begin at Tennessee. Utilised mostly as a reliever at Tennessee, he also seldom designed appearances against other SEC teams, and because he not long ago returned from Tommy John, the Volunteers were cautious with his workload.

As for individuals fastballs, Joyce doesn’t system on holding back. He signed Friday with the Angels for $1 million, about $300,000 more than his slot price.

“I’m just coming back from a fairly big elbow surgical procedures, and this is truly my initially year pitching,” Joyce explained. “So as I get far more at ease and as I keep on to drive my entire body every day, coaching and mobility and speed, I never see why I couldn’t continue on to push that restrict and see the place I can get. I really don't have a cap on myself.”

The Angels drafted nine pitchers, as well as a person two-way player, with their 19 picks. Joyce was one particular of 8 gamers the staff drafted on the second day of the three-day draft.

Zach Neto, the shortstop from Campbell University who the Angels drafted No. 13 over-all in the to start with spherical, agreed to a reward of $3.5 million, approximately $1 million less than slot value ($4,412,500), for every MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis.

Sonny DiChiara, the 1st baseman they picked in the fifth round out of Auburn, signed with the crew for $172,500, about $200,000 down below the $383,200 slot number. for every Callis. He’s envisioned to go straight to the double-A Rocket Metropolis Trash Pandas in Madison, Alabama.

Other Angels picks Monday that inked discounts contain: suitable-handed pitcher Victor Mederos, who signed for $227,750 proper-hander Roman Phansalkar, for $27,500 two-way player Dylan Phillips, for $42,500 outfielder Joe Stewart, for $7,500 and 1st baseman Matt Coutney, for $7,500.

On Day 3, they picked up the Dana brothers — Caden, a pitcher, and Casey, an outfielder. Caden, the Angels’ lone choose out of substantial college, signed for $1,497,500, a file for an 11th rounder, for every Callis.

Choosing primarily faculty potential customers, McIlvaine discussed, was a consequence of the way the draft unfolded and for the reason that they attained “a issue the place it’s harder to sign some of the high school children.”

The Angels other Day 3 picks were pitchers Jared Southard, Bryce Osmond, Sammy Natera Jr. and Max Gieg outfielders Tucker Flint and Luke Franzoni and catchers Sabin Ceballos and Brendan Tinsman.