Ben Joyce (baseball)

Benjamin Alan Joyce (born September 17, 2000) is an American baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He previously played baseball for the University of Tennessee, where he gained notoriety for throwing the fastest pitch in college baseball history at 105.5 miles per hour (169.8 km/h). Joyce was selected by the Angels in the third round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

Ben Joyce
Los Angeles Angels
Pitcher
Born: (2000-09-17) September 17, 2000
Knoxville, Tennessee
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Amateur career

Joyce grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and attended Farragut High School.[1] He entered high school at 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) and weighed 100 lb (45 kg) and did not make the varsity baseball team until his junior year, by which time he had grown to 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall.[2]

Joyce enrolled at Walters State Community College along with his twin brother, Zach, and missed his freshman season due to a stress fracture in his elbow.[3] By the end of the year, he had grown to 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall.[4] As a sophomore, Joyce went 3–1 with a 4.79 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 20+2⁄3 innings pitched.[5] Joyce and his brother committed to transfer to Tennessee to continue their college careers.[6] Joyce tore the ulnar collateral ligament during a fall practice and had Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss his first season at Tennessee.[2] In his first healthy season at Tennessee as a redshirt junior, Joyce gained national attention for regularly throwing his fastball over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), throwing as hard as 104 miles per hour (167 km/h).[7][8] On May 1, 2022, he threw the fastest recorded pitch in the history of college baseball with a 105.5 miles per hour (169.8 km/h) fastball.[9][10] Joyce finished the season with a 2.23 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 32+1⁄3 innings pitched over 27 appearances.[11]

Professional career

The Los Angeles Angels selected Joyce in the third round in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[12] He signed with the Angels on July 22, 2022, and received a $1 million signing bonus.[13] Joyce was assigned to the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas to start his professional career.[14] In Joyce's first professional game, he gave up four hits and two earned runs with a strikeout in one inning of relief pitching.[15] He finished his first professional season at 1–0 with a 2.08 ERA, 20 strikeouts, and a save in 13 appearances.[16]

In 2023, the Angels invited Joyce to spring training as a non-roster invitee.[17]

References
  1. Venkataraman, Karthik (February 23, 2022). "Knoxville native, Farragut graduate Ben Joyce pitches a 103 mph fastball in Vols win". WBIR.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  2. Torres, Maria (March 11, 2022). "Tennessee's Ben Joyce — he of the 103.5 mph heater — is focused on his secondaries as his MLB Draft stock rises". The Athletic. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  3. McDaniel, Kiley (February 13, 2020). "University of Georgia, junior college pitchers show potential as top prospects". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  4. Nichols, Jake (March 25, 2022). "Baseball, Brotherhood and a Bond Never Broken: Meet Ben and Zach Joyce". SI.com. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  5. McKee, Ben (February 25, 2022). "Abnormal Ben Joyce dazzling in return from Tommy John". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  6. Lay, Ken (September 25, 2019). "Ben and Zach Joyce commit to Diamond Vols". Vols Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  7. Adler, David (March 21, 2022). "College RHP blows away hitter with 104 mph heat". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  8. "'It is abnormal:' Tennessee baseball's Ben Joyce throws 103 mph pitch vs UNC Asheville". Knoxville News Sentinel. February 23, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  9. Schwartz, Jared (May 1, 2022). "Tennessee's Ben Joyce throws fastest pitch in college baseball history". New York Post. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  10. "Ben Joyce throws fasted pitch in college baseball history". Buffalo News. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  11. Castrovince, Anthony (July 18, 2022). "He throws 105 mph … and the Angels just drafted him". MLB.com. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  12. "Los Angeles Angels pick Tennessee baseball's Ben Joyce in 2022 MLB Draft". Knoxville News Sentinel. July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  13. Valenzuela, Sarah (July 23, 2022). "Angels pick Ben Joyce hardest college thrower ever: 105.5 mph". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  14. Ramey, Grant (August 7, 2022). "Ben Joyce is already throwing 100mph fastballs in Double-A". 247Sports.com. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  15. "Ben Joyce 2022 College & Minor Leagues Game Logs & Splits". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  16. "Ben Joyce College & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  17. "Angels' Ben Joyce: Receives invite to camp". CBSSports.com. Paramount Global. RotoWire. February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
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