Ben Joyce

Benjamin Alan Joyce

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 5", Weight 225 lb.
School Walters State Community College, University of Tennessee
High School Farragut High School (Knoxville)
Debut May 29, 2023

Born September 17, 2000 in Knoxville, TN USA

Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Ben Joyce made the news during the 2022 college baseball season when he was timed throwing a pitch at 104 mph - the highest reading ever for a college pitcher, and higher than any pitch thrown in the major leagues that season. He then topped this, with a top reading at 105.5 mph. At the time he first gained notice, he had a virgin ERA as a reliever for the University of Tennessee and there was a lot of speculation about how he would be a top draft pick in the upcoming amateur draft. This led to one of the most outlandish articles published on a serious platform in recent years, when Zach Crizer of Yahoo! Sports speculated that Joyce could potentially pitch in both the College World Series and the World Series in the same season. Of course, Joyce did neither, since Tennessee did not qualify for the 2022 College World Series and when he was drafted, it was in the 3rd round by the Los Angeles Angels, who were not only not headed to the 2022 World Series, but planned to have him develop properly in the minors. One should remember that 2022 was Joyce's first college season after time at a junior college, that he had a history of injuries and that, in spite of his overpowering fastball, he was still considered quite raw due to his lack of high-level pitching experience.

After being drafted, he was assigned to the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League, where he pitched 13 times, logging 13 innings, and went 1-0, 2.08 with 1 save and a 20/4 K/W ratio - all of which was excellent. He went to spring training as a non-roster invitee in 2023 and was once again a major story, as reporters were impressed by his velocity. Again, the Angels tried to calm things down by stating there was little or no chance Joyce would break camp with the team, as he needed to work on his secondary pitches. He showed why he was not quite ready for prime time in his first outing of the season for Rocket City on April 8th. In the first game of a doubleheader against the Chattanooga Lookouts, he replaced Coleman Crow in the top of the 7th with the chance to close out a seven-inning no-hitter, as Crow had only given up a pair of walks in six innings. He managed to get the first two outs while walking the bases loaded, but then forced in a first run with another walk. He got Jacob Hurtubise to hit a routine fly ball to center field, but CF Jeremiah Jackson missed it completely, allowing the bases to clear. He was then replaced by Eric Torres, who also struggled badly with his control, with five hit batsmen, a walk and a wild pitch before finally recording the final out via strikeout. The Trash Pandas lost the game, 7-5, in spite of the combined no-hitter.

Joyce was called up to the Angels at the end of May, 2023 and made his debut against the Chicago White Sox on May 29th. He was 0-1, 4.60 with 4 saves in 14 games with Rocket City at the time. Entering in the bottom of the 7th inning while trying to protect a one-run lead, he gave up a single to Andrew Vaughn on an 0-2 pitch. He then struck out Gavin Sheets and Romy Gonzalez on four pitches each. Joyce then induced Yasmani Grandal to pop out on the first pitch to finish the scoreless inning. He topped out at 102 mph that day. Overall, he pitched 12 games for the Angels, going 1-1 with 1 5.40 ERA in 10 innings; he struck out 10 but also walked 9. His major league stint was interrupted after 5 appearances, when he was placed on the injured list with ulnar neuritis on June 10th. He then made a rehabilitation assignment with the Class A Inland Empire 66ers in early September before coming back to pitch another 7 times in the bigs. He finished at 1-1, 5.40 in 12 games, with 10 strikeouts and 9 walks in 10 innings.

In 2024, he began the season back at Rocket City, where he went 1-0, 4.26 in 18 games before being called up to Los Angeles in early June. On July 12th, he was timed throwing the fastest pitch by anyone that season, hitting 104.5 mph in a game against the Seattle Mariners. He topped that reading on August 20th, when he threw a pitch at 104.8 mph on his way to striking out Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals. That beat his own record for the fastest pitch recorded since the introduction of Statcast in 2007. On September 3rd, he set the record again, and this time the pitch, timed at 105.5 mph was also a third strike against Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Only Aroldis Chapman had ever thrown a faster pitch, hitting 105.8 mph in 2010 and 105.7 in 2016, but neither of those pitches had resulted in a K.

His twin brother Zach Joyce is also a pitcher, but his college career was beset by injuries. Still, the Angels also drafted him, in the 14th round of the 2023 Amateur Draft, less than two months after Ben's debut.

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