While this isn’t a top 100 pick, there could be some interesting prospects available with this pick
Of course I had to feature a hard-throwing college player that everyone knows about, but there are some interesting starters available with this pick.
This will be the last article in the series, but there are still plenty more players that will be picked in the 20-round draft. Let’s get into this group of prospects.
Ben Joyce:
Joyce is a right-handed reliever that will likely be picked higher than 128th. You’ve probably heard the name for good reason. He’s only pitched one season for the University of Tennessee, but boy did he ever leave an impression.
The 6’5 righty had an ERA of 2.23 with a K/9 of 14.8 and a BB/9 of 3.9 in 32.1 innings pitched. While the righty is strictly a reliever, his stats aren’t the reason everyone and their mothers want him drafted for their bullpen.
Ben Joyce throws the fastest pitch in college baseball history at 105.5 MPH (via @PitchingNinja) pic.twitter.com/TPgsCwyNrb
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) May 1, 2022
Yup, you read that right. According to the velocity reading at the arena, Ben Joyce threw 105.5 mph. While there are questions about whether or not this was the actual velocity, it’s definitely possible as he often hit 103 mph and hit 104 mph a few times.
Tennessee junior Ben Joyce is hitting 103.5 MPH pic.twitter.com/KXWQdlDWuv
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) February 24, 2022
There are causes for concern, however. The 21-year-old missed all of 2019, pitched at a community college in 2020, and missed all of 2021 due to Tommy John. While the Jays have shown they aren’t afraid of drafting pitchers with arm issues (Gunnar Hoglund, Nate Pearson), it’s to be seen if Joyce’s arm can hold up.
This leads into the second issue, which is the fact that he hasn’t ever worked in back to back days for his University. In fact, he works on 3+ days of work, according to MLB Pipeline.
Furthermore, some Jays fans believe he would immediately help this bullpen, which is just not true. While at this point, his floor is a major league reliever, Joyce needs to work on command, as his BB/9 of 3.9 is on the high side. His secondary pitches also need work.
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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation
