Tonight’s Game 3 of the World Series will feature two of the hardest-throwing starting pitchers in baseball: Mets rookie RHP Noah Syndergaard and Royals RHP Yordano Ventura.
The 23-year-old Syndergaard ranked second in baseball in his average fastball velocity at 96.5 mph, among pitchers who threw at least 150 innings in the regular season. Meanwhile, Ventura, 24, ranked fourth at 95.6 mph, according to FanGraphs.
“You go to any park nowadays, and every team is looking to see how hard the guy is throwing,” manager Terry Collins said Thursday. According to Collins, he sees starting pitchers all over the league, including his own, peeking back at the scoreboard’s radar gun to confirm how hard they’re throwing, while batters do the same.
Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz all ranked in the top 20 for most pitches above 95 mph thrown this season, according to the New York Times (Oct. 27). The fastest pitch Syndergaard has thrown this season clocked in at 101.4 mph, according to MLB.com (Oct. 29), who says he hit triple digits three times in his last start in the NLCS.
“When he first got here, we saw 96,” Collins said. “What he’s doing now, I have never seen that. I’ve never seen 98, 99 and 100. I’ve seen good, good power stuff, but I’ve seen a guy grow and learn how to pitch here.”
While opponents have a .217 batting average against Syndergaard’s fastball this year, opponents are hitting .279 against Ventura’s. His out-pitch is his changeup, with which he’s held batters to a .153 average and striking out 89 opponents.
“Right now, I’m not focused on velocity,” Ventura said. “I’m simply focused on pitching deep into the game, keeping the game close and giving my team a chance to score runs. I just want to do my job.”
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