104 mph heater?

Monkeydad

Yep, he's actually been clocked at 105MPH on consecutive pitches.


I've been watching for his call-up since April...added him to my fantasy team two days ago.



Have to wonder how long he'll last doing this...the Reds want him to be a starter in the future. No way...he should be a closer, with limited innings.

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FRPLG

So many great young arms in MLB now. We're seeing a real golden age of pitchers develop in front of us. Pretty fun. This guy is a beast. Congrats to Cincy for getting him. I know it was a dog fight for his services.

FRPLG

No effing way. If he can start he has to start. A lefty throwing that hard simply has to throw every five days. He gives them a ridiculous chance to win every fifth game.

dmek25

when are these guys going to realize babying their arms doesn't work? just look at your boy Strasburg. they used the utmost of care with him. look what happened. they aren't building up the muscle enough with all the pitch counts

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Monkeydad

But, for how long?

He's going to have a short career I predict. The Rangers have Neftali Feliz or whatever his name is, who throws 101...they're making him a closer.

Look how Joel Zumaya's arm has fallen off...of course, he's helped the process with Guitar Hero injuries.

I just can't see his arm lasting long with that velocity.

Rob Dibble was the first 100MPH guy I remember. It was dominant as a closer but still only lasted 7 seasons. If he was a starter...who knows how long his career would have been? But, I predict, shorter.

These flamethrowers just don't last long in most cases...so teams need to maximize their impact while it lasts.

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FRPLG

He's thrown the exact same way since college. He didn't get burned by low pitch counts. he got burned because the human arm isn't made to do what these guys do. Every pitch they throw is like russian roulette.

FRPLG

On the other hand guys like Clemens, Ryan and Johnson threw in the upper 90's for two decades.

Monkeydad

Johnson had some health issues and had to chance his release, and pitching style. Later in his career, he was a control-type pitcher, added a lot of offspeed pitches.

Nolan Ryan is an anomaly.


Clemens...we'll know soon enough.

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Monkeydad

Especially with an inverted W.

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over the mountain

i agree that he is a candidate to blow his arm out with his thin frame but i see the other side of it. starting pitching is a must have in baseball if you want to compete.

i just saw highlights of the game but it looks like homeboy has control issues since the all the 100+ heaters he threw went into the dirt. but then i saw his line; something like 2 hits no walks.

so im confused, it looked like he couldnt control his fastball but then his line showed a pitcher with great control.

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jsarno

It doesn't matter if he's a starter or reliever, if he is prone to injury, he will get injured. This kid can throw 105 mph, if he wants to start, let him start, you can ALWAYS make him a closer later.

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JLee9718

He could be a closer or a middle reliever, but pitching less innings would be better for his arm. I doubt if pitching as a starter would strengthen his arm.