Damn, kid! Yordano Ventura threw a 103 mph pitch last night

5teamparlay · Apr 10, 2014

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2...ano-ventura-threw-a-103-mph-pitch-last-night/

Damn, kid! Yordano Ventura threw a 103 mph pitch last night
Aaron Gleeman Apr 9, 2014, 12:19 PM EDT

AP
Everyone already knew that Royals rookie Yordano Ventura throws incredibly hard, but his 2014 debut last night was on a whole different level.
Ventura–who won’t be 23 years old until June–tossed six innings of shutout, two-hit ball against the Rays and, according to MLB.com’s PitchFX system, topped out at 102.9 miles per hour with his fastball.
That’s some Aroldis Chapman territory, which is rarefied air for a starter, and PitchFX also says Ventura averaged 99.5 mph on 45 total fastballs last night. Last season, during an impressive three-start debut for the Royals, his fastball averaged 97.5 mph. So maybe he’s throwing even harder now. [Drool.]
Some other amusing notes from Ventura’s first start of the season, via the indispensable Brooks Baseball: PitchFX says his “cutter” averaged 96.4 mph. So that’s what hitters have to deal with when he decides to take a little something off his fastball and add more movement. One of his “cutters” clocked in at 98.4 mph. Imagine trying to hit that. Oh, and his changeup averaged 89.5 mph, which is faster than many full-time starting pitcher’s fastballs.
Yordano Ventura: Must-See TV.

AlwayzRight · Apr 10, 2014

Dude is a stud.

MikeB · Apr 10, 2014

Was it a loaded gun like you see on the scoreboards of ML parks across the country, or was it legitimate?

Either way, it is a lot faster than what I can do, that's for sure.

Akillies · Apr 11, 2014

he was at 99, effortlessly. Big thing is control, he was over 60% strikes.

5teamparlay · Apr 26, 2014

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...eball-could-be-next-step-in-his-ace-evolution

[h=1]Yordano Ventura's Improved Curveball Could Be Next Step in His Ace Evolution[/h][h=4]<address class="article_author-info" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">By Mike Rosenbaum , MLB Prospects Lead Writer </address><time class="article_timestamp" itemprop="datePublished" data-updated_at="1398491638">Apr 26, 2014</time>[/h]
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Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Yordano Ventura will have many great starts in his career, but his outing on Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles is one he’ll never forget.
The 22-year-old rookie turned in his finest performance to date against one of the top offenses in the American League, striking out a career-high eight batters over eight shutout innings en route to a 5-0 Royals win. It marked the first time Ventura has worked eight innings in a start, as he allowed seven hits, two walks and hit a batter while throwing a career-high 113 pitches.
"I think that's as good as I've seen him," Royals manager Ned Yost said, via the Chicago Tribune. "He had everything going tonight. I mean good fastball, his curve ball, that was probably the most consistent curveball he's had all year, and a great changeup. He just pitched a great game."
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Despite his success, Ventura’s outing wasn’t as clean as his line suggests; he actually pitched with runners on base in every inning.
He drilled Nelson Cruz with a fastball in the first inning, and surrendered a pair of singles to open the second. He yielded a leadoff single in the third inning, a walk and single in the following frame, and then another leadoff knock in the fifth.
The right-hander allowed a two-out single in the sixth, two-out walk in the seventh and two-out single in the eighth. However, Ventura was able to get strikeouts when he needed them most and ultimately kept the Orioles off the board.
Specifically, Ventura’s ability to execute his curveball Friday night was a revelation compared to his other starts this season—especially his previous outing in which he allowed four earned runs on six hits and four walks in four innings. Ventura’s curveball has always lagged behind his dynamic fastball-changeup combination, and it had been his least effective offering this season.
However, that wasn’t the case against the Orioles.

	Strikes%	Whiffs%
April 8 (vs. TB)	52.6%	5.3%
April 15 (at HOU)	53.8%	15.4%
April 20 (vs. MIN)	30.0%	0.0%
April 25 (at BAL)	72.7%	27.3%

<caption>Yordano Ventura: Curveball Strike and Whiff Percentages by Start</caption><tbody>
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Brooks Baseball

Ventura’s command of his curveball was the best it’s been since his arrival in the major leagues last season, as he posted a career-best 72.7 percent strike rate (via Brooks Baseball) and recorded five of his eight strikeouts with the pitch in eight innings. His victims were Ryan Flaherty, David Lough (twice), Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop.
Ventura’s release point was consistent throughout the game, which in turn allowed him to generate the tight rotation and sharp, downward break necessary to generate whiffs. He also used his curveball to generate five ground-ball outs.
Ventura’s changeup took a backseat to his suddenly improved breaking ball, but he was still effective with the offering and kept the Orioles off balance by using it aggressively in fastball counts and at times on the first pitch of a plate appearance. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old flame-hrower’s fastball sat comfortably in the high 90s (as usual), topping out at 99 mph, and produced seven swinging strikes and a pair of strikeouts.
With a consistent and effective third pitch at his disposal, there’s no telling how good Ventura will be. He’s already proven to one of baseball’s premier young pitchers this season, and developing a more complete and refined arsenal could make him one of the game’s best in short order.

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