Ben Joyce is a Bright Spot in a Lost Angels Season
Always known as a flamethrower, adding a new variation to his fastball has unlocked Ben Joyce as the Angels lights-out closer of the future.
We all saw the PitchingNinja highlight of Ben Joyce at Tennessee. Fastballs reaching 104 mph blowing hitters away will make most highlight reels. However, velocity is just one aspect of pitching. Joyce needed more than just his velocity to be a productive major leaguer and we are starting to see him blossom into more than a flame thrower.
Joyce has made 30 appaerances this season and has pitched to a 2.14 ERA across 33 2/3 innings pitched. When you consider that he gave up five runs across his first three appearances, his season becomes even more impressive, as he has allowed just three earned runs across his last 31 2/3 IP.
That is a 0.85 ERA since June 14th for Joyce.
With his standout performance, Joyce has assumed the Angels’ closers role, one he could fill for years to come. What’s been behind Joyce’s breakout season? Let’s dive in.
Ben Joyce Has Learned How to Pitch, Not Throw
In 2023, Joyce was a two-pitch – four-seam and slider, pitcher. This season we have seen him add a sinker and a change up he mixes in to lefties. Adding these two pitches has resulted in a lighter use of his four-seamer, cutting the usage almost in half.
However, his four-seamer has improved and with hitters seeing it less, they have struggled to adjust during the at-bat.
| Four-Seam | Stuff+ | Avg. Velocity | Avg. Exit Velocity | Slugging | Whiff% |
| 2023 | 101 | 100.9 mph | 90.8 mph | .310 | 23.5% |
| 2024 | 124 | 102.1 | 85.7 mph | .286 | 28.9% |
A fastball of this caliber is going to get you to the big leagues, and likely stick in the big leagues as well. It’s still the pitch we see the most from Joyce, and rightfully so.
But knowing there’s more that can come out of his hand makes hitting that 100+ mph fastball even more difficult. Tunneling the fastball with his sinker and slider makes it nearly impossible to know which you are seeing until it is too late.
Joyce’s sinker has really helped him take a leap this season. A pitch that comes in a 97 mph is, if you will, taking something off while also adding a downward movement. The pitch has graded out at a 101 stuff+ with that downward movement causing an average of -10 degree launch angle. Essentially, if you make contact it is going to be a groundball. This has helped raise his groundball rate from 46.4% last season to a remarkable 59.6% this season.
The slider usage has dropped about five percent from last season, but has still been productive. A 29.6% whiff rate while holding batters to a .214 average. The problem with his slider has been more with commanding it and the pitch sometimes being left in a zone where batter can do more damage. I say that, but the damage has been limited to no extra base hits off the pitch this season, albeit a small sample size.
I’m not sure how much the changeup will be used going forward, but it was a pitch Joyce threw in college. Although Joyce has handled lefties well this season, having the changeup in his back pocket is never a bad idea if you work deeper in the count to a lefty. Think 103 mph and seeing 92 mph will be tough for batters to make quality contact.
I know we are working with a small sample both this year (30 games) and last year (12 games), but the changes and improvements are leading to real results, is great to see.
What does this mean for the Angels? Well, they have one of the last pieces of a competitive team puzzle solved. Now they just need to figure out every other aspect of team building.
Written by