Blue Jays sign one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in all of baseball: report

Dec 29 2022, 10:54 pm

The Toronto Blue Jays are adding one of the fastest arms in all of baseball into their organization.

Per a report from Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays are adding flamethrowing pitcher Julian Fernandez on a minor-league deal.

A right-handed reliever, Fernandez is one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in all of professional baseball, with an average fastball velocity of 99 miles per hour during his 6.2 innings of MLB action with the Colorado Rockies in 2021.

He pitched in six contests for the Rockies, giving up nine hits and eight earned runs in his lone major league stint so far.

A 27-year-old who hails from the Dominican Republic, Fernandez’s resume doesn’t quite match his potential, posting just a 6.63 ERA and a 2-5 record with AAA Albuquerque Isotopes last season.

Hitting 100 miles per hour isn’t quite the accomplishment it once was. But 103? Well, that’s something just four separate pitchers were able to do last season, per Sportsnaut, only 12 pitches in the MLB last season hit that in the 2022 regular season.

Due to the minor-league nature of his deal, he’s both currently not on the 40-man roster nor eligible to play in the major leagues unless the team signs him to an MLB contract.

For the Blue Jays, they’re hoping they’ll be able to corral Fernandez’s talent into a more controlled chaos than he’s shown in the past, as he had a 2.4 home runs/nine innings rate last season with Albuquerque.

At the very least, Fernandez should be a fun name to keep an eye on, wherever he ends up in Toronto’s system.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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