1. Noah Syndergaard: Fastball, Curveball
The man they call Thor strikes fear into opposing hitters faster than lightning strikes ground. Or at least, faster than any pitcher in baseball.
Just ask Alcides Escobar.
On a staff of power hurlers, the 6′ 6″, 240 pound right-hander’s supply tops the list.
Throwing it 61.7% of the time in 2015, the blazing fastball averaged out to a velocity of 97.1 mph. Although, most of the time, you’ll see it hitting 98, 99…even 100+ mph.
The slight addition of backspin to the four-seamer leaves batters staring in amazement, and swinging long after the ball reaches the catcher’s glove.
The man mixes a humble demeanor with a subtle confidence. He doesn’t give his curveball nearly enough credit it deserves, often calling it a ‘work in progress.’ As you can see in the video above, not much work is needed. Breaking at 80 mph immediately after nailing 101 on the radar gun is a match made in heaven, bound to produce a plethora of downright ugly swings.
As Syndergaard gains more experience, he’ll learn to maximize efficiency by mixing different pitches in his repertoire and removing any chance for the batter to predict what’s coming.
In other words, he’s becoming a complete pitcher.
The 23-year-old is on the fast-track to superstardom and he’s got the attitude and the stuff to become the best pitcher on this talented team.
