MLB scout thinks former Tennessee baseball standout could reach the big leagues in 2023
One of the reasons why the 2023 Tennessee Vols baseball team struggled to start the season is because of all the talent they lost from last year's squad. Tennessee had 10 players selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, including three players in the first two rounds (outfielders Drew Gilbert and Jordan Beck in the first […]
One of the reasons why the 2023 Tennessee Vols baseball team struggled to start the season is because of all the talent they lost from last year's squad.
Tennessee had 10 players selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, including three players in the first two rounds (outfielders Drew Gilbert and Jordan Beck in the first round and starting pitcher Blade Tidwell in the third round).
One of the former Vols that was selected in last year's draft could reach the big leagues as soon as this season, according to an anonymous MLB scout.
The Athletic recently spoke to scouts about various prospects and one of those scouts suggested that former Vols pitcher Ben Joyce could be called up before the end of the 2023 season.
Joyce was selected in the third round by the Los Angeles Angels last summer.
From The Athletic: He was their third-rounder out of Tennessee last year and he has a huge arm. He sits 100 mph. It’s a lower arm slot, kind of funky, and it’s got to be a really, really hard look for right-handed hitters. He’s throwing behind their back. He’s got a short little slider now and in spring he had a slower curve, which I thought was good. The pre-tacked ball in the Southern League has complicated things, so he might not be able to throw that curve for a strike right now. The command is the main issue, although I’ve never seen him all that wild. The slider is 88-90 mph and the curve is 82-83. The fastball topped out at 103 in spring training, and he’s maybe hit 105, but I haven’t seen that. I would be shocked if he doesn’t come up at some point this year. I don’t know if he projects as a big-league closer because of the control issues, but if he can tone that down, he could be a Daniel Bard type. Probably more of a set-up guy because the control comes and goes.
There's no doubt that Joyce has elite stuff — he touched 105 MPH at times in college — but he has to figure out the control issues if he's going to be a shutdown reliever.
It's probably a bit too early to suggest that Joyce will only be a setup guy. After all, Joyce didn't pitch in 2019 or 2021. And he only pitched 20.2 innings in 2020. In 2022, Joyce pitched 32.1 innings.
Joyce hasn't come anywhere close to maxing out his potential. If he can eliminate some of the control issues, he still has a good shot to be an effective closer at the MLB level.
