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Tony Vitello reacts to Ben Joyce making his MLB debut

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•06/01/23•

GrantRamey

Ben Joyce
(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports) Feb 21, 2023; Tempe, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ben Joyce poses for a portrait during photo day at the teams practice facility.

From the outside, it might look easy for Ben Joyce to throw a 102.2 mile per hour fastball for his first pitch in his Major League Baseball debut. Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello knows better, though.

He’s watched the work Joyce has put in and everything that goes into his flame throwing on the mound.

“He’s 100 percent created the— I almost say the thing,” Vitello said during his press conference on Tuesday. “Which is more of a compliment, the thing that he’s become has come with work ethic and I’ve said it before but I can’t stress it enough. 

“I said it to the guys, he has created the individual that he’s become and I don’t see him slowing down because I know that the work is not going to slow down.”

Joyce went from touching 105 mph during his time as a relief pitcher with the Vols a third-round pick in last summer’s MLB Draft. In less than a year, he went from drafted to Double-A Minor League Baseball to getting called up by the Angels late Saturday night. 

Ben Joyce threw 11 of 12 pitches 100+ mph in his big league debut

Joyce worked a scoreless seventh inning for the Angels Monday night in a win on the road against the Chicago White Sox. He gave up one hit and struck out two, with 11 of his 12 pitches going more than 100 mph.

“I was very upset I didn’t get to see it in person,” Vitello said.

Joyce’s family and girlfriend were in attendance to see him make his debut at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, but Vitello said the logistics didn’t work out for him and his staff to be on hand for the game.

Tennessee (38-19), a No. 2 seed in the Clemson Regional this weekend, opens up NCAA Tournament play against Charlotte (34-26), the No. 3 seed, on Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (TV: ESPNU).

Before getting called up Saturday night, Joyce made 27 Minor League Baseball appearances with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Angels. Joyce had a 3.45 ERA with 44 strikeouts against 17 walks over 28.2 innings pitched in Double-A. He had given up 16 runs — 11 earned — on 18 hits during his Minor League career.

Joyce has a grade of 80 on his fastball according to MLB.com. MLB players and prospects are graded on a 20-80 scale, with 80 being considered elite.

Up Next: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Charlotte, Friday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPNU

He appeared in 27 games at Tennessee during the 2022 season, starring with 53 strikeouts and a 2.23 ERA over 32.1 innings pitched. He averaged 14.8 strikeouts per nine innings and gave up 10 runs — eight earned — on 18 hits over the course of the season.

Joyce sat out as a redshirt at Tennessee during the 2021 season, after transferring from Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn. He had a 3-1 record with a 4.79 ERA at Walters State during the 2020 season, striking out 35 batters in 20.2 innings pitched.

“His brother (Tennessee right-handed pitcher Zach Joyce) was on the (group chat) sending messages to the guys and he was juiced,” Vitello said. “Watching that ball move around it was pretty evident that the big man was juiced too. 

“To kind of come in and it not go well for a second or give up a baserunner and kind of do what he did speaks volumes about how he keeps maturing and how good the stuff is. It was pretty cool listening to the announcers cause they were very complimentary as they should (be).”

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