If you believe the radar guns in the Class A Carolina League, the Red Sox have one of the hardest throwers ever in their system.
Right-hander Michael Kopech of the Salem Red Sox reached 105 mph on two radar guns in his five-inning stint against Wilmington on Wednesday.
Red Sox righthander Michael Kopech threw one of the fastest pitches in pro baseball history on Wednesday.
It lacks the precision of Aroldis Chapman’s 105.1 mph fastball recorded by Trackman on Sept. 24, 2010 (the fastest pitch of the Trackman era), but Kopech reached 105 on a pair of radar guns.
In his second start for Salem, Kopech, 20, struck out three in the first inning to escape a bases-loaded jam and finished with eight K’s. He walked one and allowed four hits in his five scoreless innings, extending his scoreless innings streak in the minors to 18.1, going back to last season.
He didn’t get the decision in a 6-5 Salem loss.
Boston Red Sox
“Your eye is not trained to see 105. You’ve never seen it before unless it’s off some sort of machine,” Salem manager, and former major league catcher, Joe Oliver said in the Baseball America story. “I couldn’t say that one pitch was harder than any other he threw. A couple you could tell were quicker. [Was it] 101 or 103? You couldn’t pick out which one was 105.”
Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan and Bob Feller threw pitches recorded at 108.1 (Ryan in 1974) and 107.6 mph (Feller in 1946).
Kopech’s season got off to a late start on because he broke his hand in a fight with a teammate back in March. The first-round pick from 2014 was also suspended for 50 game last season for using a banned stimulant.