Everyone knows the name Noah Syndergaard. If you haven’t got a chance to watch the beast known as Thor pitch this year, let me fill you in. Syndergaard has been the definition of dominant. To put that in perspective, he pitched 7 innings giving up one run against the Phillies yesterday, and it RAISED his ERA. You read that correctly, Syndergaard raised his ERA from 0.69 to 0.90. He has struck out 38% of batters he’s faced this year, and maybe the biggest point to be made is: the 23 year old throws hard… very very hard.
The righty is averaging more velocity on his curveball than Jared Weaver averages on his fastball. His sinker and changeup both average in the 90 mph range. Let that sink in… his CHANGEUP is averaging 92 mph. He consistently touches 100+ mph on his fastball as he did 12 times in his last outing. Of course these are just numbers, we all know professional pitchers throw hard right? What separates Syndergaard from the likes of Aroldis Chapman or Arquimedes Caminero? Well, it just so happens that Syndergaard’s catcher, Kevin Plawecki, was wearing a necklace under his uniform while catching the young righty during last night’s game. This is what happened when he dropped to his knees and blocked a bouncing fastball of his chest…
How hard does Syndergaard throw? Plawecki blocked a pitch w/ his chest. Theres now an imprint where his necklace was pic.twitter.com/Sd52ije5PZ
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 19, 2016
Syndergaard branded the imprint of a necklace into his catcher’s chest with a fastball. A fastball that first hit the ground, then hit a chest protector and layers of jersey and clothing, yet still managed to produce enough force to cause the branding. The takeaway from this story is simple: avoid facing Noah Syndergaard at all costs.
