Red Sox Prospect Michael Kopech Hits 105 MPH On Radar Gun
BOSTON (CBS) -- One Red Sox prospect really brought the heat to his Wednesday start.
Michael Kopech, a 20-year-old righty known for hitting triple digits on the radar gun, threw one of the fastest pitches in professional baseball history Wednesday, hurling a 105 mph fastball during his start for High-A Salem. Current Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman owns the fastest pitch ever recorded in MLB history, hitting 105.1 mph in 2010 while with the Cincinnati Reds.
While there is no speed readings displayed on the scoreboard at Salem's ballpark, leading to very few in attendance realizing just how fast Kopech's offering was, the high velocity of the pitch was recorded by a pair of radar guns in the stadium.
"We did have a reading of 105. We double-checked. Another gun beside ours had 105 as well," Salem manager Joe Oliver said, according to Baseball America.
After working out of a bases loaded jam in the first inning, Kopech allowed just four hits over five shutout innings while striking out eight. He averaged 98 mph on Wednesday, hitting 100+ mph on several occasions.
Wednesday night was the 2014 first-round pick's second start in what has been a frustrating 2016 season. He missed the first two-and-a-half months of the season after fracturing his hand during an altercation with a teammate in Spring Training. This comes after he sat out 50 games last season after testing positive for PEDs.
Kopech has now thrown nine scoreless innings for Salem, striking out 14 while surrendering just five hits and issuing four walks. He threw 4.1 scoreless innings for Single-A Lowell in June, and owns a 2.54 ERA during his three years in the Boston organization. In that span, Kopech has struck out 104 batters over 92 innings.
It sounds like Boston has a real flamethrower in their system.
