The Road to The Show™: Angels’ Joyce

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at fourth-ranked Angels prospect Ben Joyce. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

Ben Joyce became one of the first players selected in the 2022 MLB Draft to make his Major League debut last May.

He didn't break camp with the Angels last month, however. But the flame-throwing reliever is already champing at the bit for his return to The Show.

When Ben Joyce is on the bump, 🔥 follows.

The @Angels' No. 12 prospect locks down his first pro save for the @trashpandas: pic.twitter.com/lVI0L7tIq5

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 26, 2022

The fourth-ranked Angels prospect has been lighting up radar guns since his college days at the University of Tennessee. Joyce is credited with throwing what is believed to be the hardest-thrown pitch in college baseball history at 105.5 mph on May 1, 2022 against Auburn. In his first big league camp in 2023, the fireballer flashed 104 mph heat on the final pitch of his outing against the Royals.

The right-hander averaged 100.4 mph with his fastball between Double-A and the big leagues in 2023. He can deliver the offering with some armside run that comes from a lower slot when it’s at it’s best. He also has two distinct breaking balls, both in the slider class -- one a sweeper, and one that’s harder and shorter that’s now up to 90-91 mph. Joyce was working to develop a changeup, but that pitch may not last in his arsenal.

The Knoxville, Tennessee, native stayed local for his college ball but missed all of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

As he worked his way back from surgery, the program put some limitations on his workload in 2022. He was not permitted to pitch on back-to-back days. But, behind the strength of his 80-grade fastball, he still broke out as one of the most entertaining and effective pitchers in college baseball.

Joyce struck out 40 percent of his opponents and posted a 2.23 ERA over 27 appearances (32 1/3 frames) with 53 total whiffs for the Volunteers. In the aforementioned game against Auburn, Joyce threw 28 of 33 fastballs faster than 103 mph, 15 heaters at least 104 mph and three faster than 105 mph in four scoreless, one-hit innings.

His performance at Tennessee earned him the nickname “The Volunteer Fireman.”

MLB Pipeline ranked Joyce as the No. 112 prospect in the 2022 Draft class, but the Angels, who had no second-round pick that season, pounced on him in the third round with the No. 89 overall selection.

After signing for an above-slot bonus of $997,500, Joyce debuted alongside 2022 Draftees Zach Neto (first round) and Sonny DiChiara (fifth round) with the Trash Pandas.

Joyce appeared in 13 games, posting a 2.08 ERA with 20 strikeouts over 13 innings while recording his first professional save. He returned to the Southern League for his first full season of pro ball in 2023 and made 14 relief appearances for Rocket City -- whiffing 24 over 15 2/3 innings -- before getting his call to The Show for his big league debut on May 29.

Joyce was impressive early on, posting scoreless appearances in four of his first five outings. He was bitten by injuries again, this time with ulnar neuritis in his right elbow, and missed three months. Joyce returned to the Majors in September and appeared to not miss a beat -- recording six consecutive scoreless appearances between Sept. 10-27.

Following a rough Cactus League debut in February, during which he allowed three walks and a grand slam and recorded just one out, the organization opted to try a new approach to help Joyce prepare for high-pressure relief situations. It was dubbed the "chaos" drill.

"They put a little thing together for him that we call 'chaos,'” Angels manager Ron Washington told MLB.com in March. “He was on the mound, had all sorts of noise going and fans trying to rattle him, but he got through that."

In his next spring outing, Joyce needed just five pitches to navigate a 1-2-3 frame against the Dodgers.

"It was interesting,” Joyce told MLB.com of his chaos drill. “It was more simulated game environment for a bullpen. We had base runners on and PitchComm and everything. And loud music and all this all this stuff going on. Just really trying to slow the game down and execute a pitch in different situations.”

The 6-foot-5, 225 pounder was unscored upon in five of his seven Cactus League appearances after that shaky debut, including three without yielding a hit.

So far this season, Joyce has made three relief appearances for Rocket City, two of which were scoreless. While his explosive fastball remains his calling card, improved control and command or, better yet, bringing order to the chaos might be what gets him back to the big leagues.

"That was my first time seeing [the chaos drill] or hearing of it. But the first thing I did to my pitching coaches was pat them on the back. I don’t care where they got it from. Because it’s working," Washington said. "[Joyce] is a young kid. If you can’t throw it over the plate, 104 mph is no good. But he’s progressing and we saw it. That’s a step forward for him.”