New Contenders For The Minor League Velo Crown Emerge

It’s no secret that Blue Jays righthander Conner Greene has a live arm. This year, however, he’s gone well beyond that designation. Now he’s chasing the title of the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the minors.

100 MPH Club
Player	Team
Ryne Stanek	Rays
Jorge Guzman	Yankees
Albert Abreu	Yankees
Tommy Kahnle	White Sox
Conner Greene	Blue Jays
Zack Burdi	White Sox
Jimmy Cordero	Nationals
Dylan Cease	Cubs
Melvin Adon	Giants
Ariel Hernandez	Reds
Michael Kopech	White Sox
Thyago Vieira	Mariners

In his start against Trenton on Wednesday night, Greene, the Blue Jays’ No. 5 prospect, hit 102 mph. That wasn’t the only time Greene touched triple-digits on Wednesday. He also hit 101 mph in an at-bat with shortstop Gleyber Torres, according to a scout.

To put that velocity in perspective, if Greene were in the major leagues, his 102 mph fastball would be tied with Boston’s Joe Kelly for the hardest thrown all season, and faster than any of Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman‘s fastballs.

Charlotte righthander Zack Burdi has also thrown 102 mph this year. This is the baseball’s most velocity-rich age, of course, and Burdi and Greene aren’t the only minor leaguers to join the century club this season.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather what Baseball America has confirmed, either through contacts or direct viewing, throughout the season’s first six weeks. Last year, BA found 61 players who touched 100 mph with their fastballs throughout the course of the season. Those results were either reported or verified or both by scouts or team officials. This year so far, we have reports on 12 minor leaguers who have hit the century mark.