Jacob deGrom dials up career-high 102-mph fastball vs. Soto originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Jacob deGrom is throwing faster this season than he ever has in his career. The Mets’ reigning two-time Cy Young winner is making the case for a third in 2020 behind a fastball that’s averaged a career-best 98.97 mph.
In his final start of the year Saturday, deGrom faced Nationals slugger Juan Soto and worked a 2-2 count. He threw a 102-mph fastball that just missed the bottom of the zone, setting a new career high for the fastest pitch he’s thrown in an MLB game.
DeGrom had already set previous highs earlier this year with 101.5 mph pitches thrown against both the Red Sox and Phillies, according to Brooks Baseball. His average fastball velocity has increased each of the past years. Despite turning 32 years old in June, he’s throwing harder than he ever has in his career and the results (2.14 ERA and NL-best 13.4 K/9 in 11 starts before Saturday) could earn him another piece of hardware.
Soto struck out on the following pitch, watching a 95-mph slider go by him for strike three—though he did draw a walk and steal a base against deGrom in the fifth.
