FAST COMPANY

Tennessee has produced its share of hard-throwers. Enter Liam Doyle and 'the best fastball in the country.'

- by JOSH NORRIS

Tennessee's baseball team is firmly among the NCAA elite. The Volunteers are the reigning national champions and have produced six first-round picks in the last five drafts.

Tennessee ranked No. 2 in the nation at midseason and it has three more players poised to be first-rounders in July: lefthander Liam Doyle, shortstop Dean Curley and second baseman Gavin Kilen.

To cook consistently at this level requires plenty of heat, and the Vols have one of the most reliable pipelines of premium velocity in the nation.

The list of flamethrowers who spent time in Knoxville over the past half-decade is extraordinary. Angels reliever Ben Joyce is one of three pitchers in MLB history to throw 105 mph, and his 105.5 mph fastball last September was the hardest pitch ever that resulted in a strikeout.

Rockies righthander Chase Dollander made his big league debut in April and was averaging 97.5 mph with his heater. Reds prospect Chase Burns—who spent his first two seasons at Tennessee before transferring to Wake Forest—brought his fastball up to 102 mph this spring.

Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet—a first-round pick of the White Sox in 2020—averages nearly 96 mph, making him one of the hardest-throwing left-handed starters.

This year alone, the Vols have three pitchers whose fastballs have touched 100 mph or faster: Saturday starter Marcus Phillips and relievers Tanner Franklin and Nate Snead.

And then there's Liam Doyle.

The lefthander's fastball hasn't quite gotten to triple digits this season—his best bolt is a “mere” 99 mph—but it remains one of the best pitches of its kind found anywhere across the country.

What makes Doyle's fastball so special? Let him explain.

“There's a few pitchers out there who have better vertical fastballs than me, but I throw mine with conviction, I get good ride on mine and I throw from a different arm slot,” Doyle said.