Ben

Joyce

It’s an encouraging development after Joyce was shut down from throwing earlier this month following a setback in his recovery from last year’s shoulder surgery. The flame-throwing 25-year-old high-leverage reliever should be ready to return to Los Angeles’ bullpen at some point in the second half of the season.

It doesn’t really change Joyce’s timeline, as Joyce has been on the injured list with his shoulder issue since the start of the season. The right-hander had an MRI return clean recently, and he’s been up to 102 mph with his fastball in rehab appearances. He should be an option for the Angels’ bullpen by the start of the summer.

Joyce has been struggling with his command during his minor league rehab assignment, and it sounds like some shoulder soreness may be the cause of it. He’ll slow down his rehab process but won’t completely stop throwing. As of now, the timeline for his return remains completely up in the air.

Joyce sat between 98 and 101 mph on his four-seam fastball in this one; however, he also threw just seven of his 15 pitches for strikes. He still has a few more rehab appearances to go before he joins the Angels’ bullpen, but it’s nice to see the velocity is already back to where we’d like it to be.

This was Joyce’s first outing since last year’s shoulder surgery. There is no Statcast data for that level, but the broadcast claimed he was sitting between 97-100 mph on his fastball and touched 101 in the outing, which makes us feel good about the health of his shoulder. He’ll likely need a couple of weeks of rehab appearances, but the Angels bullpen desperately needs him, so we might be nearing the amount of time to stash him.

Joyce is working his way back from last year’s shoulder surgery, and the Angels have been very deliberate with his rehab. Relievers don’t need as long to ramp up as starting pitchers do, but the team won’t rush the 25-year-old either. Expect him to begin slowly with a few appearances in the lower minors before building up to pitching on back-to-back days in Triple-A. That being said, it’s possible Joyce could be up with the Angels in 2-3 weeks, and with Jordan Romano no longer on the MLB roster and Kirby Yates struggling on his own rehab assignment, there is a chance for Joyce to emerge as a late-inning option for a team that desperately needs one.

It’s a significant step in Joyce’s rehabilitation process from last year’s shoulder surgery. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty has the stuff required to handle the ninth inning for Los Angeles once he’s ready to return. He’ll need a couple weeks of rehab outings before he’s set for his season debut.

Joyce is working his way back from last year’s shoulder surgery and won’t be an option for the Angels at the start of the regular season. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty has the raw stuff necessary to pitch in the ninth inning at some point down the road.

Joyce had shoulder surgery last season, but his throwing program is reportedly “going well.” The 25-year-old will obviously have to progress to adding breaking balls into his bullpens and then face hitters in live batting practice, and then get into spring training games, so a few steps are remaining in his progression. It would be a shock if he were a high-leverage reliever to start the season, but there’s a chance he takes over the closer role for the Angels in the middle of the year.

Barring any setbacks, the 25-year-old hurler is on track to be ready in time for the start of the regular season, though it’s still possible that the Angels take a cautious approach and have him open the year on the injured list as he continues to build back up. Either way, it’s an encouraging development and sounds like the flame-throwing right-hander will be available out of the Halos’ bullpen at some point early in the season.