There’s no doubt about the stuff. Yordano Ventura led the major-leagues in average fastball velocity in his rookie season with the Kansas City Royals in 2014. He ranks second among qualified starters with a 96.1 mph average fastball in 2016, trailing only Noah Syndergaard (98.0 mph).
The problem has always been that Ventura can let his emotions get the best of him. Early in the 2015 season he touched off so many brawls that he was the main reason many pundits tabbed the Kansas City Royals the “Bad Boys Of Baseball“.