NEW YORK -- Nathan Eovaldi isn't Noah Syndergaard. He isn't Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, either. He could be, but he chooses not to be. And it's that choice that has led to Eovaldi's recent string of success on the mound for the Yankees.
Eovaldi throws the second-fastest fastball of any starting pitcher in baseball, a four-seamer that clocks in, on average, at 96.9 mph. However, unlike Syndergaard, Cole and Strasburg -- who rank first, third and fifth in average velocity -- Eovaldi doesn't pound the zone with a majority of heaters.