Red Sox Breakout: 101.7 MPH Arm Is for Real

Of the group, Valera is already making some noise. Valera is a 19-year-old with a fastball with an electric triple-digit fastball down in High-A Greenville. The 6'3'' flamethrower has made two starts so far this season in Greenville and has a 2.16 ERA and eye-popping 16-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 8 1/3 innings pitched. His first start of the season came on April 2 and he went 3 1/3 innings and struck out seven batters while allowing two earned runs. He followed up with his second start of the season on April 9 and was significantly better. Valera pitched five shutout innings against the Hub City Spartanburgers and struck out nine batters and allowed just two base hits across 56 pitches.

The five shutout innings and nine strikeouts weren't even the biggest story of the day for Valera on April 9. Valera topped out at 101.7 miles per hour with a fastball against the Spartanburgers.

It's not often that you're going to see a starting pitcher in general fire off a pitch at 101.7 miles per hour. Right now, he's down in High-A. But if he makes another appearance or two like this, it shouldn't be long until we see him rise up to Double-A Portland. Five innings on 56 pitches with nine strikeouts and a 101.7 miles per hour fastball should be enough to get the fanbase excited and the front office's attention.

He has gotten a lot of buzz this season already. If you're a Red Sox fan, you should know about him right now. Arguably, he's the guy to watch to potentially make a quick jump through the minors this season.