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Kimbrel hit 98 mph with his fastball in his most recent Cactus League outing Saturday, Maddie Lee of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
Kimbrel said he was pleasantly surprised by the high number on the radar gun, and he retired his three batters in order with two strikeouts. "My ball had some zip on it, had a little more life than it's had so far this spring training," Kimbrel said. "When you can be nice and smooth and easy and try not to do too much, everything works out." The veteran reliever averaged 98.3 mph on his fastball back in 2017, but he's been below 97 mph in his two seasons with the Cubs. He has a 6.00 ERA since coming to Chicago, so the diminished velocity has seemingly had a direct impact on his effectiveness. If Kimbrel has a little more zip in 2021, he could turn things around, but fantasy managers will want to see him string together a handful of good outings before getting too excited.
