Royals' Yordano Ventura breaks own record for fastest pitch by a starter

Yordano Ventura threw a pitch 102.9 mph on Tuesday, breaking his own record for the fastest pitch by a starter during the PitchFX era.

Yordano Ventura broke his own record on Tuesday. (USATSI)

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Last September, Royals wunderkind Yordano Ventura set a record by throwing the fastest regular season pitch by a starting pitcher during the PitchFX era, which dates back to 2007. That pitch was a 102.8 mph fastball that, believe it or not, was hit for a single.

Ventura, 22, outdid himself during his first start of the 2014 season on Tuesday night. He broke is own record for the fastest regular season pitch by a starter:

Wow. So Yordano Ventura broke his own record for the fastest pitch recorded by PitchFX from a starting pitcher. 102.9 mph last night.

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) April 9, 2014

Geez. No wonder Ventura held the Rays to only two hits in six scoreless innings. He also struck out six. Few pitchers are this electric.

For the record, the fastest pitch ever recorded by PitchFX came from (who else?) Aroldis Chapman, who uncorked a 105.1 mph fastball back in September 2011. The fastest pitch ever recorded by a starting pitcher actually came during the postseason, when Justin Verlander hit 103.2 mph in Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS. Ventura owns the regular season record. And now second place as well.