Watch Ben Joyce dominate the White Sox in his Angels debut

There wasn't a player in Spring Training that Los Angeles Angels fans were more excited about than Ben Joyce. No, not even young players who played well like Mickey Moniak and Zach Neto. Ben Joyce stole the show.

It's easy to see why Angels fans loved this guy the first time they saw him. He can hit 100+ mph with his fastball with ease, and when he's on, is untouchable. He was on for much of Spring Training when it looked like he had a legitimate shot at making the team before losing command of the strike zone at the end of the spring.

Joyce was sent to AA Rocket City where he didn't post the gaudy numbers some might've expected, but he still earned the call-up prior to Sunday's game against the Marlins. Joyce came with a lot of hype and after making his debut on Monday in Chicago, it's safe to say he was worth it.

LA Angels reliever Ben Joyce displayed elite potential in win vs. White Sox

Prior to yesterday's series opener against the White Sox, Phil Nevin said outright that he expected Ben Joyce to pitch. It's a little odd to announce that before the game, but it did prepare Angels fans who had been waiting to see their fireballer pitch in a big league uniform for the first time.

I had figured they'd try to ease Joyce in a bit, but with Matt Moore on the Injured List and guys like Jacob Webb and Chase Silseth unavailable, the Halos turned to Joyce in a big pressure spot. He came on for the bottom of the seventh with the Angels up 4-3 with two of the batters he was set to face hitting home runs earlier in the game.

Joyce got ahead of his first batter, Andrew Vaughn, 0-2 after painting two fastballs on the outside corner. For some reason, Joyce threw a slider after which was lined for a base hit. After that, it was all fastballs from this powerful right-hander and nothing but success.

He struck out Gavin Sheets and Romy Gonzalez on four pitches each before getting Yasmani Grandal to pop out on the first pitch he saw.

Joyce threw 12 pitches on the night. 10 of these pitches were strikes with four called strikes and three whiffs. The guy with command issues in AA missed just twice with his 12 pitches, which should give Angels fans an incredible amount of optimism. Of the 12 pitches he threw, 11 of them were 100+ mph with the only exception being the one slider he threw.

Joyce topped out at 102.2 mph with his fastball. Easily the hardest pitch an Angel has thrown this season, and he's just getting started. You shouldn't expect every outing from Joyce to be as perfect as this one was, but when he's on, boy is he unhittable.

Perry Minasian got us a good one. Joyce looks legit, and if he is, will provide a huge boost this season and in the future.