Dodgers News: Max Muncy Shares Positive Takeaways from Facing Noah Syndergaard
On Thursday, the Dodgers held a two-inning intrasquad scrimmage at Camelback Ranch. This gave the players a chance to show off their stuff and get a better feel for the 2023 team.
Julio Urias and Noah Syndergaard each had standout performances after throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Following the scrimmage, Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation asked Max Muncy what it was like to face LA’s newest pitcher, Syndergaard. Muncy was the only position player who was able to get a hit during the scrimmage.
"He looked good. Ball felt heavy, he had good life to it. He was commanding ball well. Unfortunately (for him), I got a little shift beater on him since there is no more shift, so it was nice."
Syndergaard has particularly been working on upping his velocity with the Dodger's pitching coaches. After his Tommy John surgery, Syndergaard experienced a decline in his velocity. The highest it has been was 98.7 MPH in 2016 compared to last year’s 94.1 MPH.
The pitcher continues to work on this area. His velocity seemed pretty high during the scrimmage in Muncy’s eyes.
"It looked good. I don't know what the numbers were but it felt hard, it felt heavy. I know in the past, facing him he's always had good velo but sometimes the ball felt a little light. It felt very heavy [on Thursday] and you know, he had good movement so I thought it was good."
Syndergaard is gradually regaining his strength and has already made improvements this spring. With spring training games kicking off soon, the pitcher will have more time to put his skills to the test.
