"Early's biggest strength at first glance, to put it in the most cliche and lazy way possible, is that he "knows how to pitch." More specifically, he's got a fastball, curveball, changeup, slider and sweeper, and while he's still working to polish his arsenal, they were all good enough to be used in major league action down the stretch last year."
"What we know about Early is that he was listed at 6-3, 195lbs in 2025, had room to add some muscle, is from a military background and is a diligent worker, and Alex Cora told him to get "bigger and stronger" this winter. All of that brings us to this: Now of course, what we don't know is the accuracy of that radar in the video. But if it's real, oh boy!"
"And with Early, it's not your typical "OH WOW, LOOK AT THAT GAS!" obsession we usually have with pitchers. It doesn't matter if a guy can touch a 100mph if he doesn't have the secondary stuff. What makes Early unique is he's already got a foundation of other pitches he can mix and match at 23-years-old. So if he's adding an extra notch of velocity on top of all this secondary stuff, it's going to play in a big way."
Connelly Early is a 23-year-old pitcher with a five-pitch mix: fastball, curveball, changeup, slider and sweeper. Those pitches were sufficient for major-league action late in the prior season while he refined his arsenal. He was listed at 6-3 and 195 pounds in 2025 and showed physical room to add muscle, combined with a military background and strong work habits. Alex Cora advised him to get bigger and stronger over the winter. A social video radar suggested a 95 mph reading in January, though that radar's accuracy is uncertain. Adding even modest velocity on top of established secondary pitches would notably increase his difficulty to face, because hitters adjust to pure heat more easily than to changing velocity differentials.
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