Marlins pitcher who slaps himself in the face is throwing harder than ever

Marlins pitcher who slaps himself in the face is throwing harder than ever originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Miami Marlins are one of the more fascinating teams in all of Major League Baseball this season.

While they aren't the top-tier contender that other teams might be, they have plenty of quality individual players. Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, and Pete Fairbanks have taken center stage as the most eye-catching pitchers on the roster, but there's another pitcher who is throwing harder than ever. As MLB.

com's Jared Greenspan found, Marlins righty Tyler Phillips, who hits himself in the face as he comes out of the bullpen to psych himself up, is throwing harder than ever this season. Marlins' Tyler Phillips throwing harder than ever "You may know Phillips best for his unique entrances, considering he's the pitcher who slaps himself while entering from the bullpen," Greenspan writes. "He's also incredibly tough to hit, and he's not making it any easier on the opposition, adding over a full tick of velocity to a sinker that already has plus horizontal movement.

" Phillips has an iconic entrance from the bullpen, and now he is adding some velocity to his sinker, which, as Greenspan notes, has added 1. 2 mph of velocity to bring his sinker up to 96. 6 mph.