GLENDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Drey Jameson unloaded perhaps the fastest pitch of his career against Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani during Cactus League action on Monday at Camelback Ranch.

Jameson let a 101.3 mph fastball fly — three pitches after hitting 100.7 mph on the radar gun, which Ohtani fouled off. The greatest hitter on the planet, as Jameson put it, then bounced a sinker to first baseman Pavin Smith for the out.

Jameson, who returned after missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery, averaged 97 mph on the four-seamer in 2023. The right-hander’s previous hardest recorded pitch was 100.3 mph, according to Statcast, which does not catch every pitch thrown in spring training or in the minor leagues but covers a lot of ground.

Drey Jameson’s 100.7 MPH Fastball. 👀 pic.twitter.com/t1pHwf7iEg

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 10, 2025

He explained the luxury of being able to throw 101 mph by hitters, but at the same time he was adamant he’s got to focus on getting his secondary arsenal in the right spot. He’s been working to refine a changeup, in particular.

“I’m trying to dial in my stuff, so not really too focused on who was in the box,” Jameson said. “It was more of when a righty gets in to really accomplish that changeup, the four-seam getting to each side of the plate, along with letting the sinker work and then back-foot sliders.”

Jameson acknowledged having to not overlook Ohtani, no matter the setting be it spring training or the regular season. Getting the put out was a nice moment for him.

Manager Torey Lovullo credited the hurler on Monday for expanding beyond trying to blow hitters away.

“The thing I told Drey is that everything I love about him I saw on display when he was standing on the mound today,” Lovullo said after a 6-2 loss.

“He knew he was facing Shohei Ohtani, he was reaching back, threw a couple 101 mph fastballs. But then he pitched, that was the most impressive part about his outing was he didn’t just sit on 101. He started mixing secondary stuff. He got hurt by not being able to finish at-bats off. But overall, I was really proud of him for pitching instead of throwing.”

Torey Lovullo on Drey Jameson’s outing and facing Shohei Ohtani #DBacks pic.twitter.com/v6IXudIDqU

— Brandon Cadiz (@HiBranFlakes) March 10, 2025

Jameson threw 24 pitches in an inning of work, recording the first two outs swiftly before allowing his first earned run of the spring (four innings).

He continues to make progress as he competes for a role in the Opening Day bullpen. He’s healthy, but bouncing back from each outing and lowering the number of days between appearances are keys to making the big leagues again. The D-backs have been cautious with his build-up.

“I’ve been on a four day, so I think this week I go to a three day and just to see how my body reacts to that,” Jameson, who went 600 days between outings, said.

“My first outing in spring was more for myself and pride, and that I accomplished making it through the whole rehab process and actually facing hitters,” he added. “Now it’s more like put that behind me. I don’t really think about it. Now it’s like, how do I get on that Opening Day roster?”

Lovullo mentioned the last week of spring training being a time when relievers may face more realistic challenges like back-to-backs or one inning plus an up-down.

Whether Jameson participates will depend on how he continues to recover.

“I know how hard it was for him to be away from the game for that long and see him come back … I’m super happy for him,” Corbin Carroll said. “For us as well, because he could be huge for us.”

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