On July 12, Andres Muñoz stood atop the mound at Petco Park and blew a 100.6 mph fastball by Nick Markakis. This alone did not make Muñoz unique. So far in 2019, Statcast has logged triple-digit velocities from 31 other major-leaguers.



But then Muñoz did it again, with his second career pitch. Then again and again and again.



In 9 2/3 innings since his promotion, the Padres rookie has charted a rare trajectory among professional slingers of heat. His average fastball velocity sits above the century mark, at 100.3 mph. The pitch-tracking era, which began in 2008, counts only two others who have thrown at least 100 big-league fastballs and averaged at least 100 mph on them: Mauricio Cabrera (100.7) and Jordan Hicks (100.6).



Muñoz’s presence in such company is a testament to his talent. “It’s almost funny to even watch because some guys throw 95 to 100, and it looks kind of hard but it doesn’t,” pitching...