Statcast defines a 'hard-hit ball' as one hit with an From his Rookie of the Year season in 1977 through 1983, Dawson averaged nearly 10 assists a season, racking up 69 over those seven years, including a career high 17 in 1978. Playing for the Cleveland Indians minor league team in the Pacific Coast League in 1956, Colavito threw a ball from home plate 436 feet, watching it land well beyond the centerfield wall. 1 among shortstops over the last three years, ahead of Fernando Tatis Jr. Cruz has five of the six hardest shortstop throws this year, and eight of the top 13. His baseball career almost ended in 1905 when he enrolled at Fort Worth Polytechnic Institute. Would anyone be surprised to see him reclaim the No. Five years later, Acua is a three-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year Award winner, and a World Series winner. Just make sure you have enough IL slots. You don't currently have any notifications, Copyright 2010- FantasyPros.com Back in 2017, a then-19-year-old Ronald Acua Jr. appeared in Miami at the Futures Game. one base to another, like Home To First. First, standing at home plate, he only needed three attempts to throw a ball over the center field wall, 410 feet away. Yet every year on draft day, there he sits in the ninth or tenth round, and every year we all imagine what an absolute steal that would be if he were to play 140+ games. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit In that case, he is a perfect complement to whatever three true outcome player you draft for power. He just hasn't thrown enough to qualify yet from those spots, and when he does, he'll look like he has a considerably better arm than Goldschmidt which he does. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight One of the greatest defensive centerfielders to play the game, Jim Edmonds played with a reckless abandon, often launching his body into the air or wall to make a catch. Mike Trout may have had the quietest 40-homer season in 2022. Interval Throwing Program for Outfield / PositionPlayers. Yordan lvarez actually played more games at designated hitter (77) than he did in the outfield (56), but since there are not enough everyday DHs for us to do a top 25 list for that position, he's being included here alongside the rest of the league's best outfielders. His slash line declined to .263/.327/.445, though that average is misleading as his expected was .234. It seems likely that one of Volpe or Peraza will shift over to third base or . Flexibility, mechanics and total-body strength are key factors coaches and trainers stress in order to increase arm strength. Between natural talent and growing up with his uncleformer New York Mets ace Dwight Goodenteaching him how to pitch, Gary Sheffield was destined to have a cannon for an arm. How far, in feet, a fielder or runner has traveled on a 2. window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. Outfielder Jump. It gets you from Point A to Point B more quickly. Longoria, who at nearly 37 years old has the weakest qualified third base arm (75 mph), got his off at 76.6 mph and it took his throw 0.97 of a second to get to first. In traditional 5x5 leagues, he can anchor any fantasy outfield you put him in. If anyone needs a change of scenery in order to maximize his talent, Bryan Reynolds is that guy. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man. The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the Just look at the 2022 averages on competitive throws from those positions. Kyle Schwarber strikes out at such a large clip (29.9 K%) that it is easy to miss his dominance in other fantasy categories. the ERA scale, A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed Julio Rodriguez led the 2022 youth movement throughout MLB, skipping Triple-A to win Rookie of the Year with 29 of 30 first-place votes and electrifying the crowd at the HR Derby in July. Escape Velocity takes the average of a player's batted ball velocities subtracted from 88. In 2022, the 28-year-old ranked in the 98th percentile in outfielder jump and 97th percentile in arm strength, filling out the mold for a complete defensive outfielder. In a down season by his own lofty standards, Juan Soto was still one of the most productive offensive players in the game. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as Christian Yelich played in 154 games in 2022, his highest total since his last year in Miami in 2017. . pitch. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was Statcast Year to Year Stats | baseballsavant.com There is hope that the White Sox have realized that Eloy Jimenez is a designated hitter and will deploy him as such in an effort to keep the 26-year-old healthy. In the bottom of the 10th inning against the Seattle Mariners on June 5, 1989, Jackson's arm made one of the great throws in the history of the game. He hits the ball with great power, ranking in the 92nd percentile in maxEV. Tyler O'Neill experienced a litany of injuries in 2022 that inhibited the power he demonstrated in 2021. Someone in your league will reach for him during the draft. Some, though, might just not have had the opportunity elsewhere to show it. A six-time Gold Glove winner and the 1997 National League MVP, Larry Walker was yet another smooth fielding right fielder with a cannon for an arm who has played the game. Beyond the gaudy numbers, he was the one consistent in a Yankees lineup that dealt with injuries and under performance, and he did it all while also playing a career-high 632.2 innings in center field. The fact that Dave Roberts might deploy him enough at 2B to give him that eligibility is just icing. Nicknamed "The Hawk" for his ability to track down any fly ball that came his way, Dawson's right arm should have required a permit to travel between Canada and the United States. Fantasy managers can count on significant strikeouts and not many walks, but he is at or above the 90th percentile in five power-hitting categories that can be a salve for those burns. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. In 1985 alone, Barfield doubled up eight runners, to go with his 133 . play. In 118 games, he slashed .292/.347/.468, buoying the ratios for fantasy managers in roto leagues. Over a 17-year career that was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and Colorado Rockies, Walker picked up 154 assists, including eight seasons with 10 or more. 6 yr. ago. However, his .336 BABIP is unsustainable and will take a bite out of his batting average when it corrects. Zerby, a sophomore outfielder, hit .365 with 8 runs batted in and 8 stolen bases. Defense: Moves through the ball well, gets to the ball quick. A 10-time Gold Glove winner, opponents learned very quickly that the explosive throws he had a reputation for making in Japan were very much a reality, and they generally wouldn't even think about running when Ichiro had the ball in his hand. You can see video of the play here (the actual play starts around the 40 second mark). In eight years of Statcast tracking, only two first baseman throws have come in above 91 mph, and each of them -- both from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., one shown below -- were on relays. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. Which is a great lead-in to our next question 4) Do second basemen have weaker arms than shortstops because they dont need to throw as far? Palm Beach, Fla - It's early, but with each passing day Jordan Walker 's case to break camp with the Cardinals major league team gets stronger. If he returns to 2021 form, he can be a five-category contributor, but he comes with plenty of risk in 2023. USA TODAY Sports photo. Statcast position player arm strength metrics are available beginning with the 2020 season. How hard, in miles per hour, a pitch is thrown. After all the hype over Cruzs 97.8 mph dart in July that stands as the fastest throw on an infield assist Statcast has tracked, hed better be atop a list like this, and he is, by a pretty large 4 mph gap over Cincinnati's Jos Barrero. Up to you. His first two throws fell just short. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit An All-Star and Gold Glove winner for the first time, Happ hit .271/.342/.440 for a 119 OPS+ with 42 doubles, 17 home runs, 72 RBI, 72 runs scored and 4.4 WAR in 158 games. The 27-year-old is miscast as a center fielder (-14 DRS, -3.2 UZR/150) and that undercut his overall value a bit. Going back to 2015, he has two of the three hardest throws ever tracked by an infielder. 23. And first basemen, who hardly ever need to throw hard -- only 10 tracked throws all season above 85 mph -- get the average of their top 1%. From 1956 until he retired in 1964, he only threw out 32, due largely in part to the injury. Just beware that his numbers might look much closer to 2021 than 2022. A 12-time Gold Glove winner, 10-time All-Star and the 1966 National League MVP, Roberto Clemente was the prototype for a five-tool player. Were talking raw speed here, not accuracy. He hit .320 with a .387 on-base percentage in 93 games with the Royals before he was traded to the Yankees at the deadline, and while he battled injury down the stretch, his combination of contact ability and defense still made him a 3.2-WAR player in 2022. attempt. (Previous individual throws are still valid -- Aaron Hicks touching 105.5 mph back in 2016 is still the hardest throw on record -- but season averages are not available for those years just because fewer throws were tracked. It's been said that the Indians have been cursed ever since they traded Colavito to the Detroit Tigers in 1960, getting Harvey Kuenn in return. player has saved over his peers. Arm Strength (ARM) | Glossary | MLB.com Nicknamed "Muscles," Mantle's throws were both accurate and strong. He has power to all fields, bats in the middle of a World Champion lineup, and will protect your ratios in traditional 5x5 leagues and those with advanced categories. So is that because the elbow isnt allowing harder throws -- not that its mattered much, as hes been excellent defensively -- or because his new position doesnt demand it? "Jarrett is a speedy, defensive outfielder with a good arm and high baseball IQ," Swillum said. Brett Phillips brings energy; Tucker Davidson impresses - mlb.com Carroll's upside is in the 30/30 range, and he should have no trouble sticking as the everyday centerfielder with his plus-defense. As MLB.com Toms Tango has detailed, when looking at players who have played multiple positions, outfielders consistently throw about 3 mph higher than themselves at shortstop and third, 7 mph higher than at second, and 10 mph than they are at first base. 2 spot in the lineup between NL batting title winner Jeff McNeil and the one-two punch of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Seiya Suzuki arrived to MLB and kicked off his career in the States with a bang, hitting four HR and getting on base at a .398 clip. His 195 career assists leave him tied with another member of our list who you may have heard of, Willie Mays. A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a Acua maxed out at 101.5 mph this season, and on Aug. 13, he had a 99.1 mph outfield assist, throwing out Joey Wendle trying to stretch a single into a double from the right-field When he makes contact, Arozarena's elite maxEV will allow good things to happen. Daulton Vasho has catcher eligibility, which is one of the primary draws to him being drafted in the 40-50 range. When you measure a pitchers average fastball velocity, its simple. But Callison also threw out 175 over the course of his career, including a four-year stretch from 1962 through 1965 when he racked up 90 assists, leading the league each season. But all-in-all, the players on this list had an incredible combination of all those skills, making them more likely to throw straight for the base that the play was at rather then hitting the cutoff man. Outfielders get the average of the top 10% of their throws. He is one of the best pure hitters in the game today, and the six-year, $115 million extension he signed in June already looks like an absolute steal for the Astros. He stole six bases in nine attempts, but his numbers declined from his best year in 2021. It's baffling why baserunners still try and advance on Jeff Francoeur. Just like the regular-season rankings, past production and future expectations played no part in deciding the orderthis is simply a rundown of the best and brightest of 2022. MLB strongest throwing arm 2022 of his glove and to the base on a stolen base or pickoff Outs Above Average Leaderboard Current: Outs Above Average Outs Above Average (OAA) is the cumulative effect of all individual plays a fielder has been credited or debited with, making it a range-based metric of fielding skill that accounts for the number of plays made and the difficulty of them. A shotgun concealed as his right arm, Parker fired baseballs at a ridiculous velocity, resulting in his leading the league with 26 assists in 1977 and finishing his career with 143 assists. At the age of 21, he didn't take many walks and struggled with strikeouts, but these numbers should improve based on his profile in the minors. Baseball Savant. OF-95 mph. "He was a leader offensively and defensively for us. He hit 11 homers, stole 18 bases, and slashed .283/.312/.403 in 153 games. Traded outfielder Michael A. Taylor to the Twins for pitchers Steven Cruz and Evan Zisk. Schwarber batted leadoff for the vast majority of the season, but the acquisition of Trea Turner will most likely move him down in the order. His 149 OPS+ ranked eighth among all qualified hitters and trailed only Aaron Judge (211) and Yordan lvarez (187) among outfielders. Ten MLB breakout predictions for 2023: Jim Bowden's hitters and The shortstop position has become one of the deepest and most talented positions in fantasy baseball over the last decade. The Orioles seem dedicated to giving their prospects every opportunity to succeed, which boosts Mullins's value in the runs category. Ken Griffey Jr. is one player you look at and bemoan "Had he only been able to stay healthy". Click a bubble to see all the player's throws. thrown with. It was maddening to watch him throw a ball, only because his motion was so fluid that it appeared that he wasn't even tryingyet the ball exploded out of his hand and routinely reached it's destination on the fly. Raul Mondesi did just that, compiling 112 assists over his 13-year playing career, including 53 between 1994 and 1997 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. What is not of concern are the 81 games he gets to play at Yankee Stadium this year and each one after until 2031, thanks to his 9-year, $360 million free-agent contract. But in 1957, while playing for the Omaha Redbirds of the American Association, Gorbous made two ridiculous throws. Oscar Gonzalez does not take walks. Hendersons throw was clocked at 85.2 mph, and took 0.87 of a second to reach first base. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Top Major-League Arm: Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals) All-Time Tool: Jesse Barfield play. Taylor Ward's breakout in his fifth MLB season was interrupted by a nagging hamstring injury that cut into his ability to be a consistent fantasy asset. Starling Marte had a good 2022 season, but injuries prevented him from being a truly great fantasy asset. Since there are three times as many outfielders as there are other positions on the diamond, it made sense to add an honorable mention list of 25 guys onto our top 25 list. But its also clear that it doesn't work for other positions. In order to qualify for the 13-ranked prospect. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Other bad news includes a Statcast page that is almost entirely blue, meaning he was ineffective in almost every meaningful statistical category during his first season in Philadelphia. In 2020, Story averaged 82.3 mph as a Rockies shortstop -- a good-not-great number, slightly below average for shortstops. Advanced arm strength, over-the-top arm action. To qualify for inclusion, a player simply had to have at least 200 plate appearances. At. Only in baseball can the son of a potato farmer who born and raised on Long Island become Boston's favorite son. He is projected as a 15/15 outfielder and worth a look in the double-digit rounds. Compare that, for example, to the 211 such throws from shortstops, or the nearly 2,500 from right fielders (which almost certainly underestimates the truth in the early years). More often than not, your eyes will not be deceived by what is displayed on a throw. Those who did generally failed in their attempt to take an extra base, and Puckett finished his career gunning down 142 men on base. Indeed, the 25-year-old came back in late April, immediately began stealing bases, and rewarded fantasy managers who used a high draft pick on him. In his fourth year in the league, Randy Arozarena hit 20 HR, knocking in 89 and scoring 72 while stealing 32 bases. He had the hardest-hit ball of the evening, but he also showed off his arm, uncorking a pair of throws -- each tracked at over 95 mph. ), But the counterbalance to that is looking at a handful of infielders who have played on both sides of the bag just this season. Acquired from the Houston Astros as part of the trade that bought Joe Morgan to the Cincinnati Reds, Cesar Geronimo patrolled center field for the Big Red Machine with aplomb, taking home four Gold Glove awards. White Sox first baseman Jos Abreu has about the same number of tracked throws as Rodrguez does. If strikeouts count against you in your league, then you might want to stay clear of Adolis Garcia. The 25-year-old hit .298/.373/.400 with more walks (62) than strikeouts (60) while adding 89 runs scored and 19 steals. Outfield Arm Strength Rankings : baseball - reddit 7) Al. (For this, well just look at throws on fielded balls, not outfield relays or double play pivots.). For as powerful as Winfield's arm was, it wasn't the most accurate, as Yankees manager Billy Martin opined after the seagull incident: "They say he hit the gull on purpose, They wouldn't say that if they'd seen the throws he'd been making all year. He once again tallied more walks (135) than strikeouts (96). His HR tally dropped from 34 to 14 and games played went from 132 to 96. Unless you're in a quirky league where defense counts, Melendez fills a scarce position with decent skills. outfield. BY Justin Leger -. The biggest downside is that he most likely does not have OF eligibility in your league, so make sure your UTIL slot is free for him. 2023 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Preview: Expert rankings, busts Guys who could throw, suddenly can't throw.". A two-time gold glove winner, Mondesi's career high for assists didn't come until 2001 with the Toronto Blue Jays, when he threw out 18 baserunners from right field. Junior had 154 assists for his career, a number that would have been significantly higher were it not for the rash of injuries that he dealt with. Showcasing the Arm Younger players rarely have the opportunity to play in stadiums where statcast tracks their every move. . He is near the bottom of the league in K%, Whiff%, BB%, and chase rate. one base to another, like Home To First. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement It's understandable that fantasy managers who drafted him thinking they secured a 30/30 guy were disappointed at the end of the season. attempt. Heres Astros outfielders, since 2020. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second That holds true when you realize hes still played some left side in the shift, and his hardest throw from there was this 75.1 mph throw in April.