The 21-year old has also shown the speed, instincts, and arm strength that project him as a center fielder long-term. Then again, Hendersons throw got there about 11% faster. outfield. He once again tallied more walks (135) than strikeouts (96) while hitting .242/.401/.452 with 25 doubles, 27 home runs, 62 RBI and 93 runs scored. and 32 degrees. (He has 14 harder throws from the right side, though obviously in far more opportunities. Youd think measuring throwing arm strength would be easy. While the play itself was quite amazing, Dodgers starter Ralph Branca would end up taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning before the Pirates would collect two hits off of him. A 10-time Gold Glove winner, Kaline finished his career with 170 career assists. At the end of his breakout season, Justin Dirden felt fatigued. The 29-year-old hit .274/.367/.433 with 30 doubles, seven triples, 16 home runs, 64 RBI and 102 runs scored as the table-setter atop the Mets' lineup, and he once again played a roughly league-average center field. it's a tough call between Clemente and Whiten.". Acuna should return to his former self with the extra time post-surgery. 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. 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. The 28-year-old has recorded no less than 11 assists in each of his seven seasons, and not only is his throwing arm powerful, but it's deadly accurate, as we can see in the video. Aaron Judge's 100 mph assist is the hardest throw recorded in 2018 - Yahoo! Unless you're in a quirky league where defense counts, Melendez fills a scarce position with decent skills. Top Tools: Best Outfield Defense/Outfield Arm - Baseball A shortstop and pitcher in high school, Sheffield played both positions on the left side of the infield until 1994his seventh in the majorswhen he moved to the outfield. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in Key West (2-0): The Conchs ended 2022 with a 22-7 record and were able to play with many of the . Mullins didn't quite match the out-of-nowhere 30/30 season he put together in 2021, but he was still one of the game's better everyday center fielders. Despite his age and limited upper-minors experience, he didn't miss a beat in the majors, hitting .297/.339/.514 with 27 doubles, 19 home runs, 64 RBI, 75 runs scored and 20 steals in 22 attempts over 114 games. Nicknamed "Muscles," Mantle's throws were both accurate and strong. His arm recorded 195 assists over the course of his career and only adds to his case to be called the greatest of all time. The 29-year-old posted a 113 OPS+ with 66 extra-base hits, 101 RBI and 25 steals, while making modest improvements to his walk rate (5.1 to 6.1 percent) and strikeout rate (31.2 to 27.9 percent) in a 3.5-WAR campaign. Statcast Outfielder Jump Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com Outfielder Jump Leaderboard Current: Outfielder Jump 2022 Minimum Attempts (Q) Update Download CSV Jump is calculated only on plays that are Two Stars or harder, meaning with a 90% Catch Probability or lower. For a pitcher it is the average of his softest 50% of batted balls allowed. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight MLB: The 40 Best Outfield Arms in Baseball History A good example of this is Cubs rookie Christopher Morel, who has a 96.5 mph competitive average as an outfielder -- maxing out at 102.3 mph -- and a 90.4 mph competitive average as a second baseman, maxing out at 90.9 mph. He'll lope after a ball to see if he can get you to run, picks it up . You can see video of the play here (the actual play starts around the 40 second mark). With many new faces around him, there is a chance he could drop down, which would harm his value. Improving arm strength - ESPN.com How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out . one base to another, like Home To First. 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. 22). The steals are why he goes so early in drafts because it is certainly not his patience at the plate. 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. newly released arm strength leaderboards for position players, when Hawk-Eye was installed in all 30 stadiums, look at their comparisons on both sides of the bag. Realmuto can top at the position. It's baffling why baserunners still try and advance on Jeff Francoeur. A diving catch or someone reaching over the wall to rob someone of a home run might get the crowd going, but nothing makes you stand up and say "wow" more than a big throw from an outfielder to nail a runner trying to advance a base. . 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. An 18-time All-Star and the last man to win the American League Triple Crown, a feat he achieved in 1967, Carl Yastrzemski played excellent defense in left field and had a strong, accurate throwing arm. Baseball is largely played in terms of feet and seconds, and they all add up quickly. His fastball was thrown so hard that he broke a catcher's arm with it, and when nobody else would catch him, they moved him to the outfield. His OBP was the second-lowest of his career at .323, but his xwOBA was .375, so hopefully, some improvement is in the cards for 2023. A below average fielder who threw out 107 runners over the course of his career, Jose Guillen made what some consider to be the best throw in the history of baseball - click here to check it out. If you want to understand how it all works stay right here. Phillies 2022 preview: The outfield bomb squad | PhillyVoice How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. of his glove and to the base on a stolen base or pickoff There is a lot of value to be had here. What a strong throwing arm does, mostly, is make things happen faster. 3. 7) Al. Most of a pitchers fastballs are thrown at or near the same velocity, so you average them all together and call it a day -- its not like Max Scherzer is throwing some four-seamers at 95 mph, and others at 72 mph. Exit Velocity & Barrels Leaderboard Current: Exit Velocity & Barrels A table displaying leaders in Statcast metrics such as Sweet Spot % (SwSp%), Barrels, Exit Velocity (EV), Batted Ball Distance (DST), Projected Home Run Distance (HR-DST), Launch Angle (LA) and Batted Ball Events (BBE) . Top 15 MLB Corner Outfielders for 2023 | Just Baseball As Mookie Betts enters his age-30 season, there is some expected decline in a few areas (fly ball rate increased but led to a lower ground ball EV/BABIP). Still, his elite on-base skills continue to increase his value in fantasy leagues, especially considering that he bats leadoff in one of the most explosive lineups in baseball. He leads all active outfielders in career assists with 134. Prep Baseball Report > Mississippi > News Not any more. In Game 6 of the 1971 World Series (the throw can be seen in the video around the 1:20 mark), Clemente unleashed a throw from deep in the right field corner towards third base, trying to nail the runner. Mike Trout's throwing arm used to be a weakness, but is now a strength Signed pitcher Zack Greinke to a one-year, $8.5 million contract. 2022 Offensive Stats: 592 PA, .235 . (And even that one, a force out at home plate, came back in 2015.). 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 40 shortstops By Geoff Pontes. A mainstay in Boston for nearly 20 years, Dwight Evans is the owner of eight Gold Glove awards and one of the best throwing arms of the 70's and 80's. But its also clear that it doesn't work for other positions. Remembered more for hitting four home runs in one game than anything else, Mark Whiten's throwing arm was a weapon that he often tried to hide. The Blue Jays traded Teoscar Hernandez to the Mariners this offseason, which should be a similar situation to the one he just left regarding young talent. Upon his arrival in Detroit, Colavito's arm was so good that it pushed another member of this list, Al Kaline, to center field for the 1960 season. With the score tied at three and Harold Reynolds on first, Seattle catcher Scott Bradley hit a double to left. In 2019, 24 players hit 30 home runs or more who qualified at outfield. Known primarily as a right fielder, a position he played for 1,283 games, Dawson patrolled center for the Montreal Expos in more than 1,000 games as well. Yet when Meusel had the ball in his hand, anyone who was still running the bases was a candidate to get picked off by one of his powerful throws. Evans had six seasons of at least 10 assists, and the 157 he has for his career leaves him tied with Andre Dawson. However, he can be a mid-round source of stolen bases either way. But it is best to exercise some caution and ensure you have outfield depth if you plan to roster him. Ranking third here is not a knock, just shows the depth at third base. The 30-year-old posted a 136 OPS+ with 40 doubles, 35 home runs, 82 RBI and an NL-leading 117 runs scored in 142 games. Some players have power, whereas Yordan Alvarez has POWER. He is a pure contact hitter who gets on base and isn't afraid to run (19-for-24 in SB attempts). A lot of things went wrong for Giancarlo Stanton in 2022. Five years later, Acua is a three-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year Award winner, and a World Series winner. The Bulldogs and Sooners are joined by California (which is off to a strong 6-1 start) and Ohio State (a . MLB Power Rankings: The 25 Best Outfield Arms in MLB History His throwing arm used to be a relative weakness. 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. The Cubs surprisingly held onto him at the trade deadline despite significant interest, and he now enters a contract year looking to build off his breakout performance. Furillo picked up the ball and fired a strike to Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges, beating Queen to the bag by two feet. The first of which registered. He should also get to move back to the infield and play 1B now that Jose Abreu is in Houston. USA TODAY Sports photo. Corbin Carroll mashed his way through the minor league system and arrived in Arizona for his debut in 2022. Theres a lot of lobs and non-competitive throws. 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. Brandon Nimmo was a 5-WAR player for the first time in his career in 2022, just in time to test the free agency waters. Right here, at the Baseball Savant leaderboards, as well as on appropriate player pages. You know what you're getting. In his fourth year in the league, Randy Arozarena hit 20 HR, knocking in 89 and scoring 72 while stealing 32 bases. Carroll's upside is in the 30/30 range, and he should have no trouble sticking as the everyday centerfielder with his plus-defense. The talent is enormous but now, at age 33, the injury concerns continue to grow as well. Nicknamed the "Reading Rifle," Furillo led all outfielders in assists in 1951 with 24, and he has 151 for his career. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. 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. Those who did generally failed in their attempt to take an extra base, and Puckett finished his career gunning down 142 men on base. Ten MLB breakout predictions for 2023: Jim Bowden's hitters and While Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is best remembered for Carlton Fisk's dramatic, game-winning and series-extending home run in the bottom of the 12th inning, Evans was responsible for turning a double play in the top of the 11th inning that made Fisk's heroics possible. One such metric is the number of outfield assists a player has recorded in their career. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. "I don't try to do too much. He was very muscular for an outfielder Plus he also had one of the best outfield arms of anybody. Oscar Gonzalez does not take walks. We dont have Statcast from the early days of his career, of course, but we do have articles from way back in 2014 titled Trout working hard to improve arm strength. In 2019, the L.A. Times detailed the work hed put into improving that relative weakness. Pittsburgh has a good long history of trading great players once they reach arbitration, so chances are that he will don a different uniform come Opening Day. A Batted Ball Event represents any batted ball that Jump is a Statcast metric that shows which players have on March 4, 2023. Pirates starting pitcher Mel Queen hit a fly ball into the gap between right and center. First, standing at home plate, he only needed three attempts to throw a ball over the center field wall, 410 feet away. A lifelong Dodger, Carl Furillo was a master at playing the tricky right field corner of Ebbets Field, becoming adept at fielding balls off of the 40-foot-high wall that loomed over him. velocity and launch angle. Kwan is in the 100th percentile of K% after striking out only 60 times in 638 plate appearances. As an outfielder, Sheffield racked up 108 assists for his career, including a career high 17 in 2001 when he patrolled left field for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His HR tally dropped from 34 to 14 and games played went from 132 to 96. Only a starter in four of the 11 seasons he played, Whiten ended his career with 77 assists, an impressive number when you figure that he was often a pinch-hitter or late-inning replacement. He doesn't make a lot of loud contact at the plate . How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in 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. But what goes unappreciated is the arm strength of baseball's workhorsesthe infielders. He finished his career with 109 assists, 61 of which came in a four-year period for the Philadelphia Phillies, from 1984 through 1987. His slash line was impressive at .284/.345/.509 with a wOBA of .366. Or is it because players with weaker arms are less likely to be allowed to play the left side in the first place? In three seasons, he only has 924 plate appearances, and fantasy managers have been left to wonder what it would look like if he got 600 appearances in one season. How much time, in seconds, it takes a runner to get from Some forget that before he was saving baseball with his bat, Babe Ruth was a heck of a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. For example, if you're an outfielder and they want you to improve your arm strength for a training period goal, you can pour spare points into arm strength even after meeting your goal;. Making a case for him to go 1.1 in 2023 drafts isn't difficult. Obviously. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight Who would have guessed an under-the-radar rookie who didn't crack Baseball America's Top 100 prospect list and ranked as the No. As MLB.com Tom's 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. Warm-up throws at 20-45feet Throws at 45 feet Warm-down throws 1 set only / Rest the next day. This year, thats all the way up to 90.7 mph, which is about 75th percentile among outfielders. He was big guy, very strong, very muscular. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will When Michael Harris II made his MLB debut on May 28, 2022, he was just a few months past his 21st birthday and had played just 43 games at the Double-A level, jumping over Triple-A entirely. His throwing arm, whether in use from a dead stop, a running start or from his knees, was a powerful weapon that kept baserunners honest. Headlined by three MVPs, our list of the best corner outfielders is a who's who of top-tier talent in Major League Baseball. Proportional frame w/ well developed strength and athleticism. The Major League average Pop Time on steal attempts of second base is 2.0 seconds . Week 1- First Day. Frelick also climbed three levels in his first full season, and the 2021 first . It is difficult to project significant development in outfielders' arm strength, but with a player with Buxton's athleticism, anything is possible. 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. The 31-year-old hit .283/.369/.630 for a 178 OPS+ while slugging 40 home runs in just 499 plate appearances, and his 6.3 WAR still ranked sixth among all American League players. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle Meusel finished his career with 157 assists, including a three-year period from 1921 through 1923 where he racked up 69. An intimidating physical presence standing 6'5" and weighing 235 pounds, Dave Parker only exacerbated things by walking around the field with a shotgun. Cobb's 392 outfield assists rank second all-time behind Speaker. A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a His 149 OPS+ ranked eighth among all qualified hitters and trailed only Aaron Judge (211) and Yordan lvarez (187) among outfielders. Rojas is the club's fourth-ranked prospect, and with a bit of fine-tuning. 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. He was unsuccessful, but the throw was tracked at 94.8 mph. the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the 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. Catch up on the Top 25 in 2022 series: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen, Shortstops, Third Basemen. 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. The former top prospect posted a 109 OPS+ with 23 doubles, 27 home runs, 74 RBI, 79 runs scored and 16 steals, and he was a Gold Glove finalist in right field in a 4.9-WAR season. 10 Players With The Strongest Arms In MLB | Tbones Baseball Ruth carried his strong pitching arm into the outfield, where he threw out 204 runners over the course of his career. A lot of his fantasy worth is tied up in whether or not he continues to bat at the top of the lineup. MLB.com lists Ramon Laureano (average 94.8, top 100.1) and Cody Bellinger (101.1 top) as two outfielders with some of the best arms in the league. as Active Spin. Of note, he increased his stolen bases, and this trend could continue in 2023 with the new baserunning rules. Harris should be a 20/20 guy for the foreseeable future, and he is surrounded in the lineup by guys who will boost his counting stats. Tris Speaker recorded no less than 12 assists from the outfield in 20 of the 22 years that he played, including three seasons with 30 or more and 12 seasons with at least 20, giving him a record that will likely never be broken449 career assists for an outfielder. Then during a throwing competition where competitors were given a six-step running start, Gorbous launched a ball 445 feet and 10 inches from the right field corner to left field, setting a world record that stands to this day. Mike Trout unleashed a throw from center field Monday night at Dodger Stadium that looked more . The other draws include his 27 homers and 16 stolen bases, something only J.T. Therein lies the problem, of course. 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. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out A three-time All-Star, Andy Van Slyke was one of the more underrated players in baseball during his career. In 2021, before he was injured, that went up to 88.2 mph. . "He has gained a lot of strength since his sophomore year. He falls into the "walk year" category, so he might outperform his projections. window.". Bob Quinn, former president of the Boston Braves and Boston Red Sox, had this to say when asked about Bob Meusel: "Meusel's arm was the best I ever saw. Mar 12, 2021. Were talking raw speed here, not accuracy. His ratios were down across the board, but he improved his K% and BB% and suffered from some bad luck with BABIP. Before last season, the fantasy community almost unanimously labeled him a second-year bust, but the 29-year-old responded by improving his slash line across the board. outfield. If you want to get to the fun stuff -- the leaderboards, and fun questions about them -- feel free to skip to the part about Oneil Cruz. He struggled with the Padres, slashing .236/.388/.390 with only six homers and 16 RBI in 52 games, but he also took a trip to the NLCS. 2. Now it's time to finalize those rankings while expanding the list to the 25 best at each position. Known primarily for his throwing arm, Glenn Wilson threw out 38 runners between 1985 and 1986, leading the league in assists each season. He hit 31 HR in 451 plate appearances with 78 RBI. The charges would later be dropped. Fantasy managers can deal with those considering he is above the 90th percentile in Avg EV, Max EV, HardHit%, barrel%, outs above avg, and sprint speed. While "The Catch" is unquestionably one of the great plays in the history of the game, the part of the play that is often overlooked is the throw that Willie Mays made immediately following it. He missed 52 games due to injury, and his BABIP was a career-low (by a lot) .227. 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 best player at the position was Ronald Acuna (.280 with 127 runs, 41 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 steals . Strength is only one aspect of what makes a great throwing arm. The tools are all there: Robert has good speed, reduced his strikeout rate in 2022, and his expected slash numbers will be helpful to fantasy squads. Yes, of course. He still has a microscopic walk rate, but he also took four points off his K%. 1) Oneil Cruz has to be the hardest-throwing shortstop, right? 2023 MLB Season Preview: Kansas City Royals - Battery Power and 32 degrees. His homers fell from 31 to 27 as a result, but he increased his runs and RBI by 11 each, and he stole 25 bases to boot. and bam, you're dead.". games / 5. Yankees fans like Frank Costanza had reason to be irate that the Bronx Bombers traded Jay Buhner to the Seattle Mariners for Ken Phelps back in 1988. M.J. Melendez debuted and appeared in 129 games in 2022, showing off his patience and power to the tune of 18 HR and a 12.4% BB rate. Partly because of time missed due to injury, largely because of his reputation, people generally don't try to run when Ankiel has the ball in his hand, which would help to explain how someone with that strong of an arm has never reached double-digit assists in any season as an outfielder.