mlb outfield arm strength rankings

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) . Julks was solid in 2021 but had a breakout season in 2022. 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. 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. 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). Zerby, a sophomore outfielder, hit .365 with 8 runs batted in and 8 stolen bases. In 2019, for example, Austin Meadows was the No. Remember though that depth of. player has saved over his peers. Realmuto can top at the position. 23. Default = Experts with most recent updates. pitch. A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a 25. Trout might be the best player to ever live when all is said and done, but for years, he was never really a five-tool player because his throwing arm wasnt really a strength. These are available back to 2020, that being when Hawk-Eye was installed in all 30 stadiums as the hardware that powers Statcast. Non-first base infielders get the average of the top 5% of their throws. Statcast defines a 'hard-hit ball' as one hit with an xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle The past two seasons, Phillips has amassed 21 outs above average while patrolling center and right field (seventh-most among outfielders last season with 11). Hes also, so far as Statcast is concerned, the owner of the strongest throwing arm in baseball this season -- or at least thats what being atop the newly released arm strength leaderboards for position players, available publicly for the first time, would imply. The Orioles seem dedicated to giving their prospects every opportunity to succeed, which boosts Mullins's value in the runs category. This will probably be the 26-year-old's last season with catcher eligibility, but in non-keeper leagues, he is a good asset. With runners on the corners and one out, Cardinals shortstop Luis Alicea hit a shot hurtling towards Van Slyke in center fieldone that was certainly deep enough to allow Jose Oquendo to tag up from third base. Would anyone be surprised to see him reclaim the No. 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. Take Tommy Edman, who has moved back and forth between both spots. Jump is a Statcast metric that shows which players have How far, in feet, a fielder or runner has traveled on a He contributed across all batting categories, slugging 28 HR with 75 RBI, 84 runs, and 25 stolen bases. Nicknamed "Muscles," Mantle's throws were both accurate and strong. Even with his torn UCL last season, he still slashed .286/.364/.514 and powered the Phillies to the World Series. He'll lope after a ball to see if he can get you to run, picks it up . He led the league with 17 assists in 1982, and has 166 for his career. . When you call Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth your teammates, you tend to get overlooked. 45-Foot Phase Activity Number ofThrows. But what goes unappreciated is the arm strength of baseball's workhorsesthe infielders. Some, obviously, but its not everything. Current: Warm-up throws at 20-45feet Throws at 45 feet Warm-down throws 1 set only / Rest the next day. Its that the demands of different positions are, well, different. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. Honestly, he doesn't take many pitches, period, as he sits in the first percentile in chase rate. His primary downfall when it comes to fantasy value is his 58.6% ground ball rate, which limits his HR and RBI totals. An All-Star for just the second time in his career, he slotted perfectly in the No. Glen Gorbous might actually have the greatest throwing arm in the history of the world, but because his incredible feats were primarily accomplished outside of game action, he finds himself closer to the bottom of the list. Mike Trout may have had the quietest 40-homer season in 2022. 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 It is difficult to project significant development in outfielders' arm strength, but with a player with Buxton's athleticism, anything is possible. The volume just hasn't been there to truly be a fantasy stud. Had he only been able to stay healthy, we could be talking about the greatest player in the history of the gamebefore he got injured, there was no better player in the game. Long toss is the commonly mentioned method to strengthening a baseball . Kris Bryant in Coors Field was supposed to be a party and instead, the guest of honor got plantar fasciitis and played in only 42 games for the entire year. In 1978, Cromartie and Valentine led the league in outfield assists with 24 apiece. Heres what his 43rd-hardest throw looks like its clearly one hes putting effort into. Critics may say that Judge often gets his assists from in-close because Yankee Stadium's right field is so small. 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. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle Fantasy managers just need to decide if they can ride out the 0-for-4 streaks. 1 prospect in baseball with the Red Sox in 2017, Benintendi never quite lived up to expectations in Boston, but he has set himself up for a nice free agency payday after a strong 2022 season. A lot of things went wrong for Giancarlo Stanton in 2022. "He was a leader offensively and defensively for us. Proving ineffective, the Blue Jays featured one of the worst defensive outfields in the majors last season, ranking 18th in Outs Above Average (-3) and 21st in Defensive Runs Saved (-6),. In total, he made 10 throws of 95-plus mph last season and had three throws of 300 feet or more. 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. Judge is the guy if fantasy managers want to shore up their slugging early. In 2020, his average on competitive throws was 86.6 mph, an almost exactly-average number. Arm strength is measured on "max effort" throws, or the average above a player's 90th percentile performance. He was one of only two qualified hitters with a strikeout rate below 10 percent, and he also won Gold Glove honors thanks to his brilliant defensive metrics (21 DRS, 8.4 UZR/150) in left field. Signed pitcher Aroldis Chapman to a one-year, $3.75 million contract. His arm strength is middling, but he makes good throws nonetheless. Its not that his arm suddenly got weaker on the right side of the infield, of course. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit player has saved over his peers. His 149 OPS+ ranked eighth among all qualified hitters and trailed only Aaron Judge (211) and Yordan lvarez (187) among outfielders. Some players have power, whereas Yordan Alvarez has POWER. 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. Seven times in his 23-year-career Yaz won a Gold Glove, and seven times he led outfielders in assists, including a career-high 19 in 1964. Which is a great lead-in to our next question . Given that there is no rulebook definition of "a throw where the player is trying hard," and many non-competitive lobs are captured, we have elected to take the average of the top portion of a player's throws. The best hitter on the Pittsburgh roster by a landslide in 2022, Reynolds led the team in OPS+ (126), hits (142), extra-base hits (50), home runs (27), RBI (62), runs scored (74) and total bases (250). 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%. That "throwing hard" is rarely a demand of the position is somewhat reflected in the leaderboards, which has many first basemen near the bottom. That's an average of like 5000 fewer innings than the people ahead of him on the list. 20. He even threw a ball 100.8 mph on April 21, though it didn't result in an assist. The four-category stud is worth a first-round pick. His slash line declined to .263/.327/.445, though that average is misleading as his expected was .234. Buxton played in only 92 games last year, 61 in 2021, 87 in 2019, and 28 in 2018. He only played in 119 games due to a rare and persistent back injury that will require more rest days going forward, even when healthy. Some forget that before he was saving baseball with his bat, Babe Ruth was a heck of a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. 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. As Reynolds was rounding third, Jackson unleashed a throw that not only reached Royals catcher Bob Boone on the fly, but in plenty of time to stop Reynolds from scoring the winning run. Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA). MLB average for right fielders is about 49 percent. Few rookies in recent memory have had a greater impact on the culture of their team than Julio Rodrguez, who played a pivotal role in helping the Seattle Mariners reach the postseason for the first time since Ichiro Suzuki's rookie season in 2001. 2022 Stats: 117 G, .261 BA/.374 OBP/.394 SLG, 19 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 53 RBI, 8 SB. George Springer continues to appear on the What Could Be All-Star Team after playing 133 games in 2022 while dealing with elbow and knee injuries that left him with many "DTD" tags. 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. His 10.6 WAR led all of baseball, as did his ridiculous 211 OPS+ meaning he was more than twice as productive as the average hitter. Van Slyke would finish his career with five Gold Gloves and 107 assists. able to make a catch on an individual batted ball. Run: 7.10 runner in the 60. For as powerful as his arm was, it was also prone to be erratic, and Parker committed his fair share of throwing errors, which is why he doesn't rank higher on our list. And I'm talking about strong arms, not merely accurate ones. Ruth carried his strong pitching arm into the outfield, where he threw out 204 runners over the course of his career. His first two throws fell just short. I Suzuki 2. 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. Signed to a four-year, $79 million deal during the offseason, Schwarber slugged an NL-leading 46 home runs in his first season with the Phillies. His K% (25.9) and BB% (7.1) need improvement, but at age 22, he has plenty of time to work on these numbers. How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. Lin features another true 70-grade arm that plays at that level in games and fits well in right field. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if we still had markakis in RF, but this is surprising. Just beware you'll probably get closer to 500 plate appearances than the preferred 600 with his injury history. Statcast position player arm strength metrics are available beginning with the 2020 season. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man. Mar 22, 2021. He falls into the "walk year" category, so he might outperform his projections. Then again, Hendersons throw got there about 11% faster. able to make a catch on an individual batted ball. He is above the 90th percentile in all of the power categories and sprint speed, and when he is on the field, he is a dynamic player who contributes mightily to fantasy teams. He hit 16 homers, his most since 2019, but he only stole 18 bases, a severe drop off from the 47 he snagged the year before. Here are the players who just missed the cut, listed alphabetically: Ronald Acua Jr., ATLMark Canha, NYMDylan Carlson, STLOscar Gonzalez, CLENick Gordon, MINTrent Grisham, SDLourdes Gurriel Jr., TORAustin Hays, BALTeoscar Hernndez, TORJake McCarthy, ARIChas McCormick, HOUChristopher Morel, CHCLars Nootbaar, STLJurickson Profar, SDLuis Robert, CWSAnthony Santander, BALMyles Straw, CLESeiya Suzuki, CHCMichael A. Taylor, KCTyrone Taylor, MILLane Thomas, WASTrayce Thompson, SD/LADAlex Verdugo, BOSMike Yastrzemski, SFChristian Yelich, MIL. He played parts of three seasons in the majors for the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, recording 10 assists in 70 games. He may suffer some of the typical rookie issues, but all signs point to a quick adjustment and solid fantasy production. Advanced arm strength, over-the-top arm action. A lot of 2023 draft boards will have Aaron Judge at the top of them, and there is no doubt he belongs there after his record-setting 2022. Byron Buxton staying healthy is the carrot dangling in front of fantasy managers every offseason. 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. You dont want to average all of those together, because so much of it just doesnt matter, and theres not exactly a rulebook definition for was trying. For Rodrguez, for example, he has over 430 tracked throws, but nearly 80% of them are under 80 mph. The talent is enormous but now, at age 33, the injury concerns continue to grow as well. 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. But in 1957, while playing for the Omaha Redbirds of the American Association, Gorbous made two ridiculous throws. window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. It's worth watching in Spring Training, and if he routinely bats behind Jose Ramirez, drop him in your rankings a bit as the counting stats will be affected. "[Those throws are] something that I do all natural," Acua said at the time. 1) Oneil Cruz has to be the hardest-throwing shortstop, right? Signed to a four-year, $78 million deal as part of the Mets' spending spree last offseason, Marte hit .292/.347/.468 with 45 extra-base hits, 18 steals and 3.8 WAR in 118 games. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Key West (2-0): The Conchs ended 2022 with a 22-7 record and were able to play with many of the . How far, in feet, a runner is ranging off the bag at the Perhaps most important of all, he played in a career-high 151 games, proving he can stay healthy for a full season after injuries had significantly limited him in 2019 (69 games) and 2021 (92 games). 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. Arm: RH. Ranking third here is not a knock, just shows the depth at third base. the ERA scale, A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed Hendersons throw was clocked at 85.2 mph, and took 0.87 of a second to reach first base. How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. 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. and bam, you're dead.". How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. 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. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. Speaker refused, worked like a maniac to rehab the arm, and not only went on to become a Hall of Fame player and one of the greatest center fielders to ever play the game, but to have one of the best throwing arms that the game has ever seen. It's possible they leave him in the 2-slot, especially until Bryce Harper returns, in which case he will continue to score runs and increase his RBI total. The Venezuela native surged three levels in his age-18 season, showing off plus power and 70-grade speed on his way to becoming the No. Reynolds hit 27 HR and slashed .262/.345/.461 and yet scored 74 runs and knocked in only 62. Teammate Bob Meusel had a better arm than the Babe, but Ruth wasn't far behind. Current: It's useful for me because it allows me to see who the fans consider to be the best throwing outfielders. Pittsburgh Pirates coach Rich Donnelly explains: ""He eggs you on. produces a result. 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. Clemente has more outfield assists than anyone who played after 1930 (I believe this was the year where they made the rule that you were allowed to run instead of speed-walk on the basepaths). Heres all of 2022s Braves. 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. The Major League average Pop Time on steal attempts of second base is 2.0 seconds . 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. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images, Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Three times he registered 20 or more assists in a season. Based on three separate categories (Release, Strength and Accuracy) here are the owners of the top outfield in 2005 according to the fans: Top-Ranked Outfield Arms, Fans' Scouting Report 1. 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. The No. pitch. He is exactly the type of guy you wait for once you've built up your other categories. 14. Harris, 2022's No. 27 prospect in the Cleveland organization would finish as one of the 10 best outfielders in baseball? That doesn't happen without Furillo's play. Luis Mieses OF (Prev. Where do you draft the superstar who will only play half the season at most? After injuries limited him to just 78 games in his first season with the Blue Jays, Springer bounced back with a 131 OPS+ in 133 games while earning his fourth career All-Star selection. But its also clear that it doesn't work for other positions. 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. 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. Guys who could throw, suddenly can't throw.". He leads all active outfielders in career assists with 134. 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. Were talking raw speed here, not accuracy. 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. How hard, in miles per hour, a pitch is thrown. Buhner merely went on to hit more than 300 home runs and become one of the most beloved Mariners of all-time. If anyone needs a change of scenery in order to maximize his talent, Bryan Reynolds is that guy. Youd think measuring throwing arm strength would be easy. In 2022, thats down again, to 76 mph. thrown with. Jump is a Statcast metric that shows which players have Mays fired the ball back into the infieldby his own admission, he had no idea where the ball was goingbut it stopped Al Rosen from advancing to second base and, more importantly, stopped Larry Doby from scoring, forcing him back to third base. After accumulating 35 assists in his first two seasons, baserunners simply chose not to try and advance when Puckett had the ball in his hand. Reports also surfaced that he had turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from Washington, and soon, the HR Derby winner headed to San Diego with expectations as big as the contract he turned down. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was How quickly a player can get the ball from glove to hand and on its way can sometimes make up for a deficiency in arm strength. At his current ADP of 129, he is an absolute steal, even taking into account that he won't play 150 games. A lot of his fantasy worth is tied up in whether or not he continues to bat at the top of the lineup. In 2019, 24 players hit 30 home runs or more who qualified at outfield. Sure but mostly on relays home from the outfield, or sometimes on double play attempts. The bad news for Nick Castellanos was a 46-point drop in his batting average in 2022. 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. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle Laureano is looking to bounce back after a rough 2020 season in which he hit just .213 with a .704 OPS. The Phillies will score in bunches, and Schwarber may have multi-position eligibility, depending on your league, which is not a bad fantasy asset to have at all as long as you can absorb the batting average. With a seasoned Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson in front of him, Santander will fill your power categories in the tenth round or so. 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? Steamer projections have him hitting another 40 and maybe crossing the century mark on runs and RBI if anyone aside from Shohei Ohtani shows up to play in L.A. 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. 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. Soto is worth every penny of a top draft pick. How hard, in miles per hour, a pitch is thrown. Colavito recorded double digit assists in eight of the 14 seasons in which he playedfive of which he played in 79 games or less due to injury. Cobb's 392 outfield assists rank second all-time behind Speaker. velocity and launch angle. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will He is a top OBP guy and his ratios have one of the highest floors in baseball. Expect him to be one of the faces of baseball for the next decade-plus and a strong contender for the No. He played at least 50 innings at six different positions and hit .281/.394/.379 with 27 extra-base hits and a 12.8 percent walk rate in 126 games, posting a 4.1-WAR season that earned him a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. Theres a lot of lobs and non-competitive throws. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as 12 finisher at outfield on the strength of a .291 average, 33 homers, 83 runs, 89 RBI, and 12 steals. Not only was it probably the better part of 300 feet, it was dead on line and in the air the whole way.". "Jarrett is a speedy, defensive outfielder with a good arm and high baseball IQ," Swillum said. . it's a tough call between Clemente and Whiten.". Mar 12, 2021. Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst, who both played and managed against Roberto Clemente, gave Whiten's throwing arm the ultimate compliment: "As far as arm strength goes . Bob Forsch, a teammate of his with the Cardinals, remembered Reggie's arm: "It was FUN being on the same team as he was. His 126 career assists include six consecutive seasons of 10 or more, from 1999 through 2004. How far, in feet, a runner is ranging off the bag at the 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. outfield. 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. One of his most remarkable assists came in the top of the third inning of a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers on August 27, 1951. For a pitcher it is the average of his softest 50% of batted balls allowed. It only took two years for the American League to learn that you can't run on Kirby Puckett, a 10-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove award winner. Fantasy managers are scared because of injury risk or age, but Stanton is going to mash. It's understandable that fantasy managers who drafted him thinking they secured a 30/30 guy were disappointed at the end of the season. window.". 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. All rights reserved. [My arm strength] is just something natural.". It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man.". Potentially ever, though we certainly cant go back through history here to see how hard Shawon Dunston or whatever shortstop of your choice might have thrown. Traded outfielder Michael A. Taylor to the Twins for pitchers Steven Cruz and Evan Zisk. He also posted well-above-average defensive metrics (5 DRS, 19.7 UZR/150) in left field, which makes it much easier to justify including him in these rankings. In traditional 5x5 leagues, Garcia can provide value from the fifth round on. window.". 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.

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