He batted leadoff 64 times, indicating the Royals are dedicated to getting him plate appearances in front of Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez. player has saved over his peers. Long toss is the commonly mentioned method to strengthening a baseball . He may suffer some of the typical rookie issues, but all signs point to a quick adjustment and solid fantasy production. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. 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. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. Any infielder. Buxton has essentially played one full season's worth of games over the past two years, posting a 150 OPS+ with 47 home runs and 8.5 WAR in 153 games since the start of 2021. When you walk around calling yourself "El Caon" (translation: the cannon) and you tell Maryann Hudson of the LA Times, "I don't know why they keep running on methey know I'm going to throw them out"only a month into your rookie seasonyou'd better be able to back that up in the field. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. Exit Velocity & Barrels. The respect that his arm commands explains why he has only 97 career assists, a relatively low number for a man with such a powerful weapon at his disposal. He'll lope after a ball to see if he can get you to run, picks it up . Daulton Vasho has catcher eligibility, which is one of the primary draws to him being drafted in the 40-50 range. Mlb Outfield Arm Strength Rankings There is no definitive answer when it comes to ranking MLB outfielders by arm strength, but there are a few metrics that can be used to make an educated guess. If you want to understand how it all works stay right here. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second 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. Let's dive into the top 25 outfielders of the 2022 season. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out To qualify for inclusion, a player simply had to have at least 200 plate appearances. 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. With 305 total bases he was one of just 12 players to break the 300 mark during the 2022 season, joining Aaron Judge (391) as the only outfielders on that exclusive list. His ratios were down across the board, but he improved his K% and BB% and suffered from some bad luck with BABIP. 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. Take Boston second baseman Trevor Story, who had been a very good shortstop with Colorado, and may yet be again if Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts chooses to opt out this winter and depart. Top Major-League Arm: Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals) All-Time Tool: Jesse Barfield 27 prospect in the Cleveland organization would finish as one of the 10 best outfielders in baseball? Now it's time to finalize those rankings while expanding the list to the 25 best at each position. Some of them might just have weak arms, which is why they're at first base in the first place. There may be many ways to arrive at a logical ranking of outfield throwing arms, but assists minus double plays is telling. 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). "[Those throws are] something that I do all natural," Acua said at the time. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will games / 5. Fantasy managers just need to decide if they can ride out the 0-for-4 streaks. 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. 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. With the Montreal Expos, Valentine was part of a young, talented outfield that included Warren Cromartie and Andre Dawson. "He was a leader offensively and defensively for us. He famously broke the A.L. In order to qualify for the Greene played well in center field, finishing in the 71st percentile in Outs Above Average, 67th percentile in arm strength and 75th percentile in outfielder jump, according to Statcast. He even threw a ball 100.8 mph on April 21, though it didn't result in an assist. 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. He was very muscular for an outfielder Plus he also had one of the best outfield arms of anybody. Baltimore Orioles. Not that his arm is weak by any means but it is not his strongest point.". 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. Soto is worth every penny of a top draft pick. velocity and launch angle. Ken Griffey Jr. is one player you look at and bemoan "Had he only been able to stay healthy". From 1998 through 2002, Bobby Abreu racked up 59 assists patrolling right field for the Philadelphia Phillies. . 25. At the end of the day, he is still Mike Trout, for better or worse. 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. Were talking raw speed here, not accuracy. 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. Some, though, might just not have had the opportunity elsewhere to show it. . window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. His EV and HardHit% certainly showed no signs of slowing down, and he remains an on-base machine batting at the top of a fearsome lineup. window.". Therein lies the problem, of course. You can see video of the play here (the actual play starts around the 40 second mark). The umpire called the runner safe, but it was a bad callClemente's throw beat him to the bag, and it wasn't close. the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the One of baseball's legendary figures and the greatest switch hitter who ever lived, Mickey Mantle's defense and rocket of an arm are often overshadowed by his offensive numbers. The Diamondbacks traded Varsho to the Blue Jays in the offseason; Rogers Centre should support another 25-HR, 15-SB season and he could see a bump in runs and RBI with the better lineup around him. Current: 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. Meusel finished his career with 157 assists, including a three-year period from 1921 through 1923 where he racked up 69. 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. Then again, Hendersons throw got there about 11% faster. 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. Of note, he increased his stolen bases, and this trend could continue in 2023 with the new baserunning rules. Proportional frame w/ well developed strength and athleticism. 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. Zerby, a sophomore outfielder, hit .365 with 8 runs batted in and 8 stolen bases. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man.". window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. Varsho split his time between right field (541.2 innings), center field (378.2 innings) and catcher (175.0 innings) as one of the more unique utility players in the sport. Even with his torn UCL last season, he still slashed .286/.364/.514 and powered the Phillies to the World Series. The 21-year-old earned an All-Star selection, won Silver Slugger honors, finished seventh in AL MVP voting, and easily took home the AL Rookie of the Year Award. 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. How much time, in seconds, it takes a runner to get from Throughout the year, we released monthly updates to our position-by-position power rankings, selecting the top 10 players at each spot. 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. Its hard to think its entirely about Storys move to the right side. Showcasing the Arm Younger players rarely have the opportunity to play in stadiums where statcast tracks their every move. It's understandable that fantasy managers who drafted him thinking they secured a 30/30 guy were disappointed at the end of the season. and 32 degrees. If anyone needs a change of scenery in order to maximize his talent, Bryan Reynolds is that guy. 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. The Coors effect isn't going to bring the 31-year-old back near his prime, but he should put up better numbers in 2023 and recently stated he would be ready to go for Spring Training. Mar 22, 2021. 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. A finger injury derailed his season, but he finished the year strong. 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. Advanced arm strength, over-the-top arm action. On the home-to-first leaderboards, the same gap -- between truly elite speed and a catcher with bad knees -- is all of 1.23 seconds. The other draws include his 27 homers and 16 stolen bases, something only J.T. Another outfield prospect the Cardinals traded away before he broke out, Garca had a 31-homer rookie season in 2021, but he was a more well-rounded offensive player this season. In his age-29 season, he played 155 games, led the NL in home runs with 46, scored 100 runs, drove in 94, and stole 10 bases. Let's freeze the play to show you exactly what we mean: If you check out the pop time leaderboards, the gap between absolute best and dead last is just 0.28 seconds. leaderboard, a player must have more Two-Star opportunities than team 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. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement He falls into the "walk year" category, so he might outperform his projections. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as 5) Wait, is Mike Trout actually improving at yet another thing? Where do you draft the superstar who will only play half the season at most? Those who did generally failed in their attempt to take an extra base, and Puckett finished his career gunning down 142 men on base. Current: In his fourth year in the league, Randy Arozarena hit 20 HR, knocking in 89 and scoring 72 while stealing 32 bases. To get past that, the averages work like this. First, standing at home plate, he only needed three attempts to throw a ball over the center field wall, 410 feet away. Outfielders with strong throwing arms not only result in outs, but they make the opposition think twice about even trying to run when they have the ball in their hands. Just make sure you have enough IL slots. The 26-year-old and his new found power led the Astros system with 31 HR in 130 games, all coming in Triple-A. Van Slyke would finish his career with five Gold Gloves and 107 assists. become a hit. His K% (25.9) and BB% (7.1) need improvement, but at age 22, he has plenty of time to work on these numbers. On the other hand, those 40 HR and .347 ISO probably won some leagues last year for patient managers who could ride out the injuries. Baseball may never see another player as smooth at the "catch-and-throw" than Al Kaline. Heres what his 43rd-hardest throw looks like. High effort on throws, accurate. He is not projected to be quite as much of a disaster in 2023 - his HR total should creep back above 20 instead of 13 - but a 20/70/70/5 guy with a .260 batting average and low OBP isn't someone you have to reach for in a draft. Signed pitcher Aroldis Chapman to a one-year, $3.75 million contract. And a tenth of a second really doesn't sound like very much. But at the end of the day, fantasy managers are drafting him for his elite speed and ability to steal bases, a skill that may get even better depending on how the new baserunning rules play out. At the end of his breakout season, Justin Dirden felt fatigued. Once he had the ball in his hand, anyone who was still running on the bases was a candidate to be thrown out. Or he could clog your IL for two-thirds of the season. Meet Pete Crow-Armstrong, whom the Mets selected with their first pick. BY Justin Leger -. "He has gained a lot of strength since his sophomore year. A three-time All-Star, Andy Van Slyke was one of the more underrated players in baseball during his career. He is near the bottom of the league in K%, Whiff%, BB%, and chase rate. For a pitcher it is the average of his softest 50% of batted balls allowed. Back in 2017, a then-19-year-old Ronald Acua Jr. appeared in Miami at the Futures Game. Three times he registered 20 or more assists in a season. That's an average of like 5000 fewer innings than the people ahead of him on the list. attempt. A .230/.305/.388 career hitter in 534 plate appearances entering the 2022 season, Ward was one of the year's biggest surprises. The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in His throwing arm used to be a relative weakness. His HR tally dropped from 34 to 14 and games played went from 132 to 96. Remembered more for his involvement in the Black Sox Scandal and alleged throwing of the 1919 World Series, Jackson routinely picked off baserunners from the outfield, racking up 183 career assists, including 90 in a three-year span from 1911 through 1913. No player had a stronger arm in the 1990's than Vladimir Guerrero. 6 yr. ago. For Rodrguez, thats 43 throws. 8 prospect in the game. 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. ), But the counterbalance to that is looking at a handful of infielders who have played on both sides of the bag just this season. Judge is the guy if fantasy managers want to shore up their slugging early. 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. 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. It will be very important to keep track of where Happ is batting in the revamped Cubs lineup. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit Buxton played in only 92 games last year, 61 in 2021, 87 in 2019, and 28 in 2018. as Active Spin. 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? 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. outfield. The "Free Kyle Tucker" movement didn't garner the momentum fantasy managers were hoping for as he continued to bat in the sixth spot way too often. Some forget that before he was saving baseball with his bat, Babe Ruth was a heck of a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Heres third basemen for 2021. How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was He is a pure contact hitter who gets on base and isn't afraid to run (19-for-24 in SB attempts). From 1956 until he retired in 1964, he only threw out 32, due largely in part to the injury. Here are Justin Leger's top 20 outfielders for the upcoming season. In regards to the two plays in the video, former St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus had this to say about the second one: "I didn't think there was a play, to be perfectly honest. 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;. Corey Julks. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. Remember though that depth of. pitch. 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. Traded shortstop Adalberto Mondesi to the Red Sox for pitcher Josh Taylor. Players in the National League knew that Clemente could throw anyone out from anywhere in the ballpark, yet 266 of them feebly tried to advance on his powerful right arm, also known as "El Howitzer.". 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. He missed time in the middle of the season with a finger injury he incurred while stealing a base, or he would have probably joined the 30/30 Club. How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. He leads all active outfielders in career assists with 134. Daulton Varsho - 4.6 fWAR. Current: It's baffling why baserunners still try and advance on Jeff Francoeur. 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. He might be an empty batting average/OBP player, though, so don't expect much more than 15 HR if you pick him. Dave Winfield's throwing arm was so powerful that simply warming up in the outfield was a dangerous proposition. He batted third or fourth for most of 2022, but his skillset reads like a No. with a 90% Catch Probability or lower. 6) Do first basemen really ever have to throw hard? What Gonzalez weirdly does well is make contact, as his K% is 20, and he deploys this skill in the enviable position of batting directly behind Jose Ramirez. MLB average for right fielders is about 49 percent. One such metric is the number of outfield assists a player has recorded in their career. Solid . Consistent at the plate as well as in the field, Van Slyke spent his formative years patrolling the middle of the outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates, between Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds. It's a risky proposition, but the payoff could be incredible. 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. His average arm strength on max-effort throws was 97.9 mph, making him the top right fielder -- the position with the strongest arms, with a league average of 90.5 mph. 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. He should rack up the RBIs batting in the middle of that order, and he may creep back toward the 30-HR mark as well. Statcast position player arm strength metrics are available beginning with the 2020 season. Byron Buxton staying healthy is the carrot dangling in front of fantasy managers every offseason. 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. Five years later, Acua is a three-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year Award winner, and a World Series winner. window.". Van Slyke unleashed a throw to Pirates catcher Mike LaValliere that arrived in time to nail Oquendo, who was blocked from the plate by LaValliere's left leg long enough for the catcher to apply the tag. Guys who could throw, suddenly can't throw.". Outfielders can get a running start, preparing for a long throw. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will Not only is he still a very good hitter at the age of 38, but when Ichiro throws the ball from right field it still comes out of his hand like a laser beam. If you can stomach the idea of spending a high-round draft pick on an injury risk with a high ceiling, Robert could be a steal. He played in 142 games in 2022, batting first in the lineup in all of them. Aaron Judge put together one of the greatest offensive seasons in MLB history in 2022, setting the AL record with 62 home runs while making a legitimate run at the Triple Crown by hitting .311/.425/.686 with 131 RBI and 133 runs scored. So the answer here might really be more than one answer, in that infielders who spend times on both sides of second base seem to throw harder from the left side, and Story might best be served as a second baseman going forward. Suzuki struggled to adjust to the different levels of pitching, but he is a prime candidate for a bounceback season. Just beware that his numbers might look much closer to 2021 than 2022. The 25-year-old hit .306/.406/.613 for a gaudy 187 OPS+ that trailed only Aaron Judge among all players, tallying 29 doubles, 37 home runs, 97 RBI and 95 runs scored in 135 games for a 6.8-WAR season. Buhner also played solid defense in right field and his cannon of a throwing arm gunned down 100 baserunners, including 48 from 1991 through the strike-shortened season of 1994. He finished his career with one Gold Glove award and 117 assists, largely in part to the fact that nobody was crazy enough to try running on him after awhile. 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. How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was I Suzuki 2. On Saturday . Jake McCarthy is a vessel for stolen bases in the later rounds of drafts. After Ichiro, Francoeur has the best throwing arm in baseball today. What a strong throwing arm does, mostly, is make things happen faster. the ERA scale, A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed play. 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. Whether or not you draft Luis Robert depends entirely on how risk-averse you are to injuries. Let them. The No. It only continues to get better, as about half of these prospects below have a good shot to earn consistent playing time this upcoming season. White Sox first baseman Jos Abreu has about the same number of tracked throws as Rodrguez does. window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. It was his hardest throw in nearly three calendar years. Just beware you'll probably get closer to 500 plate appearances than the preferred 600 with his injury history. 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. 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. A lot of things went wrong for Giancarlo Stanton in 2022. 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. It is difficult to predict what effect the new running rules will have on his SB total, but fantasy managers can safely count on 10-15 in this area. Yes, of course. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out Default = Experts with most recent updates. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter.