For example, lets take two somewhat similar plays. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will Fantasy managers just need to decide if they can ride out the 0-for-4 streaks. One such metric is the number of outfield assists a player has recorded in their career. The stolen bases are most likely gone forever, but he could pair nicely with a speed guy from Round 1. Statcast position player arm strength metrics are available beginning with the 2020 season. 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. 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. It was his hardest throw in nearly three calendar years. 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. 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. He played parts of three seasons in the majors for the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, recording 10 assists in 70 games. 6) Do first basemen really ever have to throw hard? 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. 1 / 20. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight The outfield will be the foundation of many fantasy teams in 2021. Home Run record with 62, scoring 133 runs, driving in 131, and stealing 16 bases to boot. But its also clear that it doesn't work for other positions. At the time his throw slapped into first baseman Ryan Mountcastle's glove, Longoria's throw was still 15 feet away from his own first baseman, Wilmer Flores. He doesn't make a lot of loud contact at the plate . Current: Heres what his 43rd-hardest throw looks like its clearly one hes putting effort into. 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. 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. Some of them might just have weak arms, which is why they're at first base in the first place. USA TODAY Sports photo. MLB Power Rankings: Vladimir Guerrero and the 12 Deadliest Outfield Arms Josh Benjamin January 30, 2011 If there's one weapon every baseball team has, it's an outfielder with a cannon for. Furillo picked up the ball and fired a strike to Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges, beating Queen to the bag by two feet. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. Now it's time to finalize those rankings while expanding the list to the 25 best at each position. 2. level 2. No, I'm a California resident looking for the California Consumer Privacy Act form. Early 2023 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings: Top 30 offers an abundance of power-speed bats, but also risk You may think a top 30 only scratches the surface, but outfield thins quickly The 27-year-old struck out 156 times in 586 at-bats while drawing only 46 free passes; if you believe it, these were improved numbers from 2021. Fantasy managers can expect a course correction in 2023, somewhere in the vicinity of 30+ HR, 110+ RBI, and an elite .400+ OBP. The immortal Vin Scully put it best: "Clemente could field the ball in New York, and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania.". 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? Back in 2017, a then-19-year-old Ronald Acua Jr. appeared in Miami at the Futures Game. Therein lies the problem, of course. In 2019, 24 players hit 30 home runs or more who qualified at outfield. 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. The 27-year-old is miscast as a center fielder (-14 DRS, -3.2 UZR/150) and that undercut his overall value a bit. And I'm talking about strong arms, not merely accurate ones. 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. This Eaton is a speedy infielder who seems more useful in the outfield, where he can leverage his range and strong arm into GIF-worthy plays. It's a risky proposition, but the payoff could be incredible. 2022 Stats: 117 G, .261 BA/.374 OBP/.394 SLG, 19 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 53 RBI, 8 SB. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit Luis Mieses OF (Prev. Flexibility, mechanics and total-body strength are key factors coaches and trainers stress in order to increase arm strength. In 2020, Story averaged 82.3 mph as a Rockies shortstop -- a good-not-great number, slightly below average for shortstops. He hits the ball with great power, ranking in the 92nd percentile in maxEV. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second 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. 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. BY Justin Leger -. 13-ranked prospect. There is a lot to love about O'Neill in fantasy formats, but there is a lot to question as well. -- Sarah Langs In 118 games, he slashed .292/.347/.468, buoying the ratios for fantasy managers in roto leagues. In early September, he tried to throw out Jose Altuve, who was tagging up on a sacrifice fly. The 25-year-old outfielder hit everything in sight at Double-A Corpus Christi, slashing .324/.411/.616 with 20 home runs in 93 games . Anything below 88mph is considered 0. The 26-year-old and his new found power led the Astros system with 31 HR in 130 games, all coming in Triple-A. Current: A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as 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. Pirates starting pitcher Mel Queen hit a fly ball into the gap between right and center. Signed pitcher Zack Greinke to a one-year, $8.5 million contract. The 25-year-old hit .298/.373/.400 with more walks (62) than strikeouts (60) while adding 89 runs scored and 19 steals. Corbin Carroll mashed his way through the minor league system and arrived in Arizona for his debut in 2022. The open event saw prospects from across the state of Mississippi perform in front of several college coaches, and the Prep Baseball Report Mississippi scouting staff. He once again tallied more walks (135) than strikeouts (96). player has saved over his peers. Ramon Laureano, Oakland Athletics. With the Montreal Expos, Valentine was part of a young, talented outfield that included Warren Cromartie and Andre Dawson. He hit 11 homers, stole 18 bases, and slashed .283/.312/.403 in 153 games. The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in Steven Kwan put together a 5.5-WAR debut season with an old school game built on contact ability, speed and defense. How hard, in miles per hour, a pitch is thrown. The fact that Dave Roberts might deploy him enough at 2B to give him that eligibility is just icing. As for Vlad, well he only had 13,000 innings. 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. On Aug. 21, Giants veteran Evan Longoria had to do the exact same thing, to make a throw of 100 feet from third to first. Dave Winfield's throwing arm was so powerful that simply warming up in the outfield was a dangerous proposition. 2. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. One answer to that is in the context of his new position; 76 mph is one of the weakest marks of any regular second baseman. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight While the outfielders are chewing grass and staring at the girl behind the dugout, infielders have. Heres what his 43rd-hardest throw looks like. At the end of his breakout season, Justin Dirden felt fatigued. in "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second Up to you. In total, he made 10 throws of 95-plus mph last season and had three throws of 300 feet or more. 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. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second How far, in feet, a runner is ranging off the bag at the Here are Justin Leger's top 20 outfielders for the upcoming season. Zerby, a sophomore outfielder, hit .365 with 8 runs batted in and 8 stolen bases. His Statcast suggests a propensity to strike out but every other metric is promising for Ward to be a solid roster add, especially in leagues with five outfielders. Three times he registered 20 or more assists in a season. A lot of his fantasy worth is tied up in whether or not he continues to bat at the top of the lineup. Its been well over a year since his last 80 mph+ throw, much of which he spent at shortstop; Arizonas Ketel Marte, comparatively, has six such throws just this month. Ugly defensive metrics (-15 DRS, -17.7 UZR/150) and the fact that he was essentially a platoon player (57 PA vs. LHP) kept Pederson from ranking any higher, but he was a terrific bargain on a one-year, $6 million deal. 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. His arm strength is middling, but he makes good throws nonetheless. 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. How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was He played one year of baseball for the school, but it was during a football game that his left arm was injured to the point that doctors gave serious consideration to amputating it. Or is it because players with weaker arms are less likely to be allowed to play the left side in the first place? 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. Really, unless you are playing in a stolen base premium league, Alvarez offers little downside heading into 2023. The best player at the position was Ronald Acuna (.280 with 127 runs, 41 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 steals . His K% (25.9) and BB% (7.1) need improvement, but at age 22, he has plenty of time to work on these numbers. Making a case for him to go 1.1 in 2023 drafts isn't difficult. From 1949 through 1956, Snider threw out 82 baserunners. 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. His ratios were down across the board, but he improved his K% and BB% and suffered from some bad luck with BABIP. 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. From 2000 through 2004, Edmonds tallied at least 10 assists a season, and he finished with 131 for his career. With a seasoned Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson in front of him, Santander will fill your power categories in the tenth round or so. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. 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. 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. 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. In order to qualify for the A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as in "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second Honestly, he doesn't take many pitches, period, as he sits in the first percentile in chase rate. Another year, another pile of accolades for Mookie Betts who won his fifth Silver Slugger, sixth Gold Glove and made his sixth trip to the All-Star Game in the third season of a 12-year, $365 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first half of 2022 found him in a terrible lineup, so opposing pitchers walked him 95 times in 436 plate appearances. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Every one, that is, except Story. 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. Rojas is the club's fourth-ranked prospect, and with a bit of fine-tuning. On the left side, its higher: 81.5 mph on average, maxing out at 84.9 mph. . He is a pure contact hitter who gets on base and isn't afraid to run (19-for-24 in SB attempts). No one, I mean no one, runs on him.". 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. Week 1- First Day. From 1986 through 1991, Snyder led the league in assists with a total of 61. Phelps would only play poorly in parts of two seasons in the Bronx. play. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle . All rights reserved. Defensively, he is a great player. 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. It's useful for me because it allows me to see who the fans consider to be the best throwing outfielders. In 1985 alone, Barfield doubled up eight runners, to go with his 133 . Mar 22, 2021. + Allen Williams, LHP/OF, Cleveland Central, 2019 What a strong throwing arm does, mostly, is make things happen faster. More often than not, your eyes will not be deceived by what is displayed on a throw. Would anyone be surprised to see him reclaim the No. Going back to 2015, he has two of the three hardest throws ever tracked by an infielder. With the score tied at three and Harold Reynolds on first, Seattle catcher Scott Bradley hit a double to left. 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. The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in . velocity and launch angle. the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the 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. How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. 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. one base to another, like Home To First. His strikeout rate crept above 30% for the first time since his rookie year. of his glove and to the base on a stolen base or pickoff 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. 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. 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. Arm Strength (ARM) Definition Arm Strength is defined as the maximum velocity of any throw made by a fielder -- with the max velocity always being at the release point, due to physics. of his glove and to the base on a stolen base or pickoff The Bulldogs and Sooners are joined by California (which is off to a strong 6-1 start) and Ohio State (a . Julks was solid in 2021 but had a breakout season in 2022. ), Slice and dice them as you like. If strikeouts count against you in your league, then you might want to stay clear of Adolis Garcia. He hit 31 HR in 451 plate appearances with 78 RBI. The best outfield arm of the 80's, Barfield led the league in outfield assists five times, including three years straight from 1985 through 1987. 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. pitch. 23. 9. The Frisco Classic is one of college baseball's premier early-season tournaments year-in and year-out, and this year's field is strong as usual, headlined by 2021 national champion Mississippi State and 2022 national runner-up Oklahoma. Advanced arm strength, over-the-top arm action. OF-95 mph. 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. This will probably be the 26-year-old's last season with catcher eligibility, but in non-keeper leagues, he is a good asset. His primary downfall when it comes to fantasy value is his 58.6% ground ball rate, which limits his HR and RBI totals. and 32 degrees. It can be used to evaluate outfielders on attempted assists, catchers on stolen base and pickoff throws, and infielders on throws across the diamond. (Those downsides are only injury concerns (he played in 135 games last year), and his outfield eligibility will probably expire after this season.) The deal to acquire him from the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2020 season in exchange for prospect Matthew Liberatore looks like a major win. Evans had six seasons of at least 10 assists, and the 157 he has for his career leaves him tied with Andre Dawson. The shortstop position has become one of the deepest and most talented positions in fantasy baseball over the last decade. First, standing at home plate, he only needed three attempts to throw a ball over the center field wall, 410 feet away. From 1956 until he retired in 1964, he only threw out 32, due largely in part to the injury. 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. MLB Advanced Media, LP. 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. 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. Its hard to think its entirely about Storys move to the right side. Known primarily for his throwing arm, Glenn Wilson threw out 38 runners between 1985 and 1986, leading the league in assists each season. Fantasy managers are scared because of injury risk or age, but Stanton is going to mash. A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a On Saturday . His xwOBA and xSLG are both near the 90th percentile, and he hit particularly well at Camden Yards in spite of the extended left field fence. Laureano is looking to bounce back after a rough 2020 season in which he hit just .213 with a .704 OPS. 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. The 30-year-old posted a 126 OPS+ with 29 home runs and 72 RBI, and he had 11 outfield assists in a career-high 2.7-WAR season. Van Slyke would finish his career with five Gold Gloves and 107 assists. 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. ", In discussing the effects of PED's on players with Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press, Barfield noted the biggest problem that taking PED's has on an outfielder: "They can't get the arm up over the top because of how the muscles are built up. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to 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. Acuna should return to his former self with the extra time post-surgery. Mike Trout is finally a 5-tool player. Etc., etc., etc. 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. 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. 3) Players throw differently at different positions, right? A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a velocity and launch angle. Its that the demands of different positions are, well, different. The bad news for Nick Castellanos was a 46-point drop in his batting average in 2022. 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. 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. He is a top OBP guy and his ratios have one of the highest floors in baseball. Just beware that his numbers might look much closer to 2021 than 2022. 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. The 30-year-old slashed .267/.316/.491 with 25 HR, 77 RBI, and 71 runs scored. 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. 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 . Judge has shown off his rocket arm many times in the past. Its an important one, too. That doesn't happen without Furillo's play. Soto is worth every penny of a top draft pick. 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 forget that before he was saving baseball with his bat, Babe Ruth was a heck of a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. 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. 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;. It's baffling why baserunners still try and advance on Jeff Francoeur. He is currently going in the 180s and has enough RBI upside to take a flier on him at that ADP. Heres all of 2022s Braves. There is a lot of value to be had here. His sophomore campaign should be a boon to fantasy teams, and he will come at a discount. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will leaderboard, a player must have more Two-Star opportunities than team 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. His 6.4 WAR marked the sixth time in nine MLB seasons that he's been a 6-WAR player, and he finished fifth in NL MVP voting, one spot behind teammate Freddie Freeman. It is difficult to project significant development in outfielders' arm strength, but with a player with Buxton's athleticism, anything is possible.