Steven Kwan put together a 5.5-WAR debut season with an old school game built on contact ability, speed and defense. 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. Take Tommy Edman, who has moved back and forth between both spots. Current: That's an average of like 5000 fewer innings than the people ahead of him on the list. There is a lot to love about O'Neill in fantasy formats, but there is a lot to question as well. 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. 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. 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. Managers who don't grab an outfielder in the first two rounds will still have an ample supply of impact players 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. in "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will It was not his best all-around season by any stretch of the imagination, due in large part to the significant time he spent watching from the sidelines, but it was still good enough for a top-five ranking on this list. Nicknamed the "Reading Rifle," Furillo led all outfielders in assists in 1951 with 24, and he has 151 for his career. 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. 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. From 1986 through 1991, Snyder led the league in assists with a total of 61. Buxton played in only 92 games last year, 61 in 2021, 87 in 2019, and 28 in 2018. All rights reserved. Jump is calculated only on plays that are Two Stars or harder, meaning Catch up on the Top 25 in 2022 series: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen, Shortstops, Third Basemen. In 2021, before he was injured, that went up to 88.2 mph. . Sure but mostly on relays home from the outfield, or sometimes on double play attempts. With the injury-prone label fading after back-to-back healthy seasons, teams can feel a bit more comfortable signing him to a long-term deal this winter, and he hits the open market for the first time as one of the highest profile players in the history of MLB free agency. 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. That "throwing hard" is rarely a demand of the position is somewhat reflected in the leaderboards, which has many first basemen near the bottom. 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. A shortstop in college, Cory Snyder made his mark in the major leagues as a power-hitting outfielder. Daulton Varsho - 4.6 fWAR. 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. 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;. Key West (2-0): The Conchs ended 2022 with a 22-7 record and were able to play with many of the . He is currently going in the 180s and has enough RBI upside to take a flier on him at that ADP. All rights reserved. Ken Griffey Jr. is one player you look at and bemoan "Had he only been able to stay healthy". The Bulldogs and Sooners are joined by California (which is off to a strong 6-1 start) and Ohio State (a . Here we go. It gets you from Point A to Point B more quickly. 45-Foot Phase Activity Number ofThrows. Jump is a Statcast metric that shows which players have Some forget that before he was saving baseball with his bat, Babe Ruth was a heck of a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. 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. Meanwhile, Boston's Bobby Dalbec currently shows up with a 74.8 average as a first baseman, but he's got plenty of throws north of 80 mph as a third baseman (and, once, a shortstop). His slash line declined to .263/.327/.445, though that average is misleading as his expected was .234. Yes, of course. The left-handed outfielder had a rock solid 2022 season, holding a .281 batting average with 12 home runs while leading the South Atlantic League with 34 doubles joining Project Birmingham. 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. with a 90% Catch Probability or lower. OF-95 mph. 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). Statcast position player arm strength metrics are available beginning with the 2020 season. Known primarily for his throwing arm, Glenn Wilson threw out 38 runners between 1985 and 1986, leading the league in assists each season. 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. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. Rankings Top 15 MLB Corner Outfielders for 2023. Jake McCarthy is a vessel for stolen bases in the later rounds of drafts. From 1956 until he retired in 1964, he only threw out 32, due largely in part to the injury. He falls into the "walk year" category, so he might outperform his projections. Anything below 88mph is considered 0. Rojas is the club's fourth-ranked prospect, and with a bit of fine-tuning. Dave Winfield's throwing arm was so powerful that simply warming up in the outfield was a dangerous proposition. 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. 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. 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. In total, he made 10 throws of 95-plus mph last season and had three throws of 300 feet or more. How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. 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. 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. The strength of the club lies in its outfield with seniors Ethan Beal and Benjamin Jurenko back. In 2020, his average on competitive throws was 86.6 mph, an almost exactly-average number. Pop Time to 2B: 1.6 sec to 2.5 sec Pop Time to 3B: 1.2 sec to 2.5 sec Exchange: .4 sec to 1.3 sec The shortstop position has become one of the deepest and most talented positions in fantasy baseball over the last decade. 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. His arm was so impressive that Expos manager Dick Williams is said to have compared it to Roberto Clemente's, a bold statement to say the least. Therein lies the problem, of course. Andre Dawson epitomized the tern "five tool player" for more than a decade before 12 knee surgeries and age began to take their toll. How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was Anything below 88mph is considered 0. Baseball may never see another player as smooth at the "catch-and-throw" than Al Kaline. Arguably the greatest athlete in the history of the game, Bo Jackson made impossible plays on a routine basis and his cannon of a right arm kept runners at bay. His K% (25.9) and BB% (7.1) need improvement, but at age 22, he has plenty of time to work on these numbers. 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. Then again, Hendersons throw got there about 11% faster. The likelihood, in percent, that an outfielder will be Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA). Or he could clog your IL for two-thirds of the season. It's time to put a bow on the 2022 MLB season with Bleacher Report's final positional rankings. He once again tallied more walks (135) than strikeouts (96). 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. 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. 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. Week 1- First Day. 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. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight Cobb's 392 outfield assists rank second all-time behind Speaker. the ERA scale, A measurement of a player's top running speed, expressed What a strong throwing arm does, mostly, is make things happen faster. . Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement The organization's top four prospects, including all three Top 100 representatives, play the outfield, headlined by 2022 breakout star Jackson Chourio. Owner of 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards, Griffey made impossible plays not only possible, but look nowhere near as difficult as they actually were. Fantasy managers are scared because of injury risk or age, but Stanton is going to mash. Are you looking to contact Customer Support about a subscription or account related question? Ad - content continues below. That out of the way, lets ask some of the fun questions. In order to account for that, outfielders receive the average of their top 10% hardest throws as a seasonal average. raw numbers and as a measurement against average. It will be very important to keep track of where Happ is batting in the revamped Cubs lineup. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. How far, in feet, a runner is ranging off the bag at the 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. For example, lets take two somewhat similar plays. ), Slice and dice them as you like. A batted ball with the perfect combination of exit Follow @RickWeinerBR Just Missed the Cut 1 of 42 Barry Bonds Shin-Soo Choo Mike Hershberger Andruw Jones Mark. For as powerful as Winfield's arm was, it wasn't the most accurate, as Yankees manager Billy Martin opined after the seagull incident: "They say he hit the gull on purpose, They wouldn't say that if they'd seen the throws he'd been making all year. 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. In that case, he is a perfect complement to whatever three true outcome player you draft for power. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. Furillo picked up the ball and fired a strike to Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges, beating Queen to the bag by two feet. attempt. 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. Remember though that depth of. No one, I mean no one, runs on him.". There may be many ways to arrive at a logical ranking of outfield throwing arms, but assists minus double plays is telling. 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. How much time, in seconds, it takes a runner to get from . 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. Today, the Prep Baseball Report Mississippi scouting staff takes a deeper look at outfield performances from the June event. He stole six bases in nine attempts, but his numbers declined from his best year in 2021. His sophomore campaign should be a boon to fantasy teams, and he will come at a discount. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Expect him to be one of the faces of baseball for the next decade-plus and a strong contender for the No. How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. With the score tied at three and Harold Reynolds on first, Seattle catcher Scott Bradley hit a double to left. 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. Honestly, he doesn't take many pitches, period, as he sits in the first percentile in chase rate. In 2020, Story averaged 82.3 mph as a Rockies shortstop -- a good-not-great number, slightly below average for shortstops. Even with his torn UCL last season, he still slashed .286/.364/.514 and powered the Phillies to the World Series. One of the great centerfielders of all-time, Duke Snider would land higher on this list if not for suffering an injury to his arm that robbed him of much of the power behind his throws. Bob Forsch, a teammate of his with the Cardinals, remembered Reggie's arm: "It was FUN being on the same team as he was. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. 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. 2 prospect in baseball when the season began, he lived up to the hype and then some by hitting .284/.345/.509 with 25 doubles, 28 home runs, 75 RBI, 84 runs scored and 25 steals in 132 games. Julks was solid in 2021 but had a breakout season in 2022. He is an OF5 being drafted in the OF4 range because of the cliff the position drops off of in drafts. . xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Once he had the ball in his hand, anyone who was still running on the bases was a candidate to be thrown out. Steamer projections have him at 43/109/104 for the upcoming season, and his ratios should see a small decline as well. The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in It was his hardest throw in nearly three calendar years. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. A lot of his fantasy worth is tied up in whether or not he continues to bat at the top of the lineup. These should correct to be nearer to his baseline, in which case fantasy managers are drafting a 30/20 guy with high on-base skills who bats smack in the middle of what is, essentially, an All-Star team. The reason he may fall out of the 1.1 slot on draft day is simply fantasy managers anticipating the regression that is likely to come. On the left side, its higher: 81.5 mph on average, maxing out at 84.9 mph. 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. Let's meet the 40 players who had the best outfield arms in the history of the game. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. player has saved over his peers. player has saved over his peers. He hit 31 HR in 451 plate appearances with 78 RBI. Critics may say that Judge often gets his assists from in-close because Yankee Stadium's right field is so small. Heres what his 43rd-hardest throw looks like its clearly one hes putting effort into. 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. raw numbers and as a measurement against average. USA TODAY Sports photo. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second Starling Marte had a good 2022 season, but injuries prevented him from being a truly great fantasy asset. Just beware that his numbers might look much closer to 2021 than 2022. He filled up the stat sheet with 22 doubles, 25 home runs, 76 RBI, 89 runs scored and 14 steals while playing his usual solid defender in center field in a 4.0-WAR campaign. Really, unless you are playing in a stolen base premium league, Alvarez offers little downside heading into 2023. The speedy Reynolds headed full steam towards third as Jackson played the ball on the warning track. Which is a great lead-in to our next question . If strikeouts count against you in your league, then you might want to stay clear of Adolis Garcia. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out 8 prospect in the game. Suzuki struggled to adjust to the different levels of pitching, but he is a prime candidate for a bounceback season. Heres Astros outfielders, since 2020. 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. 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). Guerrero currently ranks fifth on the active list for outfield assists. No player had a stronger arm in the 1990's than Vladimir Guerrero. He is a pure contact hitter who gets on base and isn't afraid to run (19-for-24 in SB attempts). I Suzuki 2. Signed pitcher Zack Greinke to a one-year, $8.5 million contract. With 5.3 WAR, he joined Jason Heyward (6.4, 2010) and Dusty Baker (5.1, 1972) as the only rookie outfielders in Atlanta Braves history with a 5-WAR season, and he edged out teammate Spencer Strider for NL Rookie of the Year honors. window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to outfield. He may suffer some of the typical rookie issues, but all signs point to a quick adjustment and solid fantasy production. play. 6) Do first basemen really ever have to throw hard? His career high came last year in Washington, recording nine. In 1978, Cromartie and Valentine led the league in outfield assists with 24 apiece. How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. pitch. 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. There is a lot of value to be had here. Jesse Barfield was considered to have the best outfield arm in the '80s and he wasn't shy about reminding his opponents. 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. 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. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will 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. Opponents quickly learned that they couldn't run on Geronimo and they stopped trying, which explains his 81 career assists, one of the lower totals of those on our list. His slash line was an other-worldly .311/.425/.686 with an xwOBA of .463 and wRC+ of 207. How hard, in miles per hour, a pitch is thrown. it's a tough call between Clemente and Whiten.". Arm strength is measured on "max effort" throws, or the average above a player's 90th percentile performance. produces a result. His ratios were down across the board, but he improved his K% and BB% and suffered from some bad luck with BABIP. Some players have power, whereas Yordan Alvarez has POWER. Heading into the season, Juan Soto is the leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, which feels ridiculous to say about a guy who still ended with a WAR of 5.2. It's understandable that fantasy managers who drafted him thinking they secured a 30/30 guy were disappointed at the end of the season. 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 Headlined by three MVPs, our list of the best corner outfielders is a who's who of top-tier talent in Major League Baseball. The 25-year-old set a new career high in 2022 in games played and still didn't crack 100, finishing at 98 with a variety of ailments and injuries derailing any sort of rhythm he could get. Cedric Mullins stole 30+ bases for the second consecutive year in 2022, though the power disintegrated, lowering his home total to 16 from 30. Here are Justin Leger's top 20 outfielders for the upcoming season. Defense: Moves through the ball well, gets to the ball quick. 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. 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. Arm: RH. attempt. Meet Pete Crow-Armstrong, whom the Mets selected with their first pick. Just look at the 2022 averages on competitive throws from those positions. USA TODAY Sports photo. Statcast position player arm strength metrics are available beginning with the 2020 season. His arm strength is middling, but he makes good throws nonetheless. 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.