In early September, he tried to throw out Jose Altuve, who was tagging up on a sacrifice fly. Julks was solid in 2021 but had a breakout season in 2022. His HR tally dropped from 34 to 14 and games played went from 132 to 96. 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. Top Major League Outfield Arm: Bryce Harper ( Washington Nationals) All-Time Tool: Jesse Barfield How to Identify It: Arm strength is a simple tool to evaluate in comparison to others. For a pitcher it is the average of his softest 50% of batted balls allowed. By Geoff Pontes. 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. raw numbers and as a measurement against average. How much time, in seconds, it takes a runner to get from Where do you draft the superstar who will only play half the season at most? 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. His arm strength is middling, but he makes good throws nonetheless. "[Those throws are] something that I do all natural," Acua said at the time. 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. Up to you. 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. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. 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. Today, the Prep Baseball Report Mississippi scouting staff takes a deeper look at outfield performances from the June event. From 1986 through 1991, Snyder led the league in assists with a total of 61. 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). 12 finisher hit .297. 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. Infielders have less time to throw shorter distances. raw numbers and as a measurement against average. Remember though that depth of. His throwing arm used to be a relative weakness. 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. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man.". Hes also No. Palm Beach, Fla - It's early, but with each passing day Jordan Walker 's case to break camp with the Cardinals major league team gets stronger. Current: Not that his arm is weak by any means but it is not his strongest point.". He is a top OBP guy and his ratios have one of the highest floors in baseball. Fantasy managers just need to decide if they can ride out the 0-for-4 streaks. His primary downfall when it comes to fantasy value is his 58.6% ground ball rate, which limits his HR and RBI totals. He contributed across all batting categories, slugging 28 HR with 75 RBI, 84 runs, and 25 stolen bases. Current: Or is it because players with weaker arms are less likely to be allowed to play the left side in the first place? Therein lies the problem, of course. Let's meet the 40 players who had the best outfield arms in the history of the game. It can be used to evaluate outfielders on attempted assists, catchers on stolen base and pickoff throws, and infielders on throws across the diamond. The Orioles seem dedicated to giving their prospects every opportunity to succeed, which boosts Mullins's value in the runs category. There is a lot to love about O'Neill in fantasy formats, but there is a lot to question as well. 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 "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. Youd think measuring throwing arm strength would be easy. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out The 25-year-old posted a 128 OPS+ with 28 doubles, 30 home runs, 107 RBI and 25 steals in 29 attempts. 45-Foot Phase Activity Number ofThrows. window.". Known primarily for his throwing arm, Glenn Wilson threw out 38 runners between 1985 and 1986, leading the league in assists each season. A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a 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. 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Outfielders Rankings, Consensus Preseason Rankings for OF | FantasyPros 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Expert Consensus Ranking (32 of 36 Experts) - Feb 28,. 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. games / 5. 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. Advanced arm strength, over-the-top arm action. 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). 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. 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. 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. Athletically built at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, the right-handed hitter barreled ball after ball with an average EV of 94.7 and top of 100.6 mph, while hitting the sweet spot at a 71 percent clip. 2 spot in the lineup between NL batting title winner Jeff McNeil and the one-two punch of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Frelick also climbed three levels in his first full season, and the 2021 first . He missed 52 games due to injury, and his BABIP was a career-low (by a lot) .227. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. . A shortstop in college, Cory Snyder made his mark in the major leagues as a power-hitting outfielder. The first of which registered. He finished his career with 109 assists, 61 of which came in a four-year period for the Philadelphia Phillies, from 1984 through 1987. How far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the One of the greatest defensive centerfielders to play the game, Jim Edmonds played with a reckless abandon, often launching his body into the air or wall to make a catch. Three times he registered 20 or more assists in a season. 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. That doesn't happen without Furillo's play. 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. 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. Not only was it probably the better part of 300 feet, it was dead on line and in the air the whole way.". Corey Julks. Click a bubble to see all the player's throws. Statcast defines a 'hard-hit ball' as one hit with an Expect him to be one of the faces of baseball for the next decade-plus and a strong contender for the No. 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. 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. play. It will be very important to keep track of where Happ is batting in the revamped Cubs lineup. OF-95 mph. 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. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight His sophomore campaign should be a boon to fantasy teams, and he will come at a discount. 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. Corbin Carroll mashed his way through the minor league system and arrived in Arizona for his debut in 2022. It's a risky proposition, but the payoff could be incredible. 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. 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 When Michael Harris II made his MLB debut on May 28, 2022, he was just a few months past his 21st birthday and had played just 43 games at the Double-A level, jumping over Triple-A entirely. Back in 2017, a then-19-year-old Ronald Acua Jr. appeared in Miami at the Futures Game. 27 prospect in the Cleveland organization would finish as one of the 10 best outfielders in baseball? in "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second 9. "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second The 28-year-old is capable of making a greater impact in half a season than most players can in a full 162 games, and he racked up 4.0 WAR and 44 extra-base hits in 92 games this year while earning his first All-Star selection. Then again, Hendersons throw got there about 11% faster. The outfield will be the foundation of many fantasy teams in 2021. xBA measures the likelihood that a batted ball will Mar 22, 2021. 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. Week 1- First Day. Ari Bethea, Collierville (TN), 2025 Positional Profile: RHP/OF Body: 6-1, 192-pounds. Hard to believe he was that agile. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. Really, unless you are playing in a stolen base premium league, Alvarez offers little downside heading into 2023. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. Andrew Benintendi, Kansas City Royals/New York Yankees. Etc., etc., etc. 3) Players throw differently at different positions, right? 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. The 21-year old has also shown the speed, instincts, and arm strength that project him as a center fielder long-term. Which is a great lead-in to our next question . 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. He'll lope after a ball to see if he can get you to run, picks it up . 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. First, standing at home plate, he only needed three attempts to throw a ball over the center field wall, 410 feet away. velocity and launch angle. Realmuto can top at the position. 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. . Escape Velocity takes the average of a player's batted ball velocities subtracted from 88. Proportional frame w/ well developed strength and athleticism. One of the most well-rounded players in the sport, Kyle Tucker continued his rise as a bona fide superstar for the Houston Astros in 2022. 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. Jake McCarthy is a vessel for stolen bases in the later rounds of drafts. Top Major-League Arm: Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals) All-Time Tool: Jesse Barfield (Previous individual throws are still valid -- Aaron Hicks touching 105.5 mph back in 2016 is still the hardest throw on record -- but season averages are not available for those years just because fewer throws were tracked. 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. He hits the ball with great power, ranking in the 92nd percentile in maxEV. 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. Here are Justin Leger's top 20 outfielders for the upcoming season. exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. raw numbers and as a measurement against average. 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. An All-Star for just the second time in his career, he slotted perfectly in the No. High effort on throws, accurate. Let's meet the 40 players who had the best outfield arms in the history of the game. For a pitcher it is the average of his softest 50% of batted balls allowed. The best player at the position was Ronald Acuna (.280 with 127 runs, 41 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 steals . 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),. 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. He falls into the "walk year" category, so he might outperform his projections. ), Slice and dice them as you like. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Who can?". Throughout the year, we released monthly updates to our position-by-position power rankings, selecting the top 10 players at each spot. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if we still had markakis in RF, but this is surprising. A full season alongside Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the San Diego Padres lineup would provide him with the best protection he's had at any point in his career, and with free agency fast approaching after the 2024 season he's playing for a huge payday. Since the demands of each position grouping are different, the averages and qualifiers are different as well. He hit 31 HR in 451 plate appearances with 78 RBI. To get past that, the averages work like this. Let's dive into the top 25 outfielders of the 2022 season. He is near the bottom of the league in K%, Whiff%, BB%, and chase rate. Buxton played in only 92 games last year, 61 in 2021, 87 in 2019, and 28 in 2018. A Batted Ball Event represents any batted ball that Making a case for him to go 1.1 in 2023 drafts isn't difficult. 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. window.". 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. A three-time All-Star, Andy Van Slyke was one of the more underrated players in baseball during his career. Now it's time to finalize those rankings while expanding the list to the 25 best at each position. Kaline was a master of putting himself in perfect position when a ball was hit in his direction where he would make the catch and fire the ball back into the infield in one, fluid motion. There is a lot of value to be had here. There may be many ways to arrive at a logical ranking of outfield throwing arms, but assists minus double plays is telling. In fact, if we look at the 16 fielders who had enough throws to qualify at both second base and shortstop this year, plus Story, and look at their comparisons on both sides of the bag every single one had a harder average throw from the left side than the right side, by an average of 5.3 mph. It's understandable that fantasy managers who drafted him thinking they secured a 30/30 guy were disappointed at the end of the season. 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. He may suffer some of the typical rookie issues, but all signs point to a quick adjustment and solid fantasy production. play. Key West (2-0): The Conchs ended 2022 with a 22-7 record and were able to play with many of the . 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. 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 The likelihood, in percent, that an outfielder will be able to make a catch on an individual batted ball. Carroll's upside is in the 30/30 range, and he should have no trouble sticking as the everyday centerfielder with his plus-defense. Hendersons throw was clocked at 85.2 mph, and took 0.87 of a second to reach first base. The definitive power rankings on the strength of the outfield, where we (no, I don't play anymore but old habits die hard) talk to ourselves and it's totally accepted as the norm.