Strongest arms to watch in the postseason

The Division Series are sure to feature big home runs from superstar sluggers, big strikeouts from aces, big catches from Gold Glovers and big stolen bases from elite speedsters.

But some players can also change a game with their arm, and with Statcast, we can see how like never before.

Statcast introduced new arm strength leaderboards on Baseball Savant this season, for both outfielders and infielders. Let's take a look at the players with the strongest arms on the eight teams still playing in the Division Series.

Here are nine arms to watch for the rest of the postseason.

1. Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
Acuña was the standard-bearer for the new arm strength leaderboard, finishing the season ranked No. 2 overall out of 368 qualifying players. 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. Acuña 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 corner. If Bryce Harper were in right field for the Phillies in the NLDS, his arm vs. Acuña's would be a great matchup. But with Harper limited to DH, we'll just have to wait and see if the Phillies dare to run on Acuña.

2. Oscar Gonzalez, Guardians
Of all the players in the playoffs, Gonzalez recorded the hardest individual throw this year: 101.6 mph, just better than Acuña's max. His max-effort average was 96.2 mph, good enough for No. 4 overall on the arm strength leaderboard and the No. 2 spot among right fielders, just a bit behind Acuña's. The Guardians right fielder had a personal-best 99.2 mph assist to the plate on May 31 against the Royals. With Gonzalez in right for Cleveland and Aaron Judge out there for the Yankees, there could be a nice display of arms in the ALDS.

2022 arm strength leaders
1. Nate Eaton (Royals): 98.1 mph
2. Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves): 97.9 mph (max: 101.5 mph)
3. Aristides Aquino (Reds): 96.6 mph
4. Oscar Gonzalez (Guardians): 96.2 mph (max: 101.6 mph)
5. Christopher Morel (Cubs): 96.1 mph

3. Julio Rodríguez, Mariners
J-Rod is electric with his bat, his speed, his glove … and his arm. The 21-year-old rookie was a top-five center fielder with a 93.7 mph average arm strength, with a high of 99.6 mph. That 99.6 mph throw? A brilliant play to get a forceout at third base on what should have been a base hit to center -- on July 8, Rodríguez fielded Santiago Espinal's line drive on a hop and threw out Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the lead runner, before he could advance to third. It was one of the top five hardest outfield assists in MLB this year.

Hardest OF assists, 2022
1. Aristides Aquino (Reds): 101.6 mph, April 9 vs. Braves
2. Aristides Aquino (Reds): 100.9 mph, Aug. 2 vs. Marlins
3. Roman Quinn (for Phillies): 99.9 mph, May 23 vs. Braves
4. Brett Phillips (for Rays): 99.7 mph, May 20 vs. Orioles
5. Julio Rodríguez (Mariners): 99.6 mph, July 8 vs. Blue Jays

4. Michael Harris II, Braves
Acuña isn't the only big arm in the Braves' outfield. Their star rookie center fielder can uncork a triple-digit throw, too -- Harris' top individual arm strength was an even 100.0 mph, and he averaged 93.2 mph, putting him among the top 10 center fielders in both categories. His top assists tracked at 93.9 mph and 92.2 mph.

5. Manny Machado, Padres
Let's get a couple of infielders on the list. Machado's always been known for his top-tier arm at third base, and his Statcast arm strength numbers live up to it. His average arm strength in 2022 is a little below 2021, when he ranked second among third basemen at 88.8 mph -- but he can still fire a cannon across the diamond as well as anyone, with a max arm strength of 92.4 mph. He needed all of that to get Brandon Belt at first base trying to bunt for a hit against the shift on Aug. 9. Watch for Machado to show the arm against Dodgers speedsters like Trea Turner and Mookie Betts.

6. Ha-Seong Kim, Padres
Fernando Tatis Jr. has an elite-of-the-elite arm at shortstop. But his replacement has a really good one, too. Kim's average arm strength of 87.0 mph this season is the best of any shortstop playing in the postseason -- and his max arm strength of 95.2 mph was the third-highest for any shortstop in the Majors. That's Tatis-esque. The throw came against the Dodgers, too, on a relay to the plate on Sept. 3, so Los Angeles knows what kind of arm the opposing shortstop will have in the NLDS.

Shortstops with the highest max arm strength, 2022
1. Oneil Cruz (Pirates): 97.9 mph
2. Geraldo Perdomo (D-backs): 96.7 mph
3. Ha-Seong Kim (Padres): 95.2 mph
4. Carlos Correa (Twins): 95.0 mph
5. Didi Gregorius (free agent): 94.7 mph

7. Aaron Judge, Yankees
People are going to be watching Judge for the home runs, after his historic 62-homer season. But the Yankees superstar has the big arm to match his 6-foot-7 frame. In 2022, Judge averaged 92.3 mph on his max-effort outfield throws, and he reached as high as 98.8 mph. A 100-plus mph throw is always a possibility from Judge -- he's hit triple digits from the outfield before, with a 100.5 mph outfield assist to the plate at Yankee Stadium in 2018.

8. Harrison Bader, Yankees
The Yankees got Bader from the Cardinals in large part for his elite defense in center field, and part of his defense is his arm. Bader averaged 91.5 mph this season, and he maxed out at 96.8 mph. The Guardians are an aggressive baserunning team, so with Judge and Bader in the outfield for New York (plus Oswaldo Cabrera, who has a good arm, too, averaging 91.3 mph), you might see some exciting bang-bang plays.

9. The Dodgers outfield
Yes, we're putting the Dodgers outfield here as a unit. Because the Dodgers could run out a lineup where all three outfielders can nail a runner with a throw in the upper 90s -- Joey Gallo in left field, Cody Bellinger in center and Mookie Betts in right. Bellinger and Betts dropped a little in their average arm strength this season, but a look at the Dodgers' max arm strengths should tell you: run on L.A. at your own risk. Gallo had a top arm strength of 98.4 mph this season, Bellinger had a top arm strength of 98.0 mph, and Betts had a top arm strength of 96.8 mph.