Cards prospect Winn unleashes 100.5 mph throw ... from short!
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MLB Pipeline gave Masyn Winn’s arm an 80 grade, literally the top of the scale, in the offseason because Winn -- a former two-way player in the St. Louis system -- can throw some of the best darts in Minor League Baseball.
Well, the Cardinals’ No. 4 prospect confirmed just how solid of an 80 that is at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on Saturday.
The 20-year-old shortstop collected a bouncing ball from Astros prospect Yainer Diaz in the second inning and unleashed a 100.5 mph throw for the easy out. For reference, the hardest Major League infield throw in the Statcast era came in at 97.8 mph, and that was set just this week by Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz. Winn topped out at 99.8 mph on his arm strength last season at Single-A Palm Beach (where Statcast data is also available), so this marks the first time he cracked triple-digits in publicly available data.
Winn’s improving bat at High-A and Double-A helped make him a Top 100 prospect for the first time in 2022, and his defense at the six has always been special. But it’s the arm that will likely draw the biggest gasps in the Majors, just as it did Saturday.