Short of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oneil Cruz is a wonder of nature, and beautiful to see. Standing at 6 feet-7 – 7 inches taller than teammate Kevin Newman – Cruz is a mammoth on a plate, most evident in his home runs, though sparse, looks very easy. The ball leaves the field in an instant. He is clearly a strong bat, but his arms are even stronger. In just the 25th game of his Major League career, Cruz set the Statcast record for fastest pitch by a quarterback – 97.8 mph – breaking Fernando Tatis Jr’s record of 97.3 mph. , set for September 20, 2020.
Cruz wowed viewers with his amazingly fast dribbling ability. However, just two days later, Cruz’s remarkable throw put someone eight inches shorter and in just their second year in the minor leagues to shame.
Drafted for the 54th overall in 2020, Masyn Blaze Winn is a short step for the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A branch of St. Louis. Winn is currently ranking 89th overall lead by MLB . pipeline, and after taking down .299 / .365 / .855 of 298 bats this year, Winn was invited to the Future Game. When his team led 1-0 at the start of the second half, Winn received a ball on the ground and his first keeper began to pray.
That’s nearly three miles per hour faster than Cruz’s toughest throw, and Winn is three and a half years younger. OH! It’s no surprise that Winn’s middle name is Blaze because – smoking saint – I don’t know how the first horseman survived that rocket. That kind of arm will make every fan feel it on the floor.
Now, Winn didn’t execute his arm correctly with the frisbee – he’s the only NL hitter to hit multiple times, and one of only two players to hit it all-time. matches they scored. Ironically, the other was Winn’s shortstop replacement, Jordan Lawlar. That said, Winn shouldn’t have much to worry about.
This throw made me think a few things. First, where do the Cardinals find all these flamethrowers, huh? Jordan Hicks, Ryan Helsley, and now Winn? What? Do they get tired of looking for strong pitchers and firmly decide to also corner the market on domestic players? Second, there’s no way Winn wouldn’t make that throw on purpose, right?
Winn had to see MLB Twitter’s reaction to Cruz’s throws and thought to himself, “I can do better than that.” I mean, he played against a first player that he had never played before. There’s no way Mark Vientos knew that a nearly 100 mph laser was about to hit him. Winn didn’t even have to throw it that hard. It’s a common grounding tool. The attacker got out by several steps. He definitely can’t lollygag (scream Bull Durham) the ball comes first, but that hard throw is definitely not necessary.
That said, Winn knew what that pitch would bring. It will draw the world’s attention to him, and for someone working his way through the Minor Tournaments, the attention is worth more than gold. I don’t write about Jason Dominguez or Emerson Hancock, who have played great in the game. I’m talking about a 5 foot 11 short, so you can get in on the marketing yourself, Winn. I will keep an eye on your debut in the next few years.
