St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn’s middle name is Blaze, which would be an appropriate way to describe the throw he unleashed during Saturday’s MLB All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium.
During the second inning and the American League up 1-0 over the National League, Houston Astros prospect Yainer Diaz hit a weak ground ball to Winn at short. Winn fielded the ball cleanly, took a couple steps and fired an absolute bullet to first base for the first out of the inning. Winn’s throw was measured at 100.5 MPH, which obliterates the previous hardest recorded throw to first base of the season by Pittsburgh Pirates Shortstop Oneil Cruz in June.
Winn was drafted with the 54th pick in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Kingwood, Texas.
On Friday, Winn told Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes that Winn would break Cruz’s record if he got the chance to unleash a throw.
Winn, currently with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate, is the fourth-ranked prospect in the St. Louis system according to MLB.com. Along with a cannon for an arm, the 20-year-old has hit .299 with a .365 OBP and .855 OPS in 298 at-bats this season. Winn also has seven home runs, 39 RBI and 25 stolen bases. While he’s still a ways away from playing in an MLB game, his arm strength will certainly play in the majors if he gets there.
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