Forced to make his strongest throw with Giants' speedster Christian Koss running in Monday's ninth inning, Cardinals' shortstop Masyn Winn unfurled a 98.9 mph throw to first base. It is the second-fastest throw on an infield throw in the Statcast era (since 2015).
Instead of giving Christian Koss a fastball that he could potentially poke into the outfield and plate two runs in Monday’s ninth inning, St. Louis Cardinals’ closer Riley O’Brien instead fed the Giants’ No. 9 hitter four straight sweepers.
Apparently, O’Brien was saving the fastball for shortstop Masyn Winn.
After the speedy Koss chopped the ball into the dirt and hustled toward down the line, Winn charged the grounder and had to wait on the runner to pass before unleashing a hurried throw to first base to beat the runner by an eyelash.
“I knew it was a fast runner, and he hit that chopper and I got a little nervous for a second,” O’Brien said. “And then when I see Masyn field it and do his wind up, I think, ‘Oh, we’ll be good.’ Then he rips it over there right to (Alec Burleson’s) chest and got the guy.”
After further review, Winn’s throw left his hand at a scorching 99.8 mph – going down as the second-fastest MLB throw by an infielder since the advent of Statcast in 2015. Reds’ shortstop Elly De La Cruz holds the record for a throw on the infield at 102 mph on Sept. 8, 2026.
It should come as no surprise that Winn nearly broke the record. Back on May 9, 2024, the Cardinals' shortstop set the previous record for the fastest recorded throw by an infielder, but his 101.2 mph strike was on a relay throw home from 224 feet away from the plate.
Winn’s throw to first base would have ranked as the hardest throw of the game, topping even the 99 mph by Cardinals’ reliever Ryne Stanek and Giants’ right-hander Joel Kuhnel.
The Cardinals got to see the impact of not having Winn’s arm in the game when the shortstop missed two weeks from Aug. 25-Sept. 7 with a fractured left thumb. JJ Wetherholt, who could be on the verge of winning a Gold Glove at second base, filled in for Winn before going on the Injured List on Aug. 30. Thomas Saggese, who was promoted from Triple-A Memphis. Also filled in nicely for Winn, but still the Cardinals missed the Winn throwing arm that often finishes off unlikely double plays and one that can regularly erase infield hits.
“You can see the impact (Winn’s arm) has when he’s not there,” Cardinals’ manager Oli Marmol said. “You get used to watching plays that get completed (when Winn is at shortstop) and don’t when he’s not. It’s crazy what his arm can make up for. There are plays in the hole, playing coming in and turning double plays – you throw an extra 12 pitches on a pitcher because he has to face two more hitters when the double play didn’t get finished. Masyn’s arm gets that done.
“Masyn is just exceptional at short and he saves you in a lot of different ways.”
