These are the most eye-popping numbers so far this spring

March 4th, 2023

Spring Training games mean the first look of the year at Statcast data for a lot of key players and top prospects, as many teams play in parks equipped with Hawk-Eye tracking.

After a week of action, there's already plenty worth highlighting. Here are 10 standout numbers from the first week of Spring Training games.

Jasson Domínguez, OF, Yankees: 109.7 mph, 420-foot HR

The 20-year-old switch-hitter, ranked MLB's No. 47 prospect, showed off his big-league-caliber exit velocity with a 109.7 mph, 420-foot homer to left-center field in his spring debut, turning around a fastball at the top of the zone from the right side of the plate.

Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals: 99.9 mph infield assist

The Cards' 20-year-old shortstop prospect, ranked No. 50 overall by MLB Pipeline entering 2023, made headlines at last year's Futures Game when he uncorked a 100.5 mph throw from the infield. That was no fluke. On Thursday, he made a 99.9 mph throw from shortstop to first base.

When he gets called up, he'll rival young Pirates star Oneil Cruz for baseball's strongest-armed infielder.

Winn also added a 106.8 mph, 435-foot home run on Friday and has an average exit velocity of 97.4 mph on nine tracked batted balls.

Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies: 99.0 mph max velo 

Painter is currently undergoing tests on a tender right elbow, but he looked fantastic in his first spring outing. Still just 19 years old but already MLB Pipeline's top pitching prospect, Painter topped out at 99.0 mph on a strike to Carlos Correa, and he struck out Max Kepler with a nasty 90.7 mph back-foot cutter.

Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Orioles: 97.9 mph avg. fastball velo, 7.4 feet avg. extension 

Rodriguez is MLB's No. 2 pitching prospect right behind Painter, and he's also throwing a big power fastball. The 23-year-old averaged 97.9 mph, touched 98.9 mph and recorded a strikeout at 98.4 mph in his spring outing against the Tigers, but just as noteworthy as his velocity was his release extension. Rodriguez, who's 6-foot-5, released his fastball an average of 7.4 feet in front of the rubber, which would give him top-five extension among all big league pitchers. Releasing the ball closer to the plate means that his upper-90s fastball looks even faster to the hitter.

Ronny Mauricio, SS, Mets: 110.0 mph, 450 foot HR

The Mets' 21-year-old No. 6 prospect ripped three home runs in the first week of Spring Training games, but the first one is the one that stood out: a 110.0 mph, 450-foot blast that currently stands as the longest tracked homer hit by anyone this spring. Pete Alonso was the only Mets player to hit a 110-plus mph, 450-plus foot home run last season.

Zac Veen, OF, Rockies: 115.3 mph double with 29.3 ft/sec sprint speed

The 21-year-old left-handed hitter, ranked MLB's No. 27 prospect, flashed top-tier exit velocity and sprint speed when he ripped a 115.3 mph line drive into the right-field corner in the Rockies' spring opener and reached a top speed of 29.3 feet per second on his way to second base. Veen's 115.3 mph double would have been the second-hardest-hit ball by the Rockies last season, behind only a 115.5 mph lineout by C.J. Cron, and his 29.3 ft/sec sprint speed is a lot closer to elite 30-plus ft/sec territory than it is to the 27 ft/sec Major League average.

Ryan McMahon, 3B/2B, Rockies: 117.7 mph single 

The hardest batted ball of Spring Training so far also belongs to a Rockies slugger: McMahon, who lined a 117.7 mph base hit up the middle off Brady Singer. McMahon's career high exit velocity in regular season play is 113.7 mph. And last season only eight players in MLB reached an exit velocity of 117.7 mph or higher: Giancarlo Stanton, Oneil Cruz, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Luis Robert, Kyle Schwarber and Franchy Cordero.

Nate Pearson, RHP, Blue Jays: 100.8 mph, 101.0 mph K's

Pearson missed all of the 2022 season, but the 26-year-old flamethrower has returned with the same triple-digit fastball that once made him a top prospect. Pearson has recorded strikeouts this spring at 100.8 mph (Josh Donaldson) and 101.0 mph (Canaan Smith-Njigba), which bodes well for him in his new relief role.

Ricky Tiedemann, LHP, Blue Jays: 99.4 mph K

Pearson isn't the only Blue Jays pitcher overpowering hitters this Spring Training. The 20-year-old Tiedemann, MLB's second-ranked left-handed pitching prospect, is doing it, too. Tiedemann blew away Javier Báez with a 99.4 mph fastball in his spring debut, and also got Matt Vierling with a nasty 85.9 mph changeup … which might actually be his best pitch. It's a nasty combo -- there was a 13.5 mph velocity differential between the two strikeout pitches, but their movement looked the same, as both got 16 inches of arm-side run.

José Abreu, 1B, Astros: 112.1 mph, 437-foot HR

Abreu's first home run with his new team this spring was a rocket off Adam Wainwright. At 112.1 mph off the bat, it was harder than any home run the veteran Abreu hit all of last season, and harder than any home run hit by an Astros player not named "Yordan Alvarez." In fact, Abreu's homer was hit harder than any home run by an Astros first baseman since Statcast started tracking in 2015.