Ramon Laureano Threw The Shit Out Of This Baseball

Ramon Laureano has played a total of five games in the majors, all this season, all since the start of August. It’s been a fun start! He’s already had a number of defensive highlights, and his first hit in the bigs was a walk-off game-winner in extras, in his first career game.

Have a look at the insane play he made Saturday night, against the Angels:

This seems like it should not be possible. Laureano uncorks his throw from the edge of the warning track in left center, and hits the glove of first baseman Mark Canha on the fly, and without Canha so much as leaning in any direction. Statcast says Laureano’s throw traveled a whopping 321 feet, at 91.2 miles per hour. Jon Lester can’t toss a baseball 60 feet, from the pitcher’s mound to first base, without one-hopping it, and Laureano did it from deep left after sprinting full speed in the opposite direction. What in the absolute hell.

The throw even surprised Laureano. After the game, when asked about it, he called it a “crazy play,” and admitted he probably should’ve hit the cutoff man, but decided “you know what, I’m just gonna throw it.”

This is cool: MLB’s Baseball Savant analytics service says Laureano has produced two outs above average as a fielder in his five gamers in the majors. That may not sound like much, but that already places Laureano 43rd among all major league outfielders, the same number as Christian Yelich has produced in 104 games, and Marcell Ozuna in 113 games. That number measures the ground Laureano covers, and the balls he gets to, and the catches he makes against the catches he is expected to make. It doesn’t take into account him doubling up Eric Young Jr. on a bazooka throw from left field, after flashing that impressive range to make an improbable catch.

Ramon Laureano is so, so much fun.