CHICAGO \u2014 When the time is right, Petey Halpin knows the big throws will be there.<\/p>\n
A few hours before first pitch Monday at Rate Field, the Guardians outfielder was taking part in routine pregame drills, firing throws from the outfield to the bases. One throw got away from him, sailing toward a staff member standing near the batting cage. Outfield coach JT Maguire shrugged it off, but Halpin had a response ready as he headed off the field toward the clubhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a seven o\u2019clock thrower,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
By 7 p.m., he proved the remark prescient.<\/p>\n
In the third inning of Cleveland\u2019s 6-5 loss to the White Sox, Halpin charged a single by Miguel Vargas and unleashed a strike from center field that cut down Luisangel Acu\u00f1a at the plate. The throw, measured by Statcast as one of the six hardest outfield assists in baseball this season, hit 97 mph and erased a run while showcasing an arm that has quietly become one of the strongest tools in Halpin\u2019s game. <\/p>\n
For Halpin, the throw was the product of years of work rather than one moment of instinct.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just constantly working on throwing and making sure that you\u2019re keeping up with it,\u201d Halpin said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long season.\u201d <\/p>\n
The 24-year-old has long been known for his speed and defense, but arm strength became a point of emphasis last season. According to Maguire, Halpin embraced a structured throwing program designed to build durability and velocity. The biggest influence came when he was at Triple-A Columbus and ex-Guardians outfielder Will Brennan took him under his wing.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few years back we talked about getting on a legit throwing program,\u201d Maguire said. \u201cWill basically told Petey, \u2018We are going to throw every day and you\u2019re going to build your arm strength.\u2019 To Petey\u2019s credit, he stuck with it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Maguire had seen the benefits of a similar program with Brennan during their time together in the minor leagues. Brennan trusted the routine enough to continue throwing through soreness, and he passed that same philosophy along to Halpin.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody older than him saw the potential of, \u2018Hey, you\u2019ve got a strong arm, you can make it stronger,\u2019\u201d Maguire said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing the fruits of his labor now.\u201d <\/p>\n
The commitment doesn\u2019t stop when games begin. Halpin\u2019s throwing routine has become something of a trademark inside Cleveland\u2019s clubhouse. Between innings, while many outfielders ease into their warmup tosses, Halpin likes to finish with something closer to a game throw. Rather than flipping the ball to a fan in the stands, Halpin prefers something with a little more zip.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to throw the ball a lot,\u201d Halpin said with a grin. \u201cI like throwing the ball hard a lot and I like to tell people that I like to throw the ball a lot.\u201d <\/p>\n
That enthusiasm keeps bullpen coach and staff assistant Ricky Pacione on alert whenever he plays catch with Halpin between innings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt showed last night why he does have to get loose like that because it\u2019s not easy standing there for however long you are and then all of a sudden uncorking a 97-mile-an-hour fastball,\u201d Pacione said. \u201cWhen the ball goes to him, he\u2019s ready to throw.\u201d <\/p>\n
Halpin credits his defensive work as a constant foundation, especially during inevitable offensive ups and downs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take a lot of pride in the outfield,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s something that I rely on when other things aren\u2019t going well. So it\u2019s something that I constantly work on and try to get better with.\u201d <\/p>\n
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt believes those efforts have helped create a top-level defender. While Halpin\u2019s speed often draws attention, Vogt said his jumps, routes and arm strength allow him to make difficult plays look routine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Petey\u2019s an elite outfielder,\u201d Vogt said. \u201cHe gets to some fly balls pretty easily that most people would be catching on the run. He gets really good jumps, he has a very strong arm and it\u2019s accurate.\u201d <\/p>\n
The throw to nail Acu\u00f1a represented the complete package. It arrived precisely where it needed to be for catcher Austin Hedges to apply the tag.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose plays aren\u2019t easy,\u201d Vogt said. \u201cYou\u2019re talking about a 230-, 250-foot throw that has to be right on the money.\u201d <\/p>\n
For all the arm-strength programs, long toss sessions and pregame drills, Maguire believes the key is that Halpin doesn\u2019t chase highlight plays. Like stealing bases, he said, outfield assists come naturally when a player is prepared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not chasing opportunities,\u201d Maguire said. \u201cWe\u2019re capitalizing on opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 When the time is right, Petey Halpin knows the big throws will be there. A few…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":756355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-756354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}