Gurriel Jr. nails Straw with absolute seed

Gurriel fielded Michael Brantley’s sinking liner in the bottom of the sixth against the Astros on Friday night with Myles Straw, one of baseball’s fastest players, standing on third base. The liner forced Gurriel to reach up and back over his head, leaving him with zero momentum for the throw home.

That didn’t matter. Gurriel uncorked one of the best throws of his career, and he couldn’t have placed it any better. He fired a strike on the fly to catcher Danny Jansen, who made the catch and lunged to his left to tag Straw, ending the inning with the Blue Jays trailing, 5-2.

This would have been an impressive throw against anyone, but Straw’s speed ranks 22nd out of 353 qualified runners (minimum of 10 opportunities) in Major League Baseball this season. That ties Straw with Jose Altuve for the fastest average sprint speed on the Astros, and makes him faster than any player on the Blue Jays.

Gurriel was a Gold Glove Award finalist in 2020 for the first time in his career, and while his routes are still a work in progress, Gurriel’s arm has always been a true strength. This is a testament to his continued development in the field, too. Gurriel came up as a shortstop and second baseman, but he struggled in ’19 and was sent down to Triple-A, where he found his stroke and rebranded as a left fielder.

As this cannon from Friday shows, the transition has been a success.