Before I say a word, allow me to share this incredible Juan Lagares catch, complete with the Statcast breakdown:
On its face, that’s simply a great catch at the wall by Lagares. It’s hard to tell from the angles available if he robbed a homer there, but the catch, itself, was still fantastic.
What makes it an incredible catch, however, is the combination of several other factors, helpfully illuminated by Statcast. First, the ball was scorched by Maikel Franco at 112 mph. When it’s coming in that hot, tracking and catching the ball is much more difficult. Second, Lagares had to track that ball for more than 91 feet to even be in a position to catch it – and, because it was coming so fast, he had almost no time to do it. Third, he had to time his leap perfectly, while coordinating his body, to be able to make that grab and not destroy himself on the wall.
Taking all of that together, and I can tell you with certainty that it’s a catch very few players in MLB make. I’d say most center fielders aren’t even able to get themselves into a position to have a chance on that ball. What a catch.