If Superman was playing shortstop, he surely would鈥檝e dived for this grounder like, well, Superman. But if he had, he likely wouldn鈥檛 have made the throw in time.
Luckily, Superman wasn鈥檛 playing shortstop. It was Masyn Blaze Winn (actual middle name).
On this ball up the middle last Wednesday 鈥 eighth inning, game tied with the Padres 鈥 Winn scurried to his left ... but rounded the grounder. He then slid toward the ball on only his right knee. This allowed him to sweep his left leg in front, push off it and pop up.
Winn fired it to first for the out.
鈥淗e continues to do things that other shortstops can鈥檛 do,鈥 Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after the game to the media. 鈥淭he play up the middle, how quickly he bounces to his feet 鈥 and then the arm behind it to finish that play? And he made it look easy. It鈥檚 a pretty-near-impossible play. And he makes those routine. So we have a really good player on our hands who is going to help us win for a long time.鈥
People are also reading…
To me, Masyn Winn, still just 22, looks like a Gold Glove shortstop. And you don鈥檛 just say that sort of thing in St. Louis, where the definition of a Gold Glove shortstop reigned with range. But going by the eye test (from this Clark Kent) says Winn should win the award 鈥 and the metrics also say Winn should win.
No shortstop in Major League Baseball entered Monday with more defensive runs saved (14) than the Cardinals rookie. In fact, only three MLB players at any position had more.
He leads all National League shortstops in a stat called range runs above average, per Fangraphs. His ultimate zone rating is third-best among NL shortstops. And Winn averages 92.9 mph on throws, second only to Oneil Cruz among MLB shortstops.
Now, in the NL, there are other shortstops who flash similar leather but have flashier names, be it Francisco Lindor, Dansby Swanson or Elly De La Cruz. And the exquisite Ezequiel Tovar is a Colorado Rockie with range like the Rockies.
But defensive runs saved has ascended to become the OPS of defensive stats. And Winn is No. 1 in that category. Give the kid the Gold Glove.
鈥淗e鈥檚 fun to watch, he鈥檚 fun to play with, he鈥檚 fun to be around,鈥 Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray said to the media last week at Busch Stadium. 鈥淗e鈥檚 turning into a really fun, exciting player to watch. I mean, you know you鈥檝e got someone special when there鈥檚 one player who is all the kids鈥 favorite player. You know that鈥檚 something. My kids love him.鈥
Winn plays with an unswerving swagger. He approaches defense with an offensive mindset. And like Sonny said, he鈥檚 just fun to watch. No, Masyn Winn is not Ozzie Smith. No. 1 was a 1 of 1, as he pioneered playing shortstop like an acrobat or, I don鈥檛 know, let鈥檚 say, a wizard. But Winn is a modern marvel. A fitting heir to Ozzie鈥檚 Astroturf-covered throne.
Sure, Edgar Renteria won two Gold Gloves as a St. Louis shortstop. But Winn is just ... different. The speed, the arm, the wherewithal, the panache. Ozzie should be proud.
鈥淚 absolutely love Masyn Winn,鈥 said Marmol, an infielder himself during his minor league days. 鈥淗e is an athlete, he鈥檚 a dog 鈥 he just cares about winning. And he shows up every day to do exactly that. He is a highly competitive, emotional player.鈥
I promised myself I wouldn鈥檛 talk about offense in this column as I wanted to give proper props to his defense. But consider that Winn is fifth in the NL in WAR among position players on Baseball Reference. Shohei Ohtani, Matt Chapman, Ketel Marte and Lindor 鈥 that鈥檚 it. Winn is at 4.7, just ahead of De La Cruz, Mookie Betts, Brice Turang and former Cardinal Marcell Ozuna, who leads the NL in RBIs and is second in both batting average and homers.
Some of Winn鈥檚 WAR is due to his offense 鈥 he entered Monday hitting .283 with a .754 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). But 2.2 of his 4.7 WAR is from his defense (only Turang has a higher defensive WAR).
OK, two more quick offensive things to sneak in:
- Since Aug. 14, Winn is hitting .338 with a .881 OPS.
- And Winn leads all National Leaguers with 71 hits with two strikes (ahead of 67 for Luis Arraez, who has struck out just 26 times all year 鈥 heck, I think Nolan Gorman did that in a game).
OK, back to Winn鈥檚 defense. It really is just a spectacle. The 6-3s, the 6-4-3s, the 4-6-3s 鈥 each has as splash of his flair. And each week at Busch Stadium, even though there are fewer and fewer fans, there seems to be more and more WINN 0 jerseys.
On Monday, MLB Network posted video on X, formerly Twitter, of a TV segment. It was with sportscaster Greg Amsinger (a St. Louis native) and longtime MLB manager Buck Showalter. The duo discussed the five top rookies in the NL 鈥 Winn, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga, Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio. The question posed: If you were starting a franchise in 2025, who鈥檚 the first player you鈥檇 take of the five?
鈥淚鈥檓 taking the shortstop,鈥 Showalter said, stunning Amsinger, who chose Skenes. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking the premium position, I鈥檓 taking Masyn Winn.
鈥淣ow, this is not clear-cut. I鈥檇 love to have any of them. I just think the premium position, shortstop ... he鈥檚 going to be a single-digit-error guy, a plus-runner. I remember the first time I saw this guy, my eyes were drawn to him. I tell scouts all the time, when they were scouting somebody, your eyes are drawn to the player you were supposed to be looking at. This kid鈥檚 special.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e all great. Skenes, I think because of the physical dependency that you have 鈥 (throwing that hard) is just not a normal thing to do to your arm. I hope (a major arm injury) never happens. I hope he stays healthy. But one of the guys you choose, you鈥檙e going to have to give a five-, 10-year contract down the road 鈥 and you鈥檙e betting. Long-term, I鈥檓 taking the shortstop.鈥
Well, St. Louis has the shortstop at least until he鈥檚 eligible for free agency 鈥 in 2030.