MLB’s Best Hitting Pitchers This Year
We’re at a point in the MLB season where plenty of NL pitchers have racked up double-digit at-bat totals. When that happens, I find it weirdly exciting to look at their stats. It’s sort of a quirky thing that people don’t pay attention to, so obviously, it intrigues me.
Right now, on the morning of May 12th, there are 32 pitchers with at least 15 plate appearances, which I think is a large enough sample size to start judging players. As you’d expect, it’s not pretty. Most pitchers are well below .200 with a lot of strikeouts, but a few are actually solid. Again, as you’d expect, most pitchers actually hitting are the ones who have a reputation to do so. You know, Zack Greinke, Noah Syndergaard and the like. Even so, below, you can see the best hitting pitchers so far in the 2019 MLB season.
Zack Greinke, Arizona
Greinke is the king of hitting pitchers and has been for years. Since joining the NL in 2011, he’s collected 105 hits, seven homers, and 25 walks, all while striking out just 18.3 percent of the time (99 in 540 PAs). Not surprisingly, his numbers this year are outstanding; he leads all qualified pitchers in plate appearances (24), triples (1), and OPS (1.080), and is tied for the lead in hits (6), doubles (2) and home runs (2).
2019 stats: .286 BA, 5 XBH, 4 SO, 2 SAC, 1.080 OPS
Noah Syndergaard, New York
Thor strikes out a lot but he’s got real power in the batter’s box. On May 5th, he hit a solo homer for the Mets, their only run, and pitched a shutout against a stacked Dodgers lineup. He currently is tied for the home run lead with Greinke (2).
2019 stats: .176 BA, 2 HR, 1 SAC, .793 OPS
Zack Wheeler, New York
Most pitchers for the Mets can hit and there’s no denying that. Wheeler, however, is outhitting Syndergaard and deGrom this year. In fact, among the 32 pitchers with 15 PAs, he has the third-best batting average.
2019 stats: .263 BA, 1 HR, 8 SO, .737 OPS
Kenta Maeda, Los Angeles
Maeda’s batting average isn’t eye-popping or anything but he handles the bat extremely well. He leads all pitchers in sacrifices (4) and strikeout percentage (15%) so far. This year isn’t a fluke, either; he’s struck out only 31 times in 170 plate appearances (18.2%), a notch better than Greinke’s career mark.
2019 stats: .188 BA, 2 XBH, 3 SO, 4 SAC
Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee
This guy hasn’t been around very long but he’s quickly proving he belongs in the top-tier of hitting pitchers. He has the highest batting average of all pitchers with 15-plus PAs and is tied for the most hits (6). And like Maeda, it’s not a fluke. For his career, though short, he’s hit at least .200 in every season he’s played (’17-’19).
2019 stats: .353 BA, 2 XBH, .859 OPS