Presenting your 2022 MLB stat leaders

The 2022 postseason is right around the corner, but before we look ahead to what is sure to be an incredible month of baseball, we should acknowledge the players who led their respective leagues in significant statistical categories this season, from home runs to Outs Above Average.

Here’s a look at your 2022 league leaders.

BATTING

Home runs

AL/MLB: Aaron Judge (NYY), 62
No surprises here. Judge has held at least a share in the Major League lead in homers since May 2, when he had nine of them. By August, we’d stopped asking whether he might win the home run title and started considering his chances at Roger Maris’ 61-year-old American League record, which he would ultimately tie on Sept. 28 and surpass on the second-to-last day of the season. In addition to being the new AL home run king, Judge is also just the sixth player in AL/NL history to top 60 home runs in a season.

NL: Kyle Schwarber (PHI), 46
Schwarber found himself overshadowed by Judge at every turn, but his 2022 season is worth your attention, too. In his first season with the Phillies, he topped 40 home runs for the first time in his career, then accelerated past that mark in the final two weeks of the season, becoming the first Phillie to lead the NL in home runs since Ryan Howard in '08.

Batting average

AL: Luis Arraez (MIN), .316
The Twins’ Ichiro-esque hit machine took home the first of what could be many batting titles. Arraez trailed in the batting race with about a week to go, but he went 5-for-13 in the season’s final days to take the title and Triple Crown away from Judge.

NL/MLB: Jeff McNeil (NYM), .326
It came down to the wire, but McNeil ultimately captured the NL batting title despite a push from Freddie Freeman. The Mets utility man hit all over the lineup and played all over the field in what was the best season of his career to date, becoming just the second player in franchise history to take home a batting title (José Reyes, 2011).

RBIs

AL: Aaron Judge (NYY), 131
A guy with 62 homers is bound to drive in a ton of runs, and Judge was no exception in 2022. Judge's 131 RBIs are a career high, giving him his first RBI title.

NL: Pete Alonso (NYM), 131
In another wildly productive season, Alonso set a new Mets single-season record for RBIs in ‘22, blazing past the previous mark of 124 set by Mike Piazza in 1999 and tied by David Wright in 2008. Alonso and Judge’s combined feat is also worth recognition -- the last time both leagues had at least one player reach 130+ RBIs was in 2007.

Stolen bases:

AL: Jorge Mateo (BAL), 35
Mateo jockeyed for position with teammate Cedric Mullins, but ultimately came out on top, becoming the first Oriole to lead the AL in stolen bases since Brian Roberts in 2007.

NL/MLB: Jon Berti (MIA): 41
Berti, in addition to being the only player to reach the 40-SB mark in 2022, did so in just 102 games, which made a little bit of history -- no player has ever led the Majors in stolen bases in a full season with fewer games played.

Statcast barrels:

AL/MLB: Aaron Judge (NYY), 106
Since his debut in 2017, Judge has 63 more barrels than any other hitter (361, to J.D. Martinez’s 298), so given a full season and a historic home run pace, it’s hardly a shock he led the Majors by 28 barrels in 2022.

NL: Kyle Schwarber (PHI), 76
In addition to his 46 home runs, the veteran Schwarber hit more barrels than anyone else in the NL while leading the Phillies to their first playoff appearance since 2011.

PITCHING:

Wins:

AL: Justin Verlander (HOU), 18
Verlander’s 2022 was a comeback season for the ages -- after winning his second Cy Young Award in '19, he made just one start in '20 before undergoing Tommy John surgery at the age of 37. When he made his return as a 39-year-old with nearly 3,000 career innings pitched, it seemed fair to assume his best years were behind him. Not so. He made 28 starts in the regular season and his .818 winning percentage (18-4) was his second-best in a full season, just behind his '11 MVP campaign (.828).

NL/MLB: Kyle Wright (ATL), 21
Combining one of the best offenses in baseball and a breakout campaign from Wright, the Braves were nearly unbeatable when the 27-year-old righty took the mound. After going 1-4 in May, Wright only lost two games from there on out while allowing three earned runs or fewer in 17 of his 20 starts since the start of June.

ERA

AL/MLB: Justin Verlander (HOU), 1.75
In addition to piling up 18 wins, Verlander posted his best single-season ERA to date -- and the second-lowest by a qualifying pitcher in or after his age-39 season, trailing only Cy Young.

NL: Julio Urías (LAD), 2.16
Urías served as a steady presence atop a Dodgers starting rotation that dealt with injuries all year, posting the best season by ERA for a qualifying Dodgers pitcher since Zack Greinke had a 1.66 ERA in 2016.

Strikeouts:

AL/MLB: Gerrit Cole (NYY), 257
While Judge dominated the news cycle in New York this season, Cole set a new franchise mark of his own, surpassing the Yankees’ single-season strikeout record (248) that Ron Guidry had held since 1978. Cole is also the first Yankee to lead the AL in strikeouts since Al Downing in 1964.

NL: Corbin Burnes (MIL): 243
The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner followed up with another excellent season, becoming the first pitcher in Brewers franchise history to lead either league in strikeouts.

Saves:

AL/MLB: Emmanuel Clase (CLE), 42
Clase was everything the playoff-bound Guardians could have asked for in 2022, posting a 1.38 ERA over a Major League-leading 77 appearances, recording a save in 42 of Cleveland’s 92 wins on the year.

NL: Kenley Jansen (ATL), 41
While Jansen’s 2022 season wasn’t his best, it was still productive -- in his first year with the Braves, Jansen led the NL in saves for the second time in his career.

FIELDING

Outs Above Average (outfielders)

AL: Jose Siri (TB), +15
An under-the-radar Deadline acquisition from Houston, Siri added a ton of value to a Rays outfield that played the majority of the 2022 season without Platinum Glover Kevin Kiermaier.

NL/MLB: Daulton Varsho (ARI), +17
Varsho was one of the biggest surprises in the D-backs lineup this season, as he slugged 27 homers and drove in 74 runs, but his work with the glove might have been the real head-turner. Coming through Arizona’s Minor League ranks, Varsho spent most of his time as a catcher, starting 180 games there. He made the transition seamlessly and may even earn himself some love in Gold Glove Award voting.