New No. 1 gives Hitter Power Rankings a fresh look

New No. 1 gives Hitter Power Rankings a fresh look

June 8th, 2023

Sluggers tend to top the Hitter Power Rankings.

Over our first five polls of 2023, either , or  took the No. 1 spot. Those three are all complete hitters, but their power obviously headlines the package. Hey, we all dig the long ball.

Well, this time around, our leader has -- get this -- one home run this season.

But that’s the magic of the Marlins’ . He doesn’t crush the ball, but he drops base hits everywhere, with artistic flair. When it’s June and you’re still chasing .400, that catches the attention of our voters, who considered track record, season-long excellence and recent performance in casting their ballots for this latest edition of the Hitter Power Rankings.

Note: Judge was omitted due to being placed on the injured list on Tuesday. (All stats through Tuesday’s games.)

1. Luis Arraez, Marlins (Last poll: 8)
How is Arraez doing this, despite hitting the ball hard less often than almost anyone? He rarely swings and misses or strikes out (100th percentile in both whiff rate and K rate). He ranks third in the Majors in line drives. And he sprays the ball around, with at least 25 base hits to each third of the field.

2. Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves (1)
Is the power or the speed the most impressive part of Acuña’s game right now? Not only has he bashed 12 homers, but seven of them have left his bat at 112-plus mph and flown at least 440 feet; no other player has more than two such bombs. On the other hand, Acuña leads the NL in stolen bases and is a major threat (along with Oakland’s Esteury Ruiz) to record MLB’s first 70-steal season since 2009 (Jacoby Ellsbury).

3. , Dodgers (4)
On Tuesday at Cincinnati, the Reds brought in left-handed reliever Alex Young to face Freeman with the bases loaded. Despite falling behind 0-2, Freeman smacked a grand slam. That gave him an .842 OPS in 0-2 counts and a 1.033 mark against southpaws. In other words, there’s not much that can stop him from raking.

4. , Astros (3)
In each of his four Major League seasons (setting aside 2020, when he played just two games), Alvarez has ranked above the 90th percentile in hard-hit rate, barrel rate, expected slugging and expected wOBA. His 162 OPS+ this year exactly matches his career mark.

5. , Rays (5)
One of five qualifying players who rank in the 80th percentile or higher in both strikeout rate and walk rate, Díaz boasts by far the best hard-hit rate among that group (55.2%). None of the other four (Alex Bregman, Anthony Rendon, Adley Rutschman and Will Smith) are even at 45%.

6. , Blue Jays (not ranked)
It’s Bichette, more than Vladimir Guerrero Jr., leading the charge for Toronto this season. The 25-year-old has played in every game and leads the Majors with 88 hits and 140 total bases while batting .332. Only Acuña and Guerrero have notched more hard-hit balls than Bichette (103).

7. , Dodgers (not ranked)
A late bloomer, Martinez developed into one of the game’s top hitters from 2014-19, his age-26 through age-31 seasons. His performance had ticked down somewhat since then, but so far in 2023, Martinez has been resurgent in his first year with the Dodgers. At age 35, he once again looks like a master of his craft.

8. , Dodgers (not ranked)
Only one team has multiple players on this list, and that’s the Dodgers with three. Betts’ power is up a bit, thanks in part to back-to-back two-homer games last week, but he is more or less having the same season he always does -- which is to say a really good one. Betts’ OPS+ figures: 138 this year, 139 last year, 136 as a Dodger and 134 for his entire career.

9. , Rangers (not ranked)
Remember when Semien got off to an abysmal start last season after signing a seven-year, $175 million contract with Texas? That’s firmly in the rearview mirror. Semien finished strong in 2022 and has been even stronger in ‘23. Batting leadoff for the buzzsaw that is the Rangers’ offense, he’s on pace for only the second 150-run season since 1950, joining Jeff Bagwell (2000).

10. , Mets (not ranked)
The man loves to hit dingers, and he’s really, really good at it. Alonso leads the Majors in that category this year, and he also leads going back to his 2019 debut, with 12 more than Judge. (And don’t forget the two Home Run Derby titles.) At present, the Polar Bear is on pace for a career-high 58 big flies in 2023.

Also receiving votes: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (D-backs), Corbin Carroll (D-backs), Sean Murphy (Braves), Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Corey Seager (Rangers), Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox), Adolis García (Rangers), Wander Franco (Rays), Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals)

Voters: David Adler, Brett Blueweiss, Paul Casella, Doug Gausepohl, Thomas Harrigan, Sarah Langs, Travis Miller, Ricardo Montes de Oca, Brian Murphy, Sweeny Murti, Manny Randhawa, Efrain Ruiz, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, David Venn