We are a couple of weeks into the 2024 MLB season. Now is a good time to start a new weekly column here at Inside Edge. Every Monday, we will provide some stats from our Edge Wizard tool or the more prominently known product, Remarkable. These things will vary from incredibly obscure to quite obvious. Let’s start, shall we?
Something we track slightly different at Inside Edge is our Well-Hit ratings. We take into account the launch angle and exit velocity for each batted ball. If a player hits a ball with a near perfect launch angle but the exit velocity is only 97 mph, we still have it as a Well-Hit ball. On the other hand, if we have a 110 mph groundball with a severely negative launch angle, that might not be considered a Well-Hit ball. So, let’s take a look at the leader in the early season.
Bobby Witt Jr. leads MLB with 18 Well-Hit Balls but what might be more impressive is the consistency of his contact. He is the only batter (min. 25 ABs) with a Well-Hit Average over .400. The league average Well-Hit Rate currently sits at .197. The best Well-Hit Average from a qualified batter in the 2023 season was Ronald Acuña Jr. at .336. Can Witt Jr. beat that mark this season?
There are two pitchers that have generated 40 or more swings and misses — Garrett Crochet and Jared Jones. Crochet has 27 (!) swings and misses on his fastball this season, most in MLB. Jones is not far behind with 22 misses on his fastball and he has 19 on his slider, 4th most in MLB. There is one pitcher that has Jared Jones beat in the miss rate category this season — Reid Detmers. Opponents are 1-for-14 with 8 Ks against Detmers fastball this season.
Let’s end off with some on-base monsters to start the 2024 regular season.
This comes our Remarkable leaderboard. There are five batters this season still with an on-base percentage at or better than .500. How many players will finish with a +.400 OBP this season?