1. Micah Owings – Arizona Diamondbacks/Cincinnati Reds/SD Padres
Micah Owings was promoted to the big leagues in 2007, as a starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He finished that season with a 4.30 ERA in 29 games.
Over the next two years, Owings struggled. He was eventually demoted to the bullpen, where he would ride out his short-lived six-year career.
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However, what Owings lacked on the mound he made up for in his bat. In six seasons, Owings finished with a .283 average, nine home runs and 16 extra base hits.
When he was demoted from the starting rotation, Owings made appearances at the plate as a long reliever and a pinch hitter. In his rookie season, he took home the Silver Slugger, hitting .333 with four home runs and eight extra base hits.
The thing that separates Owings apart from the other nine pitchers is his OPS+ of 106. That is the highest among all the pitchers on the list and is above the league average, which, according to FanGraphs, is 100.
That means Owings was not only hitting better than opposing pitchers, but he was hitting better than many hitters as well.
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If his career was not cut short by his struggles on the mound, who knows how much higher his statistics at the plate would be. But one thing is for certain. Despite only playing six years, Owings is the best hitting pitcher in MLB history. Stats don’t lie.