MLB Rankings: The most prolific Three True Outcomes hitters
By Damian Dydyn
#2: Jack Cust – 53.06%
Jack Cust is what this house of cards approach to hitting looks like more often than not. A brief period of steady and productive play sandwiched between a struggle to break through and a quick decline.. With only 7.68% his TTO’s being HR, the only reason he makes this list is that he had the highest percentage of walks per TTO. His strikeout percentage was 3rd on the list and his 2,578 PA were second fewest.
His profile was one that allowed him to hang on for 10 major league seasons in 11 years, spending all of 2005 in AAA Sacramento. Cust had a run from 2007-2009 where he hit 26, 33, and 25 HR, but otherwise did not play enough for his power to shine. He played more than 100 games in 4 seasons from 2007-2010 and appeared on Baseball America’s top 100 list 3 times from 2000-2002. Over his 11 years in the majors, he never once appeared in the postseason.
HIs one claim to fame is that he finished his career with the 48th highest career OBP among players with 600 PA or more. This ability to draw a walk was quite impressive and he had enough power to be a dangerous hitter. Unfortunately, his defense was horrendous which made finding teams with room to fit him on their roster was difficult.
Jack Cust played for 6 teams, starting his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent time with the Rockies, Orioles, Padres, Athletics and the Seattle Mariners. He spent an additional two seasons in AAA for the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays but was unable to find his way back to the major league level.
#1: Russell Branyan – 61.89%
Russell Branyan played over 14 seasons from 1998-2011. His .232/.329/.485 slash, 194 HR, 403 BB, and 1,118 K leave him with 1,715 TTO’s. That’s good for 6th most on this list. But since we are looking for the hitters who were the most prolific TTO hitters by percentage, and not the ones with the most total TTO’s, the former journeyman takes the top spot. He also holds the distinction of playing for the most teams, coming in at 10!
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Struggling to find regular playing time, he appeared in 100 games just 4 times in his 14 year career. He appeared in 75 or fewer in 7 of them. Despite the length of his career, he appeared in just 6 playoff games amassing a .732 OPS. His high watermark for HR was 31 in 2009 with the Mariners and reached 20 in just 3 other seasons.
After spending 2012 in the Yankees farm system trying to crack the major league roster again, he moved to Mexico to play in the Caribbean League. He managed to hit 52% better than league average. He played most of 2014 in Mexico as well and appeared in 4 games for the Indians’ AAA affiliate before finally hanging up the cleats.
Russell Branyan played for the Indians, Reds, Brewers, Rays, Padres, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Cardinals, Mariners, Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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What Three True Outcomes hitters can you remember rooting for? Which ones who are playing now do you think might have a chance to crack this list? Let us know in the comments!