Top 10 MLB Statcast hitters by traditional metrics

We’re looking at the top 10 Statcast hitters in Brls/PA to see how that correlates with other metrics. Are these the 10 best hitters in the game?

We’re about a third of the way through the 2018 season. That’s a good point to look back and reflect on some numbers. We are in a golden age of information in the sport of baseball. So let’s break down some Statcast hitters!

These new metrics purportedly do a better job of predicting future success than things like batting average or RBI totals. They may also be more predictive than more advanced stats like wRC+ or wOBA.

In fact, Statcast data at Baseball Savant includes expected versions of some stats, usually denoted with an “x” before a more recognizable stat. So you may see xwOBA instead of wOBA. xwOBA is what you would predict a player’s wOBA would be based on their launch angles and exit velocities.

Each property has its own hit expectancy, but combining the factors leads to a greater level of accuracy. So we’ll be taking a look at the top ten hitters by Brls/PA (a measure of high-quality contact) and checking them against AVG, OBP, SLG, HR, RBI, wRC+, wOBA and xwOBA.

This gives us a wide range of metrics to measure them against. And it should provide us with an interesting look at the correlation between that high-quality contact and the various results that can follow. These stats are accurate as of Saturday morning, May 26, 2018.