It’s never a bad time to take the temperature on who’s hitting the ball hardest in MLB. Since we’re dealing with smaller samples than we’re used to for season-long metrics it’s a particularly excellent time to do so. We’re also seeing plenty of hitters shrug off early slumps after an unorthodox training camp, to say the least. Exit velocity is one of our favorite metrics to look under the hood and see who’s making the best contact.

Here is the leaderboard for average exit velocity the last ten days with at least 50 pitches faced.

  • José Abreu is the hottest hitter in baseball. His home run pace is bordering on historic. What a shame it’s in a shortened season and we won’t know what could have been over 162. At least we can enjoy the ride.

  • If it weren’t for his elder countryman above, Luis Robert would be garnering ever more attention. He smashes baseballs and swipes bags aggressively. Pitchers will challenge him with offspeed offerings and strikeouts have been his achilles heel. It will be fun to see if he can make adjustments and continue being a 2020 value.

  • Gregory Polanco has returned from the land of the baseball dead. He’s certainly squaring the ball up right now. The results aren’t quite there yet with a .136 AVG. That could come up in a hurry if he continues to put the ball in play this hard.

  • Recent call-up Jake Fraley is a pet favorite of mine. His speed is my main interest but this exit velo is fun to see. It’s only 8 at-bats so let’s see where things go. He can easily stick as the Mariniers CF of the future with a good campaign, however.

  • Christian Yelich was one of the names drafters had the confidence to select ahead of dad to be Mike Trout . It hasn’t panned out so far. Yelich is starting to swing the bat, though. Let’s see if a heater from the Brewer can raise the fortunes of his drafters.

  • If you’re in a league with daily changes or playing DFS, Howie Kendrick is always a solid play when facing a LHP. He’s always been able to generate quality contact off of southpaw’s. Keep an eye peeled for lefties the Nats will face. With Boston twice on the upcoming schedule he should get a couple bites at Martín Pérez .