95mph pitch, can you hit it?

It’s just a random idea. I was thinking of one thing. Which MLB player is the best fastball hitter? When I was searching on the statcast website, I thought that maybe I can try to find something more. Something even faster, thus, I did some search to see which player does hit really well when a pitch is at least 95mph.

Donovan Solano is the Giants’ surprise. He’s hitting .335, a batting average that’s currently third highest in the National League. Solano is not a home run hitter, however, against pitches that are at least 95mph, he does collect many hits and his batting average is above .500. Freddie Freeman has been really hot in September and he is a very strong candidate for the National League MVP. So far, Freddie Freeman is hitting .338/.456/.628. A 95mph-pitch? No problem. Freeman’s batting average against pitches that are at least 95mph is .500. Meanwhile, he crushed 3 home runs when facing pitches at least 95mph. Two of them were grand slams. Don’t sleep on Corey Seager. The 2016 NL Rookie of the Year winner has been very good this season. Seager is currently hitting .325/.374/.620. A 95-mph pitch is not a problem. Seager’ batting average against pitches that are at least 95mph is .440 and had a homer so far. Alex Dickerson is another good hitter in the Giants lineup. He’s slashing .303/.375/.599. He already had 3 home runs when facing pitches at least 95mph. Oakland Athletics acquired Tommy La Stella from the division rival Angels. La Stella has been quite consistent in his career and he seems to be comfortable against fastballs. When facing pitches at least 95mph, La Stella is hitting .429 and crushed a homer.

When we look at xwOBA, there is a big name. Do not forget Bryce Harper. There’s no doubt that he’s a great hitter and he truly can crush baseballs. He already homered four times against pitches that are at least 95mph and his xwOBA is higher than .500. Throwing a high-90’s to Harper, you must think twice. Jose Abreu is one of the AL MVP favorites. He already collected 57 RBI, leading the majors. Also, he crushed 19 homers so far, only behind Luke Voit, who already hit 21 home runs. Abreu is surely a home run hitter. He already crushed 5 homers against pitches that are at least 95mph. You can’t stop him even if you throw really hard. The 1st pick of the 2015 draft, Dansby Swanson is pretty good at hitting fastballs. He has 9 home runs so far this season, 3 homers were against pitches over 95mph. He does make high-quality contact against pitches at least 95mph. The 2020 season is truly disappointing for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Josh Bell. Josh Bell only hits .223/.300/.370 so far. Nonetheless, Josh Bell is still a good fastball hitter. His xwOBA against fastballs is .388. At the same time, his xwOBA of .531 tells us that Josh Bell still makes good quality of contact when seeing pitches at least 95mph. MLB pitchers throw a lot of heats, however, MLB hitters are able to get the job done. These good hitters just tell us that throwing hard is not enough.