MLB Players

Reading the leaderboard

Choose Hitters or Pitchers, a season, a window and, if you like, a team or a role. The default view lists qualified players: 3.1 plate appearances per team game for hitters; for pitchers one inning per team game as a starter, or one per three team games in relief. Shorter windows use smaller minimums. Choose Everyone to see every player.

Contact quality. Hard-hit % is the share of batted balls hit 95 mph or harder; a barrel is a ball hit hard enough at the right angle to most often go for extra bases. Expected wOBA is what that contact usually produces; a hitter well above his expected wOBA has had luck on his side.

Free and members. Season and Last 15 days are free. Last 30 and Last 7 days, home and road and splits against left- and right-handed opponents are part of Analytics, and every higher plan includes them.

Hitters

Playing time

Plate appearances (PA)

Plate appearances. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Hitting

wRC+ (wRC+)

Runs created per plate appearance compared with the league average, adjusted for the parks the games were played in. 100 is league average; 120 is 20% better. Higher is better.

wOBA (wOBA)

on-base average where each walk, single, double, triple and home run counts by the runs it is worth this season, on the on-base-percentage scale. Higher is better.

Expected wOBA (xwOBA)

The wOBA that this exit velocity and launch angle of contact usually produces, with walks and strikeouts as they happened. Far from wOBA means results ran ahead of or behind the contact. Higher is better.

Batting average (AVG)

Hits divided by at-bats. Higher is better.

On-base % (OBP)

Hits, walks and hit-by-pitches per plate appearance (sacrifice bunts left out). Higher is better.

Slugging % (SLG)

Total bases (1 per single up to 4 per home run) per at-bat. Higher is better.

Isolated power (ISO)

Slugging minus batting average: extra bases per at-bat. Higher is better.

Strikeout % (K%)

Strikeouts divided by plate appearances. Lower is better.

Walk % (BB%)

Walks (intentional included) divided by plate appearances. Higher is better.

Home run % (HR%)

Home runs divided by plate appearances. Higher is better.

BABIP (BABIP)

Hits other than home runs per ball put in play. It swings with luck and defense, and big gaps from the league tend to even out. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Home runs (HR)

Home runs. Higher is better.

Batted balls

Hard-hit % (HardHit%)

Batted balls with an exit velocity of 95 mph or more, as a share of batted balls with a measured speed. Higher is better.

Barrel % (Brl%)

Batted balls hit at least 98 mph at the launch angles that most often turn into extra-base hits and home runs, as a share of batted balls. Higher is better.

Average exit velocity (EV)

Average exit velocity of batted balls, in mph. Higher is better.

Sweet-spot % (SwSp%)

Batted balls with a launch angle between 8 and 32 degrees, the range that produces the most hits. Higher is better.

Ground-ball % (GB%)

Ground balls as a share of balls in play. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Fly-ball % (FB%)

Fly balls and pop-ups as a share of balls in play. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Pull % (Pull%)

Batted balls hit to the batter's pull side (left field for a right-handed hitter). Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Plate discipline

Chase % (Chase%)

Share of pitches outside the strike zone that the batter swung at. Lower is better.

Whiff % (Whiff%)

Share of swings that missed the ball. Lower is better.

Zone contact % (Z-Ct%)

Share of swings at pitches in the strike zone that made contact. Higher is better.

Pitchers

Playing time

Innings pitched (IP)

Innings pitched. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Starts (GS)

Games started. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Pitching

ERA (ERA)

Earned runs charged to him per nine innings, as scored officially. Lower is better.

Runs allowed per 9 (RA9)

Runs charged to him (earned or not) per nine innings, including runners he left on base who scored later. Lower is better.

FIP (FIP)

An ERA-scale number built only from strikeouts, walks, hit batters and home runs. Lower is better. Lower is better.

xFIP (xFIP)

FIP with home runs replaced by the number a league-average share of his fly balls would have produced. Lower is better.

Strikeout % (K%)

Strikeouts divided by batters faced. Higher is better.

Walk % (BB%)

Walks (intentional included) divided by batters faced. Lower is better.

K-BB% (K-BB%)

Strikeout rate minus walk rate. Higher is better.

wOBA allowed (wOBA)

Opponents' on-base average with each way of reaching base valued by the runs it is worth. Lower is better.

Expected wOBA allowed (xwOBA)

The wOBA that the exit velocity and launch angle of the contact he allowed usually produce, with walks and strikeouts as they happened. Lower is better.

Home runs per 9 (HR/9)

Home runs allowed per nine innings. Lower is better.

Contact allowed

Hard-hit % allowed (HardHit%)

Batted balls allowed with an exit velocity of 95 mph or more, as a share of batted balls. Lower is better.

Barrel % allowed (Brl%)

Batted balls allowed at the speed and angle that most often become extra-base hits, as a share of batted balls. Lower is better.

Ground-ball % (GB%)

Ground balls as a share of balls in play. Higher is better.

Pitching: swing & miss

Whiff % (Whiff%)

Share of swings against him that missed. Higher is better.

Called + swinging strike % (CSW%)

Called strikes and swinging strikes as a share of his pitches. Higher is better.

Chase % (induced) (Chase%)

Share of his pitches outside the strike zone that batters swung at. Higher is better.

Stuff

Fastball velocity (FB mph)

Average release speed of his four-seam fastballs and sinkers, in mph. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

Pitches per start (P/GS)

Average number of pitches thrown per start. Neither higher nor lower is better on its own.

First inning & first 5

Scoreless first innings (1st 0%)

Share of his starts in which the opponent did not score in the first inning. Higher is better.

First-5 runs allowed per start (F5 RA/GS)

Runs his team allowed through five innings in his starts, whoever was pitching. Lower is better.

Data: MLB pitch-by-pitch and official box scores, regular season.