The fantasy baseball ranking season is in full swing. For me, that typically starts with searching advanced stats leaderboards. Advanced statistics are often more predictive than traditional box score statistics. Thus, they’re an excellent jumping-off point. This series will dive into a variety of my favorite advanced metrics. However, I must caution that no statistic in isolation is the secret sauce for unearthing a hidden gem or burgeoning stud. Instead, they are a piece of the puzzle and best viewed through that lens, using other statistics in conjunction with them to formulate a well-rounded opinion of the fantasy value of players.
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Max Exit Velocity (maxEV)
Max Exit Velocity (maxEV) is straightforward and precisely what it sounds like. It’s the measure in miles per hour (MPH) of the hardest-struck ball by a player. Predictably, many of the game’s elite boppers are on the top of the leaderboard. But, conversely, the bottom of the leaderboard is filled with slap-hitters.
The maxEV is a Statcast measure. However, thankfully, FanGraphs houses the Statcast data on their handy leaderboards. As I’ve done repeatedly in this series, let’s add some context to this particular statistic. In 2021, the top maxEV out of 132 qualified hitters was 122.2 MPH. The lowest mark was only 104.6 MPH. Finally, the median maxEV was 111.75 MPH.
2021 Qualified Hitters Max Exit Velocity Leaders
The above table was responsible for a boatload of homers in 2021. The lowest total among the top-20 hitters in maxEV was Jonathan Schoop's 22 blasts. Then, Carlos Correa had the second-fewest with 26 bombs. So, 19 of the top-20 hitters in maxEV bashed more than 25 homers last season.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (48 homers), Shohei Ohtani (46), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (42) were eighth, third, and tied for 13th in maxEV among qualified hitters last year and all launched more than 40 taters. Four more players from the table above had 35 homers or more, including Giancarlo Stanton (35), Bryce Harper (35), Pete Alonso (37), and Aaron Judge (37).
Yet, the power binge doesn't end there. Another half-dozen maxEV leaders hit 30 or more homers, such as Miguel Sano (30), Hunter Renfroe (31), Javier Baez (31), Nelson Cruz (32), Teoscar Hernandez (32), and Yordan Alvarez (33).
Interestingly, the maxEV leaderboard wasn't merely a collection of all-or-nothing sluggers. Instead, only Miguel Sano and Soler had a batting average below .225, each sporting precisely a .223 batting average. According to FanGraphs, the league average for batting average in 2021 was .244. All but Sano and Soler from the table above had a batting average above the league average for 2021, and 13 hitters had a batting average of .265 or better. So, being capable of hitting the ball extremely hard led to more than homers for last year's maxEV leaders. Finally, all 20 hitters above had a wRC+ above 100.
Noteworthy Non-Qualified Hitters in 2021
Kyle Schwarber scalded the ball last year, bouncing back from a horrible pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. He not only rebounded, but Schwarber also had a career year, setting new bests for OBP (.374), wRC+ (145), and hitting the second-highest number of homers (32) in a season in his career. However, Schwarber had 32 homers in only 471 plate appearances last year, good for a pace of one homer per 14.72 plate appearances, better than his pace of one homer per 16.05 plate appearances when he ripped a career-high 38 homers in 2019.
Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luis Robert are loaded with tools, including plus raw power, exhibited by their top-shelf maxEVs in 2021. In his first year on the Blue Jays, George Springer spent time on the Injured List, but he was excellent when he played.
Mike Zunino's placement on the table above is another example in this series of the legitimacy of the backstop's massive power. Unfortunately, as a base stealer, Ketel Marte had a disappointing campaign in 2021, swiping just two in an injury-abbreviated campaign. He was limited to 90 games and 374 plate appearances. However, he ripped the cover off the ball, essentially proving his 2019 career year wasn't a one-hit-wonder.
Finally, I'm not going out of my way to draft Justin Upton. Still, his power hasn't taken a nosedive off a cliff. So, if he gets off to a fast start, I won't immediately dismiss it as a fluke, depending on what his underlying metrics look like.
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers CStr%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers CSW%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers O-Swing%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers GB%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers SwStr%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Soft%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers IFFB%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Z-Contact%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers BABIP
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Whiff% Fastballs
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters BB/K
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters FB/LD Exit Velocity
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters Barrel%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters Z-Contact%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters Z-Swing%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters FB%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters SwStr%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters O-Swing%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters IFFB%
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
