Tyler Stephenson made a statement on Saturday with a grand slam off of Angels starter Patrick Sandoval despite a slow start to the season. In 18 games and 58 plate appearances, he’s batting .200/.293/.420. However, a closer look at his stats shows that he has been the victim of bad luck, with nearly a quarter of his batted balls being barrels.
Last season, Stephenson struggled with strikeouts, but this year he is making more contact and walking more. He leads the majors in whomps per whiff, a stat that measures the power/contact tradeoff, with notable names like Yordan Alvarez, David Ortiz, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and Juan Soto among the top five by this metric.
Other standout performers include Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Tyler O’Neill. Ryan O’Hearn has been quietly putting up impressive numbers, leading the majors in xwOBA. Salvador Perez and Kyle Tucker are also off to hot starts, along with Jose Altuve.
Some players to keep an eye on include Cronenworth, Adam Duvall, and Mike Trout. The Cardinals have offensive struggles despite having two players in the top 15 of whomps per whiff. The list provides insight into who’s been performing well and who’s struggling early in the season.
