Love to swing at their first pitches?

Some players don’t want to waste time and they love to swing at first pitches. For example, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed 16 first-pitch home runs in 2021. However, I would like to have a different way of thinking. Whose first pitches were most attractive to swing last year?

To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the statcast website. Here’s what I got.

Last year, Zack Wheeler faced 849 batters. Opponents swung at Zack Wheeler’s first pitch 309 times during the regular season and had 35 hits. Moreover, Wheeler gave up 3 first-pitch home runs in 2021. Wheeler had a great 2021 season and became an All-Star for the first time in his career. He posted a 2.78 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 213.1 innings. Opponents only batted .215 against Wheeler. Nevertheless, batting average against Wheeler’s first pitch was over .360. In addition, Sandy Alcantara was one of the four pitchers who threw more than 200 innings in the 2021 season. He faced 837 batters. Opponents swung at Alcantara’s first pitch nearly 300 times last year and collected 28 hits. And, he allowed 3 first-pitch homers. Alcantara took 15 losses in 2021, however, his ERA of 3.19 wasn’t that bad and he posted a 1.07 WHIP. Opponents hit .223 against Alcantara, but batting average against his first pitch was .286.   Furthermore, Cole Irvin was traded to the Oakland Athletics in January 2021. He made 32 starts last year and it was his first season to throw 100+ innings in a single season. Irvin faced 768 batters and opponents swung at his first pitch 272 times. Irvin gave up 3 first-pitch home runs in 2021. Meanwhile, another A’s pitcher Frankie Montas faced 778 batters last season and opponents swung at his first pitch 270 times. In 2021, Montas allowed 3 first-pitch home runs as well. Finally, Patrick Corbin made 31 starts for the Nationals last year. He threw 171. 2 innings and owned a 5.82 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Opponents batted .286 against Corbin in 2021 and crushed 37 home runs. Among those 37 home runs, 10 home runs were first pitch homers. Giving up too many first-pitch home runs might be a problem for him. Corbin faced 751 batters last year and opponents swung at his first pitch 268 times. Furthermore, in 2021, opponents swung at Walker Buehler’s first pitch 265 times and MLB batters chose to swing at Kevin Gausman’s first pitch over 260 times as well. Well, Cole Irvin had a 4.24 ERA in 2021 and Patrick Corbin’s ERA was over 5 last season. However, when we look at the top 10 of the chart, most pitchers finished the 2021 with an ERA under 4. Moreover, Robbie Ray won the 2021 AL Cy Young award and he faced 773 batters last year. Opponents swung at his first pitch nearly 260 times during the regular season and had a batting average of .389. Nonetheless, BAA against Robbie Ray was just .210. For MLB batters, first pitch might be the best pitch to swing each plate appearance?