Hit four-seamers hard

A few days ago, we saw some teams’ relievers have thrown really hard this season. After checking pitching stats on the statcast website, I’m also thinking about another question.

In particular, the batting stats, which team has a higher exit velocity against four-seam fastballs this season?

Average Exit Velocity (Against four-seam fastballs, remove bunts, ~2023.05.25)
Team	Exit Velocity (mph)
Braves	94.2
Rays	94.2
Yankees	93.8
Angels	93.3
Cardinals	92.8
Mariners	92.4
Blue Jays	92.3
Red Sox	92.1
Tigers	91.9
Twins	91.9

By far this season, the Braves have an OPS of .792, which is the second highest among 30 MLB teams. The Braves lineup is certainly one of the most dangerous lineups in the majors. Moreover, they are hitting very well against four-seam fastballs. Their batting average against four-seamers is .378 (remove bunts) thus far. Additionally, they already crushed 25 home runs against four-seamers. In the Braves lineup, Ozzie Albies already had 5 home runs against 4-seamers.So far this season, the Braves hit four-seam fastballs hard with an average exit velocity of 94.2 mph.

In addition, the Rays have a tremendous start in the 2023 season. Now, they are the only team with a winning percentage over .700. Their offense is by far the best in the league with an OPS over .800. For the opponents, it might be very dangerous to throw four-seamers to the Rays batters. By far, they already smashed 39 home runs against four-seam fastballs, which is the most among 30 MLB teams. Furthermore, their batting average against four-seamers is over .400. Their average exit velocity against four-seamers is over 94 mph. Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena each smashed 5 homers against four-seam fastballs. In the meantime, against 4-seamers, Jose Siri, Taylor Walls and Luke Raley each blasted 4 homers.

In addition, the Yankees are now third in the AL East and their OPS is .727, which ranks 13th among 30 MLB teams. However, no one can ignore this team. The Yankees batters hit four-seam fastballs very well with a batting average over .350 and an average exit velocity of 93.8 mph. And, they already blasted 35 home runs against four-seamers. Giancarlo Stanton’s average exit velocity against 4-seamer is over 100 mph, but he is currently on the IL

Finally, against four-seam fastballs, the average exit velocity of the Angels batters is 93.3 mph. In the Angels lineup, there are several batters who hit four-seamers very well. Shohei Ohtani certainly can crush four-seam fastballs and his average exit velocity against four-seamers is over 97 mph. And, how about Mike Trout? Trout’s average exit velocity against four-seamers is nearly 94 mph. Meanwhile, when the Cardinals face the four-seam fastballs, their average exit velocity is nearly 93 mph. In the Cardinals lineup, Nolan Arenado blasted 7 home runs against four-seamers. Four-seam fastball is the most common pitch in baseball games. Batters are surely familiar with this type of pitch. By far, we can see that the Rays and the Braves certainly hit very well against four-seamers. The Yankees’ OPS might not be in the top of the league, however, there’s no doubt that they can crush four-seam fastballs. When facing these teams, in particular, against the Braves or the Rays, it’s very important to locate the four-seamer at the right spot.