Around 2 or 3 weeks ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, an analyst mentioned a player’s numbers this season. A key change is that the player doesn’t swing as much as he did last season.
Simply put, that player’s swing rate drops. After listening to the podcast show, I was just wondering if there are other players whose swing rate decreases in 2026. To solve my doubt, I decided to check on the statcast website.
Back in 2025, Junior Caminero’s swing rate was 50.4%. So far this season, it drops to 41.0%. Caminero’s OPS was .846 in 2025 and he has an OPS over .850 thus far in 2026. There’s not much change in OPS. But there’s a key change, his on-base percentage increases from .311 to .373. Specifically, he drew 41 walks in 154 games in 2025. So far in the 2026 season, he has 41 walks over 67 games.
Last year, Xavier Edwards slashed .283/.343/.353 with 3 home runs and 43 RBI over 139 games. Edwards’ swing rate was 49%. By far in the 2026 season, Edwards’ swing rate is 40.2%. Now, he has played 71 games, hitting .300/.383/.442 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI.
Moreover, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit .247/.287/.481 with 31 home runs and 95 RBI in 2025. Last season, his swing rate was over 60%. So far this season, his swing rate declines to 52.2%. By far this season, he hits .263/.341/.462 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI in 71 games.
In addition, J.P. Crawford has played for the Mariners since 2019. Last year, he batted .265/.352/.370 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI over 157 games. In 2025, his swing rate was 45.1%. Now, his swing rate is below 40%. So far this season, he slashes .228/.356/.409 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI in 55 games. He’s currently on the IL.
Furthermore, Jackson Chourio finished the 2025 season with an OPS of .771. So far this season, his OPS is over .900. And he has an on-base percentage over .360 now. A key change is that his swing rate decreases from 53.4% to 46.1%.
Finally, Brandon Lowe was traded to the Pirates last December. So far, he has an OPS over .800 in the Pirates uniform. He doesn’t swing as often as he did last season. His swing rate decreases from 55.5% to 48.5%. But his OBP has increased from .307 to .331.
Looking at the players whose swing rate drops at least 7%, all of those players are having a higher on-base percentage than they did in 2025. In particular, Xavier Edwards’ OBP is over .380 and Caminero’s OBP is over .370. At the same time, most of them now have an OPS over .800. Well, it seems that those players are doing a better job to choose the right pitches to swing. Hence, we see the increases in OBP and OPS. In the meantime, we should keep watching Jackson Chourio, whose OPS is over .900 now. He missed some playing this season, it will be worthwhile to see if he can continue performing well.
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