PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s Ketel Marte was on the defensive in the 10th inning of a recent game between the Diamondbacks and Reds, desperately fouling off a handful of 100 mph heaters and 90 mph sliders from Cincinnati flamethrower Graham Ashcraft in a riveting battle.
Then on the 13th pitch of the at-bat, the All-Star second baseman muscled a 99 mph cutter into right-center field for a tying single.
Score one for Major League Baseball’s hitters.
Ever so slightly, they appear to be winning a few more of these battles and getting some wood on the baseball.
“Good things happen when you put it in play,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.
It’s a mantra that’s usually true — but also easier said than done — particularly in the days of the widespread 95 mph fastball. Strikeouts have boomed over the past 15-20 years thanks to increased velocity, with more whiffs than hits in MLB games beginning in the 2018 season.
A series of rules changes in 2023 succeeded in spurring the sort of action MLB believes fans want — stolen bases went up, average game times went down and attendance rebounded after sagging in the late 2010s. But even after infield shifts were eliminated, theoretically hamstringing defenses, leaguewide batting averages remained low, in part because strikeouts remained high.
A shift may finally have come in 2025. MLB teams are averaging exactly 8.28 hits and strikeouts per game through Aug. 26, and batting average is up slightly to .246.
It’s a small but telling step in the hitters’ direction, perhaps encouraged by baseball’s new rules but undoubtedly enabled by technology that’s helped hitters adapt to pitchers with nastier and nastier stuff.
“There’s some situational awareness to where players can control an at-bat and have a little more of a two-strike approach,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s about being a professional hitter and putting balls in play. Still doing it with an authority, but not taking a big two-strike home run swing. Finding out how to toggle with your approach.
“I think everyone wants to see that back in baseball. I love the home run. I love the big ball, no doubt about it. But I like good hitters, too. And there’s a hybrid out there that’s learning and growing in the minor leagues and it’s starting to make its way to the big leagues.”
Some hitters credit technology for the shift. Big league teams now use things like the Trajekt Arc pitching machine to mimic big league pitchers, spitting out high-speed, high-spin balls that dive and cut just like in real life.
Using video of deliveries and data, the robot allows a hitter to step in against recreated offerings from any pitcher he wants to face.
“We’ve all got these fancy machines and things like that, that kind of show you those things and then just having an understanding of how to attack those,” Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon said. “I think also the game has had a lot of nasty stuff for a while now and hitters are starting to adjust back.”
Some of MLB’s best teams have figured out a way to cut down on strikeouts. The Toronto Blue Jays (884), San Diego Padres (900) and Kansas City Royals (923) are the only teams in the big leagues with fewer than 1,000 whiffs this season and all three have postseason aspirations.
The king of avoiding strikeouts continues to be San Diego’s Luis Arráez, who has struck out just 15 times in 514 at-bats this season. The three-time batting champion averages just one strikeout every 34.27 at-bats — an unreal feat that’s reminiscent of the game’s deadball era from a century ago.
Arráez is an outlier, but Lovullo is correct that there’s a generation of young players who are good at avoiding the strikeout.
Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (12.50), Athletics All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson (12.42) and Cleveland two-time All-Star Steven Kwan (10.31) round out the top four in at-bats per strikeout.
Even some free swingers are making modest gains. Boston’s Trevor Story is a guy who strikes out quite a bit, but he’s on pace for his lowest whiff rate since 2021. It’s probably no coincidence that the 32-year-old is having one of his best seasons in the big leagues with a .260 average, 21 homers and 83 RBIs.
“It’s almost more of a mindset, especially with two strikes,” Story said. “I think choking up is an old school thing that I’ve used at times this year and using the right side of the field and being able to shoot the ball through that four hole (second base) especially with the shift. It’s taking what the defense gives you.”
Colorado Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak is still just 27 years old, making him a firm member of Generation K. He said that big league players are getting used to triple-digit velocity and making adjustments to stay competitive.
“It’s just a number now,” Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak said. “I used to, early on in my career in the minor leagues, I used to want to know how hard guys are throwing. I still look at it, but I think I look at it less. Kind of just assume the guys are going to be throwing at least 95 these days.”
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum, AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Schuyler Dixon and Pat Graham, and freelancer Larry Fleisher, contributed to this story.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
