Ranking the 10 Best Hitters and Pitchers of 2024 MLB Season so Far

It's still early in the 2024 MLB season, but not so early that we don't have a good idea which hitters and pitchers are showing how it's done.

So, let's rank 'em.

Not all of 'em, mind you. The 10 best hitters and pitchers of the season so far will suffice. It was easy enough to size up the former based on their batting and baserunning, as well as their availability. To this end, Tyler O'Neill was a notably tough omission.

Pitchers presented a more complicated challenge. With respect to Craig Kimbrel and Mason Miller, only starters with a minimum of three starts were allowed. A low ERA combined with a big pile of innings is always ideal, but what's under the hood also matters. That means things like strikeouts, walks, home runs and general contact quality.

Please note that while all the stats presented here are up to date through Friday's games, the list itself was compiled after Thursday's games. To anyone who made a strong case for inclusion on Friday: Sorry, but you just had bad timing.

In any case, we'll go two at a time in counting down the guys who did make the cut.

Hitter No. 10: 2B Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks

Stats: 21 G, 97 PA, 5 HR, 1 SB, .345 AVG, .392 OBP, .598 SLG

Perhaps there's a limit to how much Marte's surface-level results jump off the page, but there are a couple reasons why he deserves to be here anyway.

It's never not admirable when a switch-hitter is good from both sides of the plate. That's Marte in the best of times, and the current times qualify. He's batting .319 as a lefty and .375 as a righty. In general, he's also up there among the hard-hit gainers from 2023.

Plus, sometimes you just have to acknowledge when a guy is rolling. Such is the case with Marte, who's now batting .324/.382/.559 since last September. That's including a postseason run in which he had that historic hit streak.

Pitcher No. 10: RHP Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

Stats: 4 GS, 22.2 IP, 21 H (2 HR), 30 K, 3 BB, 3.57 ERA

A tough start on Friday opposite the Detroit Tigers shot Ryan's ERA from 2.60 to 3.57, but just look at that strikeout-to-walk ratio and try not to be impressed.

The righty's fastball has been among the best in MLB over the last three years. In 2022 and 2023, it was because of his efficiency at pounding the top of the zone. But now it also has an extra 1.1 mph in velocity, so it's little wonder it's holding hitters to a career-low .167 average.

That batted balls off Ryan continue to average over 90 mph is suboptimal, to be sure. But batted balls of any kind off him are increasingly infrequent, and he's certainly not one to hurt his own cause with free passes.

Hitter No. 9: DH Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta

Stats: 18 G, 81 PA, 8 HR, 0 SB, .351 AVG, .407 OBP, .716 SLG

The four-year, $64 million deal that Ozuna signed with Atlanta after the 2020 season couldn't have looked more like a bust in its first two seasons. Atlanta even tried to dump him in 2022.

Well, then he hit 40 home runs and racked up 100 RBI in 2023. And per his MLB-leading eight homers and his other early returns, he's even more dangerous in 2024.

He's cut 6.6 percent off last year's strikeout rate, yet has maintained his penchant for crushing the ball by way of a hard-hit rate in the 94th percentile. He doesn't play the field or do much on the bases, but this is clearly a guy who understands the DH assignment.

Pitcher No. 9: RHP Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros

Stats: 3 GS, 21.0 IP, 6 H (0 HR), 16 K, 9 BB, 0.86 ERA

With only three starts on his record, Blanco barely qualifies for this discussion. And nine walks against 16 strikeouts? Well, that's just unimpressive.

And yet, the dude has already pulled off the exceptionally rare feat of pairing a no-hit performance with a one-hit performance (min. 15 total innings) in back-to-back starts. Opposing batters are just 6-for-67 against him, with nothing but singles.

Of course, it won't last. But with Blanco having allowed only 11 hard-hit balls out of 51 total batted balls, he could have staying power if he keeps avoiding the fat part of the bat.

Hitter No. 8: SS Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

Stats: 19 G, 86 PA, 6 HR, 4 SB, .273 AVG, .337 OBP, .571 SLG

Remember when Henderson got off to a slow start last year? It was pretty bad. After 33 games, he was hitting only .170 with 37 strikeouts.

Well, the 136 games he's played since then have yielded an .857 OPS and 31 home runs. At least among the full-time bunch, he's been the best offensive shortstop in MLB.

Loading up Henderson's Statcast metrics for this year has the same effect of John Travolta opening the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. Fewer whiffs would be nice, but his 97.0 mph exit velocity is in the 100th percentile and ranks behind only Miguel Sanó among qualified hitters.

Pitcher No. 8: RHP Shōta Imanaga, Chicago Cubs

Stats: 3 GS, 15.1 IP, 9 H (0 HR), 16 K, 2 BB, 0.00 ERA

This is a bit of a niche, but Imanaga is only the fifth pitcher since the stat became official in 1912 to begin his career with three straight outings without an earned run.

We're talking about total dominance here. The lefty's .362 OPS ranks behind only Blanco among hurlers with at least three starts. He's gone right at hurlers, using his fastball for 67.1 percent of his pitches.

Though Imanaga's heater only averages 92.7 mph, both its vertical movement and his generally high location have made it an unsolvable puzzle for opposing hitters. They're 3-for-30 with nothing but singles against it.

Hitter No. 7: C William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers

Stats: 18 G, 84 PA, 4 HR, 1 SB, .361 AVG, .440 OBP, .597 SLG

Even though he was an All-Star in 2022 and an MVP vote-getter in 2023, it still felt like Contreras was underrated coming into 2024.

He had an .838 OPS across those two seasons. Pretty good in general, and downright elite for a catcher. It was indeed the best such mark for primary catchers, with older brother Willson ranking second at .821.

This is not to suggest that Contreras hitting like a 1990-something slugger was the inevitable next step, but it's still nice to see. He's in the 99th percentile for both exit velocity and hard-hit rate, and only one other hitter (stay tuned) has done more damage against fastballs.

Pitcher No. 7: LHP Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals

Stats: 4 GS, 23.1 IP, 21 H (1 HR), 29 K, 7 BB, 1.93 ERA

Ragans came out of nowhere to have a nice debut for the Royals in 2023, making 12 starts after coming over from the Texas Rangers and ending up with a 2.64 ERA.

As for how he's even better this year, you can mostly chalk it up to how he's used his changeup. Its usage is about the same as last year, but he's done a better job of keeping it down and been rewarded accordingly with a 51.1 whiff percentage and a .150 average.

That plus a 96.3 mph average fastball have proven to be deadly in platoon matchups. Right-handed batters only have a .537 OPS against the lefty.

Hitter No. 6: SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

Stats: 20 G, 88 PA, 4 HR, 4 SB, .309 AVG, .364 OBP, .605 SLG

Can we shame Witt for just a second? Because he kinda-sorta deserves on account of his strikeout rate, which is back up again to 21.6 percent after he got it down to a respectable 17.4 percent in 2023.

OK, shaming over. Because even guys who make Luis Arraez weep can still be loads of fun, and Witt is as fun a hitter as there is in baseball right now.

He featured a lot of power and a lot of speed as he was hitting 30 homers and swiping 49 bags in 2023, and now he has so much more of the first thing. His average exit velocity is up 4.8mph, thus landing him in the 99th percentile for exit velo and sprint speed.

Pitcher No. 6: LHP Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

Stats: 4 GS, 23.2 IP, 14 H (2 HR), 26 K, 5 BB, 2.28 ERA

Skubal did have a start on April 5 in which he got touched by the Oakland A's for four runs over 6.1 innings, so let's not totally let him off the hook here.

Still, this is a guy who quietly led starters in expected ERA last season. And rather than take a step back in 2024, he's pumped up his fastball velocity a little more and further entrenched his changeup as one of the great pitches in the game today.

Ultimately, Skubal is operating as a more extreme version of Ragans. He can claim ownership against righties (.465 OPS), but with dominance against lefties (.527 OPS) to match.

Hitter No. 5: CF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

Stats: 20 G, 88 PA, 8 HR, 5 SB, .256 AVG, .341 OBP, .628 SLG

After all he's been through in the last couple seasons, one feels a natural impulse not to get too hopeful about Trout being "back."

And he may not be, truth be told. Despite co-leading MLB in home runs with Ozuna, both his exit velocity and his hard-hit rate are down. He's also walking about half as often as he did at his peak in the late 2010s.

And yet...whatever! A home run lead is a home run lead is a home run lead, and it's otherwise nice to see Trout striking out less and stealing bases again. With one more steal, he'll have as many this month as he did in the last four seasons combined.

Pitcher No. 5: RHP Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks

Stats: 4 GS, 22.0 IP, 18 H (0 HR), 26 K, 7 BB, 1.64 ERA

Gallen's average fastball is down 1.3 mph from last season. With any other pitcher, that would be terrifying. But with him, it's barely worth a shrug.

He's such a good strike-thrower, and indeed such a precise strike-thrower, that he doesn't necessarily need velocity to boost his margin for error. And besides, his heater's job is to set up a knuckle-curveball that's rising fast in the ranks of the sport's best pitches.

He's thrown the hook 92 times this year and gotten 25 whiffs and 16 strikeouts. What hitters have to show is just two hits, both of them singles.

Hitter No. 4: RF Juan Soto, New York Yankees

Stats: 20 G, 94 PA, 5 HR, 1 SB, .347 AVG, .468 OBP, .600 SLG

Do you think Soto wants to get paid? Because it sure seems like he wants to get paid.

The shuffle has gotten a workout so far in 2024, in which he's swung at pitches outside the strike zone only 28 times. For perspective, seven guys have more strikeouts than Soto does swings outside the zone.

Oh, and he's also in the 100th percentile for exit velocity and the 98th percentile for hard-hit rate. Even more so than in any of the six previous seasons, he's merely good baserunning away from being the perfect offensive player.

Pitcher No. 4: RHP Kutter Crawford, Boston Red Sox

Stats: 4 GS, 21.1 IP, 9 H (0 HR), 24 K, 8 BB, 0.42 ERA

Though Crawford's walk rate is less than ideal, he's otherwise avoided getting hurt in a rather novel way: He simply hasn't given up hits.

The .122 average against him ranks behind only Blanco among qualified pitchers, and the expected average against Crawford is only slightly better at .156. Clearly, hitters haven't been hitting rockets off him only to hear the sound of the ball smacking leather.

It all traces back to stuff that's deceptively good, as well as Crawford's willingness to mix it up. There's about a 30 percent chance of a hitter seeing the four-seamer, the cutter or the sweeper, all three of which have very different velocities and movements.

Hitter No. 3: 2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

Stats: 21 G, 96 PA, 5 HR, 3 SB, .376 AVG, .448 OBP, .647 SLG

If the season ended today, Altuve would win his fourth American League batting title and also come away with AL-leading marks for hits, doubles and total bases.

Of course, the season doesn't end today. But lest anyone think this start can't last, there are solid reasons to believe it will.

Even at the age of 33, Altuve is tracking toward new career bests for exit velocity and hard-hit rate and even walk rate, to boot. He's as locked in as he's ever been, which is a cool thing to say about a guy who deserves more Hall of Fame chatter.

Pitcher No. 3: LHP Ranger Suárez, Philadelphia Phillies

Stats: 4 GS, 26.0 IP, 16 H (2 HR), 27 K, 4 BB, 1.73 ERA

Back in 2021, Suárez posted the highest ERA+ ever for a pitcher with at least 12 starts and 100 innings in a season. So, maybe we should have seen this coming.

In all seriousness, it's fun to watch a guy who only averages 91.5 mph on his fastball dominate like this. And it's all about sequencing and location, as the lefty has four pitches he can throw and has really upped his command this year.

His changeup has been especially lethal, holding hitters to zero hits with 12 strikeouts in 21 at-bats. Yet he's also succeeding because nobody can square up any of his pitches. At 81.6 mph, his average exit velocity is hilariously below the league average of 88.7 mph.

Hitter No. 2: DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

Stats: 22 G, 101 PA, 4 HR, 5 SB, .356 AVG, .400 OBP, .622 SLG

There was a point this season when Ohtani could be fairly said to be slumping. He had a five-game run between March 29 and April 2 in which he was 3-for-20 with seven punchouts.

Here are his numbers since then: .421/.460/.790 with seven doubles, a triple, four home runs and four stolen bases.

The Ohtani who stands before us now leads MLB with 15 extra-base hits, with career-best marks for exit velocity, hard-hit rate and even strikeout rate. Add in that he's 5-for-5 in stolen bases, and him as a full-time offensive player is basically every pitcher's nightmare.

Pitcher No. 2: RHP Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox

Stats: 4 GS, 26.2 IP, 22 H (1 HR), 28 K, 2 BB, 1.35 ERA

Let's be real. Houck wouldn't be here if it wasn't for his last start, in which he pitched a complete-game shutout on only 94 pitches in a game that lasted under two hours.

But then again, he did do that. And it was awesome. It was certainly the best game he's ever had with his trademark slider, throwing it 37 times and getting six of his nine strikeouts on it.

Houck is also to be commended for how he's stopped nibbling so much and for how he's finally solved his platoon split. He's done it, appropriately enough, by developing a splitter that's lowered his OPS against lefties to .445 from .858 a year ago.

Hitter No. 1: SS Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

Stats: 22 G, 105 PA, 6 HR, 3 SB, .352 AVG, .457 OBP, .636 SLG

The perfect hitter, at least in theory, is one who doesn't expand the strike zone, hits what he swings at and makes good contact when he does.

Basically, Betts right now. He's in at least the 80th percentile for chase rate, whiff rate, walk rate, strikeout rate and exit velocity. He's most notably making mincemeat of fastballs, slugging .761 against them and topping Contreras in overall value.

The bottom line includes a 1.094 OPS and MLB-leading figures with 17 walks, 22 runs and 56 total bases. For anyone, this is amazing. For a full-time shortstop, it's early 2000s Alex Rodriguez tier.

Pitcher No. 1: LHP Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels

Stats: 4 GS, 22.2 IP, 15 H (0 HR), 30 K, 7 BB, 1.19 ERA

Detmers was having a bad year in 2023 until, suddenly, he wasn't. After posting a 5.27 ERA through his first 21 starts, his last seven yielded a 2.41 ERA.

He's clearly in no mood to let up, and just as important as anything else is how he's suppressing home runs. He's allowed only two since Aug. 16, 2023, the fewest of any pitcher who's logged at least 60 innings.

Though Detmers doesn't have overpowering stuff, nobody is avoiding contact within the strike zone better than he is right now. And the platoon split he once had? It's long gone. Righties have gone from a .905 OPS against him in 2021 to a .458 OPS this year.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.