Every MLB All Star break, an idea runs through my head ... who has had the best last 12 months in baseball? ESPN used to calculate this full season of stats from All Star Break to All Star Break back when they cared about baseball. I used to calculate all these stats for a few years and write about them, last doing it in 2018. I stopped doing it because I didn't have time to do all the calculating, but now there's websites that can do all that calculating for me. Add on top of that a certain amount of boredom during this All Star Break, and I've decided to resurrect this yearly article.
We all just saw the All Star Game celebrate who has had the best start to the 2025 MLB season, but if you add in the end of last season, who has had the best last 12 months of baseball. Let's find out!
Thanks to FanGraphs for having the tools to calculate these stats for me.
Hitting
Batting Average
(minimum 500 plate appearances)
1. Aaron Judge - NYY - .352
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - TOR - .318
3. Bobby Witt Jr. - KC - .314
4. Xavier Edwards - MIA - .301
5. Luis Arraez - SD - .296
6. Jose Ramirez - CLE - .293
7. Kyle Tucker - HOU / CHC - .293
8. Jeremy Pena - HOU - .292
9. Alejandro Kirk - TOR - .290
10. Brendan Donovan - STL - .290
Home Runs
1. Aaron Judge - NYY - 59
2. Shoehi Ohtani - LAD - 57
3. Cal Raleigh - SEA - 52
4. Eugenio Suarez - ARZ - 51
5. Kyle Schwarber - PHI - 49
6. Juan Soto - NYY / NYM - 41
7. Brent Rooker - ATH - 38
8. Corbin Carroll - ARZ - 38
9. Ketel Marte - ARZ - 36
10. Pete Alonso - NYM - 36
RBI's
1. Aaron Judge - NYY - 140
2. Eugenio Suarez - ARZ - 131
3. Shohei Ohtani - LAD - 121
4. Cal Raleigh - SEA - 121
5. Kyle Schwarber - PHI - 119
6. Matt Olson - ATL - 115
7. Pete Alonso - NYM - 114
8. Manny Machado - SD - 109
9. Jackson Chourio - MIL - 106
10. Seiya Suzuki - CHC - 105
OPS (On Base + Slugging)
(500 Plate Appearance Minimum)
1. Aaron Judge - NYY - 1.209
2. Shohei Ohtani - LAD - 1.008
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - TOR - .944
4. Juan Soto - NYY / NYM - .941
5. Bobby Witt Jr. - KC - .931
6. Cal Raleigh - SEA - .913
7. Eugenio Suarez - ARZ - .911
8. Kyle Tucker - HOU / CHC - .906
9. Kyle Schwarber - PHI - .904
10. Corbin Carroll - ARZ - .893
wRC+
(500 Plate Appearance Minimum ... League Average - 100)
1. Aaron Judge - NYY - 226
2. Shohei Ohtani - LAD - 172
3. Juan Soto - NYY / NYM - 165
4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - TOR - 162
5. Cal Raleigh - SEA - 157
6. Kyle Tucker - HOU / CHC - 153
7. Bobby Witt Jr. - KC - 153
8. Kyle Schwarber - PHI - 147
9. Eugenio Suarez - ARZ - 146
t-10. Pete Alonso - NYM - 145
t-10. Brent Rooker - ATH - 145
As if Aaron Judge's 2025 season wasn't impressive enough, if you add in how he finished 2024, somehow his stat line gets even more impressive. He leads every category here ... and by a significant margin. Strong starts to 2025 have led to impressive wraparound resumes for Eugenio Suarez and Cal Raleigh. Two impressive resumes that fall just below the plate appearance minimum are Ketel Marte and Byron Buxton. None of that really matters though. We're all just living in Aaron Judge's world right now.
Starting Pitching
Innings Pitched
1. Logan Webb - SF - 206.0
2. Zack Wheeler - PHI - 205.1
3. Framber Valdez - HOU - 199.0
4. Tarik Skubal - DET - 197.0
5. Christopher Sanchez - PHI - 193.1
6. Bryan Woo - SEA - 192.0
7. Spencer Schwellenbach - ATL - 189.2
8. Jose Berrios - TOR - 188.2
9. Max Fried - ATL / NYY - 188.1
t-10. Carlos Rodon - NYY - 187.2
t-10. Jake Irvin - WAS - 187.2
t-10. Paul Skenes - PIT - 187.2
ERA
(162 inning minimum)
1. Paul Skenes - PIT - 2.01
2. Tarik Skubal - DET - 2.28
3. Hunter Brown - HOU - 2.36
4. Zack Wheeler - PHI - 2.37
5. Framber Valdez - HOU - 2.44
6. Freddy Peralta - MIL - 2.81
7. Max Fried - ATL / NYY - 2.82
8. Garrett Crochet - CWS / BOS - 2.89
9. Bryan Woo - SEA - 2.91
10. Spencer Schwellenbach - 2.94
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings
(162 inning minimum)
1. Garrett Crochet - CWS / BOS - 11.7
2. Zack Wheeler - PHI - 11.0
3. Tarik Skubal - DET - 11.0
4. Jack Flaherty - LAD / DET - 10.7
5. Carlos Rodon - NYY - 10.5
6. Dylan Cease - SD - 10.3
7. Sonny Gray - STL - 10.3
8. MacKenzie Gore - WAS - 10.3
9. Hunter Brown - HOU - 10.2
t-10. Paul Skenes - PIT - 10.2
t-10. Nick Pivetta - BOS / SD - 10.2
WHIP
(162 inning minimum)
1. Zack Wheeler - PHI - 0.88
2. Tarik Skubal - DET - 0.89
3. Bryan Woo - SEA - 0.92
4. Paul Skenes - PIT - 0.94
5. Spencer Schwellenbach - ATL - 0.97
6. Nathan Eovaldi - TEX - 1.00
7. Hunter Brown - HOU - 1.02
8. Framber Valdez - HOU - 1.03
9. Carlos Rodon - NYY - 1.05
10. Zack Littell - TB - 1.06
There are some names at the top of these lists you expect to see like All Star Game starters Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes. Zack Wheeler has been a well-known workhorse the last few seasons. Garrett Crochet has been everything he is supposed to be since the trade to Boston. Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez lead continue to lead the Astros rotation. However, names like Bryan Woo and Spencer Schwellenbach popping up multiple times was not something I was expecting.
Relief Pitching
Innings Pitched
1. Tyler Alexander - TB / MIL / CWS - 84.0
2. Jose A. Ferrer - WAS - 80.1
3. Jason Adam - TB / SD - 78.1
4. Brant Hurter - DET - 77.1
5. Tanner Scott - MIA / SD / LAD - 75.2
6. Bryan Abreu - HOU - 74.1
7. Tim Hill - NYY - 74.0
8. Dennis Santana - PIT - 73.1
9. Emmanuel Clase - CLE - 73.1
10. Spencer Bivens - SF - 73.1
ERA
(50 inning minimum)
1. Dennis Santana - PIT - 1.47
2. Mike Vasil - CWS - 1.59
3. Daniel Lynch IV - KC - 1.71
4. Emmanuel Clase - CLE - 1.84
5. Jason Adam - TB / SD - 1.95
6. Randy Rodriguez - SF - 2.03
7. Manuel Rodriguez - TB - 2.05
8. Aroldis Chapman - PIT / BOS - 2.08
9. Tyler Rogers - SF - 2.14
10. Andres Munoz - SEA - 2.21
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings
(50 inning minimum)
1. Fernando Cruz - CIN / NYY - 14.3
2. Edwin Diaz - NYM - 14.1
3. Aroldis Chapman - PIT / BOS - 13.8
4. Mason Miller - ATH - 13.4
5. Devin Williams - MIL / NYY - 13.3
6. Kirby Yates - TEX / LAD - 13.3
7. Griffin Jax - MIN - 13.2
8. Mark Leiter Jr. - CHC / NYY - 13.0
9. Josh Hader - HOU - 12.9
t-10. Cade Smith - CLE - 12.8
t-10. Jeremiah Estrada - SD - 12.8
WHIP
(50 inning minimum)
1. Dennis Santana - PIT - 0.75
2. Tyler Rogers - SF - 0.84
3. Josh Hader - HOU - 0.85
4. Andres Munoz - SEA - 0.86
5. Aroldis Chapman - PIT / BOS - 0.86
6. Edwin Diaz - NYM - 0.89
7. Ryan Walker - SF - 0.91
8. Jesus Tinoco - CHC / MIA - 0.92
9. Tyler Holton - DET - 0.93
10. Nick Mears - COL / MIL - 0.93
Two things that stand out to me ... First, veteran closers like Emmanuel Clase and Josh Hader have their reputation for a reason. They pitch a lot, and they dominate. Second, Aroldis Chapman has still got it! Popping up on most of these lists, Chapman is still one of the best relievers in the game. Many of the other names I haven't heard much of, I can imagine a lot of teams are calling the Pirates about Dennis Santana.
So there you go! Enjoy the stretch run and the Trade Deadline. See you again next July!