Baseball’s Top Home Run Hitters – Rankings Thru 8-7-08

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Baseball’s Top Home Run Hitters – Rankings Thru 8-7-08

9 August 2008 1,126 views 2 Comments

FoxSports.com ran a story today about the top home run hitters in Major League Baseball, but it’s unclear how they came up w/ their list.

As evidenced below, their rankings don’t quite match up w/ how well each player has actually performed. Total home runs is certainly a valid metric to consider, but At-bats per HR would seem to be the most accurate gauge of who the best MLB home run hitter is thru 8/7/08.

Below is a list of the players that FoxSports ranked as the Top 18 Home Run hitters, but I’ve rearranged them according to their At-bats per HR statistics (vs. whatever the hell FoxSports used) – FoxSports original rankings are in quotes. I’ve also include a few comments beneath several player’s stats.

Adam Dunn — Reds — 32 HRs
Games: 112 — At-bats: 365 — At-bats per HR: 11.41
Your surprising league leader in home runs, Cincinnati’s Adam Dunn is on pace to challenge his career-high home run total of 46. (FoxSports Rank: 1)

Clearly, this pick was right on. Dunn is tied for the league lead in HR and has the best ratio of at-bats per HR. Dunn has also avoided the dubious distinction of having the most strikeouts this year (so far) – Ryan Howard has that honor.

Ryan Ludwick — Cardinals — 29 HRs
Games: 108 — At-bats: 377 — At-bats per HR: 13
Ryan Ludwick is certainly making an impression in his second full season in St. Louis, helping the Cardinals fight for a postseason berth. (FoxSports Rank: 5)

Ludwick has made news this week w/ a game winning HR, but his stats speak volumes for how valuable he’s been to the Cardinals. FoxSports’ ranking might be a little more accurate than this #2 ranking, considering that Ludwick is only in his 2nd season – time will tell if this is a fluke or the real thing.

Carlos Quentin — White Sox — 31 HRs
Games: 111 — At-bats: 413 — At-bats per HR: 13.32
Carlos Quentin — who had just five homers in 81 games for the Diamondbacks last year — is enjoying a power surge in Chicago. (FoxSports Rank: 3)

If there was ever a “is he or isn’t he” question about performance enhancing drugs, Quentin would certainly be on the list of “is he?”. With only 5 HR’s last year, he leads the AL this year (completely out of the blue).

Ryan Howard — Phillies — 32 HRs
Games: 115 — At-bats: 439 — At-bats per HR — 13.72
Tied for the league lead in home runs, Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard has hit a total of 137 blasts in the last three years. (FoxSports Rank: 2)

Howard leads the league in strikeouts and is only batting .239, so I’m not sure how valuable he is overall. Clearly, he’s a talented player and a likely superstar, but having Pat Burrell and Chase Utley on your team doesn’t hurt either – both are on this list also.

Pat Burrell — Phillies — 27 HRs
Games: 113 — At-bats: 381 — At-bats per HR: 14.11
Pat Burrell has hit 20 or more home runs in eight of his nine MLB seasons and has his career-high mark of 37 within reach. (FoxSports Rank:

The second Phillies player in the Top 10.

Alex Rodriguez — Yankees — 25 HRs
Games: 96 — At-bats: 356 — At-bats per HR: 14.24
No stranger to the spotlight, Alex Rodriguez is once again among baseball’s best home run hitters. (FoxSports Rank: 15)

A-Rod is struggling a bit this year, but will still reach the 40 HR mark in my opinion – the same cannot be said for many of the players on this list. Rodriguez is the most inaccurately rated player by FoxSports, since he is actually much better according to the stats.

Dan Uggla — Marlins — 26 HRs
Games: 102 — At-bats: 375 — At-bats per HR: 14.42
All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla has the Marlins contending for an NL East title thanks to his steady bat. (FoxSports Rank: 12)

Ryan Braun — Brewers — 30 HRs
Games: 113 — At-bats: 463 — At-bats per HR: 15.43
Milwaukee’s slender left fielder has shown some pop in his first two seasons, hitting 34 homers in 2007 and on pace for far more this year. (FoxSports Rank: 4)

(TIE) Utley & Lee
Chase Utley — Phillies — 28 HRs
Games: 113 — At-bats: 436 — At-bats per HR: 15.57
There’s no shortage of power in Philadelphia, as Chase Utley is the second of three Phillies to make this list. (FoxSports Rank: 6)

Carlos Lee — Astros — 28 HRs
Games: 114 — At-bats: 436 — At-bats per HR: 15.57
Carlos Lee is living up to that big contract, having a career year for the struggling Astros. (FoxSports Rank: 7)

Jermaine Dye — White Sox — 26 HRs
Games: 107 — At-bats: 408 — At-bats per HR: 15.69
The White Sox are in first place, and a big reason for that is Jermaine Dye, who is back on track after a down year in 2007. (FoxSports Rank: 13)

Mark Reynolds — Diamondbacks — 24 HRs
Games: 109 — At-bats: 387 — At-bats per HR: 16.12
In just his second major-league season, Mark Reynolds’ hard-hitting bat has helped the Diamondbacks rise to the top of the NL West. (FoxSports Rank: 17)

Here’s another guy who is prone to strikeout a lot, which can probably be attributed to his age and experience. He’s only 6 strikeouts behind Howard, but is really the only offense threat the D-Backs have.

Prince Fielder — Brewers — 26 HRs
Games: 114 — At-bats: 420 — At-bats per HR: 16.15
His numbers have dipped from his 50-homer 2007 campaign, but Prince Fielder is still among the league’s top power hitters. (FoxSports Rank: 14)

Grady Sizemore — Indians — 27 HRs
Games: 111 — At-bats: 441 — At-bats per HR: 16.33
Grady Sizemore has been a model of consistency in Cleveland, once again producing solid power numbers out of the leadoff spot. (FoxSports Rank: 9)

Manny Ramirez — Red Sox/Dodgers — 24 HRs
Games: 107 — At-bats: 393 — At-bats per HR: 16.38
Our list of 2008’s best home run hitters starts with a familiar face. Changing leagues hasn’t slowed Manny Ramirez, who has four homers in seven games in Los Angeles. (FoxSports Rank: 18)

Ramirez has been tearing it up for the Dodgers, so it may only be a matter of time before he climbs higher on the list.

Adrian Gonzalez — Padres — 27 HRs
Games: 116 — At-bats: 445 — At-bats per HR: 16.48
Adrian Gonzalez’s power numbers have gone up every year he’s been in the majors and figure to do so again in 2008. (FoxSports Rank: 10)

Josh Hamilton — Rangers — 27 HRs
Games: 113 — At-bats: 453 — At-bats per HR: 16.77
The star of July’s Home Run Derby, Hamilton is also the star of the high-powered offense in Texas, the most productive in the majors. (FoxSports Rank: 11)

A great 1st round Home Run Derby performance is no reason to crown Hamilton as the game’s best HR hitter (which FoxSports has wisely avoided). He was supremely strong in the 1st half of the season, but has cooled since the All-Star game. A couple home runs in consecutive games will slingshot Hamilton higher in the rankings, so there’s still a shot he ends up in the Top 10 by season’s end.

Hanley Ramirez — Marlins — 25 HRs
Games: 114 — At-bats: 452 — At-bats per HR: 18.08
The middle infield is getting it done in Florida, thanks in part to shortstop Hanley Ramirez’s heavy hitting. (FoxSports Rank: 16)