Josh Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates
2018 fWAR: 0.9
2019 fWAR (so far): 2.4
If Josh Bell doesn’t hit a homer, does the day even count? That’s how often it feels like he’s slugging baseballs over outfield walls these days. He has 18 dingers in just 232 plate appearances, which has already surpassed last year’s total (12 in 583 appearances). At this rate, he’ll set a new single-season career high by the All-Star break (it’s currently 26).
The power is the most eye-popping part of his performance, but it’s not like that’s all he’s doing. Bell is the proud owner of a .345/.409/.718 triple slash and 188 wRC+. He is getting more balls in the air, but it’s all about quality of contact for him. Entering this year, Bell hadn’t finished with a soft-hit rate below 19.2% or a hard-hit rate above 33.8%. Those numbers are currently 8.7% and 49.7%, respectively.
It hasn’t exactly led to more contact, but the first baseman’s 80.7% swing rate on strikes is a huge increase from his career stats (69.0%) and it’s among the best in baseball heading into Thursday’s action. With more swings on pitches he can do damage with, it should be no surprise that his quality-of-contact numbers have taken such a jump.
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