Traditionally, players with elevated whiff rates will strike out more. Thus, whiff rates can be used as a key data point in analyzing a player’s strengths and weaknesses. For those interested, here’s an overview of the MLB hitters that have the highest and lowest whiff rates in 2023.
Related: Which MLB hitters have the highest and lowest chase rates in 2023?
The highest MLB Whiff rates in 2023
Let’s take a look at the ten players with the highest Whiff rates in the Majors among qualified hitters:
| Name | Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Rooker | Athletics | 38.2% |
| James Outman | Dodgers | 36.6% |
| Teoscar Hernandez | Mariners | 35.8% |
| Nick Castellanos | Phillies | 35.4% |
| MJ Melendez | Royals | 34.4% |
| Jake Burger | White Sox/Marlins | 34.1% |
| J.D. Davis | Giants | 34.0% |
| Luis Robert Jr. | White Sox | 33.5% |
| Bryce Harper | Phillies | 33.2% |
| Eugenio Suarez | Mariners | 32.8% |
The player with the highest whiff rate in MLB this season was Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker at 38.2%. The former first-round pick blasted 30 home runs for the A’s this season but also finished tied for the tenth-most strikeouts in the league with 172.
Rooke outfielder James Outman and Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernandez round out the top three.
For those interested, four of the ten MLB hitters with the highest whiff rates — Rooker, Outman, Hernandez, and Suarez — owned strikeout rates north of 30% in 2023. Suarez had the second-most (214) strikeouts in the Majors this year, behind only Kyle Schwarber.
The lowest MLB Whiff rates in 2023
Now, here’s the MLB batters with the lowest whiff rates this season:
| Name | Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Luis Arraez | Marlins | 7.8% |
| Steven Kwan | Guardians | 11.1% |
| Nico Hoerner | Cubs | 12.4% |
| Jeff McNeil | Mets | 13.4% |
| Myles Straw | Guardians | 14.0% |
| Alex Bregman | Astros | 14.1% |
| Keibert Ruiz | Nationals | 14.3% |
| Bryson Stott | Phillies | 15.1% |
| Alex Verdugo | Red Sox | 15.6 |
| Adley Rutschman | Orioles | 15.6% |
To little shock, Luis Arraez owns the lowest whiff rate in all of Major League Baseball. The contact machine finished the year with a .354 batting average and the National League batting title.
Several other plus contact hitters, like Steven Kwan, Bryson Stott, and Jeff McNeil also made the top ten.
Out of the ten players on this list, just three — Bryson Stott, Myles Straw, and Alex Verdugo — owned strikeout rates north of 15%.
All stats as of September 20, 2023. Only regular season stats are considered.
