Line drives can be a strong indicator for contact quality in baseball. Why is this the case? Well, hard liners, generally speaking, have a better chance of getting down for hits. Now, which MLB hitters had the best and worst line drive rates in 2022? Let’s take a look
Related: Which MLB pitchers had the highest and lowest Whiff% rates in 2022?
Most Line Drives
For this look, we will focus on line drive percentage (LD%) among qualified MLB hitters. Here’s a look at the top ten in that category:
- Gio Urshela (Twins): 30.1%
- Jeff McNeil (Mets): 30%
- Freddie Freeman (Dodgers): 29.8%
- Luis Arraez (Twins): 29.8%
- Manny Machado (Padres): 29.1%
- Steven Kwan (Guardians): 27.9%
- Justin Turner (Dodgers): 27.9%
- Adam Frazier (Mariners): 27.8%
- Alec Bohm (Phillies): 27.2%
- J.P. Crawford (Mariners): 27.2%
The top ten includes two contact machines in Arraez and McNeil, an elite offensive threat in Freddie Freeman, and NL MVP finalist Manny Machado. Several of the game’s best contact hitters are on this list, but one interesting name here is Adam Frazier. An All-Star in 2021, Frazier finished in the top ten among qualified hitters in both total line drives and LD% in 2022. Yet, Frazier batted just .238 for the Mariners in 2022
Least Line Drives
Now, let’s look at the ten with the worst LD% in MLB:
- Trent Grisham (Padres): 14.8%
- Randal Grichuk (Rockies); 18.1%
- Juan Soto (Padres): 19.2%
- Daulton Varsho (Diamondbacks); 19.6%
- Christian Yelich (Brewers): 19.7%
- Max Muncy (Dodgers): 20.1%
- Patrick Wisdom (Cubs): 20.4%
- Rowdy Tellez (Brewers): 20.4%
- Javier Baez (Tigers): 20.4%
- Francisco Lindor (Mets): 20.4%
The bottom ten includes a couple of very interesting names in Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, and Christian Yelich. Soto batted just .242 in 2022, a far cry from the impressive 313 from the year prior. And as for Yelich, the former NL MVP had the fifth-worst LD% in 2022, alongside a gaudy topped rate as well.
