2018 Leaders & Numbers

Mookie Betts came full flower and excelled in every offensive aspect; he even batted .352 when the count was 0-2 on him. Giancarlo Stanton may have generated the biggest offseason buzz among ex-Marlins cleaned out of Miami by a new regime, but Christian Yelich’s relatively quiet departure to Milwaukee would have the greater impact in 2018. No one turned up the power down the stretch more than Trevor Story habit for tape-measure shots included a 505-foot bomb that’s the longest in Coors Field history. Khris Davis’ batting average was stuck on .247 for the fourth straight year, but he continued to make up for it with a prodigious power stroke. One year after showing what he could do with a third base glove, Alex Bregman showed off what he could do with his bat. A washout in Oakland, Max Muncy became the Dodgers’ latest out-of-nowhere sensation. The Rays embraced bullpenning, but embraced Blake Snell even more—giving their “openers” a day off whenever his number was called. Jacob deGrom was tortured through a 13-start stretch from which he only won once—with a 1.89 ERA—and that tells you everything you need to know about his terrific yet luckless season. Aaron Nola, on the other hand, was granted more charitable offense support and firmly established himself as the Phillies’ ace. Unable to cut it as closer in Washington, Blake Treinen found peace and obscurity in Oakland before refreshing as the year’s stingiest reliever. Miles Mikolas experienced his own reclamation after three years in Japan. Edwin Diaz was the beneficiary of numerous one-run Seattle leads and flirted with the all-time season saves record. Denver native Kyle Freeland gave Rockies fans hope that a pitcher could finally master the mile-high air over the long run.

The Ten Best National League Hitters, 2018
	Team	G	BA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IB	HB	SB	CS	GD
1. Christian Yelich	Milwaukee	147	.326	574	118	187	34	7	36	110	66	2	7	22	4	14
2. Trevor Story	Colorado	157	.291	598	88	174	42	6	37	108	44	3	7	27	6	12
3. Nolan Arenado	Colorado	156	.297	590	104	175	38	2	38	110	63	10	3	2	2	16
4. Javier Baez	Chicago	160	.290	606	101	176	40	9	34	111	21	8	5	21	9	10
5. Bryce Harper	Washington	159	.249	550	103	137	34	0	34	100	114	16	6	13	3	7
6. Freddie Freeman	Atlanta	162	.309	618	94	191	44	4	23	98	64	12	7	10	3	11
7. Max Muncy	Los Angeles	137	.263	395	75	104	17	2	35	79	73	6	5	3	0	4
8. Paul Goldschmidt	Arizona	158	.290	593	95	172	35	5	33	83	79	11	6	7	4	7
9. Matt Carpenter	St. Louis	156	.257	564	111	145	42	0	36	81	85	17	6	4	1	0
10. Anthony Rendon	Washington	136	.308	529	88	163	44	2	24	92	50	5	5	2	1	5
The Ten Best American League Hitters, 2018
Name	Team	G	BA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IB	HB	SB	CS	GD
1. Mookie Betts	Boston	136	.346	520	129	180	47	5	32	80	73	8	8	30	6	5
2. J.D. Martinez	Boston	150	.330	569	111	188	37	2	43	130	58	11	4	6	1	19
3. Mike Trout	Los Angeles	140	.312	471	101	147	24	4	39	79	97	25	10	24	2	5
4. Jose Ramirez	Cleveland	157	.270	578	110	156	38	4	39	105	91	15	8	34	6	2
5. Alex Bregman	Houston	157	.286	594	105	170	51	1	31	103	94	2	12	10	4	15
6. Francisco Lindor	Cleveland	158	.277	661	129	183	42	2	38	92	63	7	8	25	10	5
7. Khris Davis	Oakland	151	.247	576	98	142	28	1	48	123	54	5	12	0	0	16
8. Andrew Benintendi	Boston	148	.290	579	103	168	41	6	16	87	70	1	2	21	3	9
9. Mitch Haniger	Seattle	157	.285	596	90	170	38	4	26	93	66	4	10	8	2	8
10. Xander Bogaerts	Boston	136	.288	513	72	148	45	3	23	103	51	4	6	8	2	14

The Ten Best National League Pitchers, 2018
Name	Team	ERA	W	L	PCT	SV	BS	G	GS	IP	TB	ER	BB	IB	WP	HB	BK	SB	CS	GD
1. Aaron Nola	Philadelphia	2.37	17	6	.739	0	0	33	33	212.1	235	56	55	3	4	7	1	17	9	16
2. Jacob deGrom	New York	1.70	10	9	.526	0	0	32	32	217	215	41	43	3	2	5	0	15	9	13
3. Max Scherzer	Washington	2.53	18	7	.720	0	0	33	33	220.2	265	62	47	4	4	12	1	8	2	10
4. Miles Mikolas	St. Louis	2.83	18	4	.818	0	0	32	32	200.2	268	63	25	4	2	7	1	2	1	18
5. Kyle Freeland	Colorado	2.85	17	7	.708	0	0	33	33	202.1	268	64	68	2	2	6	0	9	1	24
6. Zack Wheeler	New York	3.31	12	7	.632	0	0	29	29	182.1	214	67	55	0	2	9	1	8	1	14
7. Mike Foltynewicz	Atlanta	2.85	13	10	.565	0	0	31	31	183	216	58	65	3	7	6	2	3	3	11
8. Felipe Vazquez	Pittsburgh	2.70	4	2	.667	37	5	70	0	70	87	21	22	2	3	1	0	4	0	4
9. Jon Lester	Chicago	3.32	18	6	.750	0	0	32	32	181.2	279	67	63	1	4	6	0	14	10	15
10. Patrick Corbin	Arizona	3.15	11	7	.611	0	0	33	33	200	250	70	45	3	8	5	0	10	2	11

The Ten Best American League Pitchers, 2018
Name	Team	ERA	W	L	PCT	SV	BS	G	GS	IP	TB	ER	BB	IB	WP	HB	BK	SB	CS	GD
1. Blake Snell	Tampa Bay	1.89	21	5	.808	0	0	31	31	180.2	189	41	62	2	13	1	0	13	4	15
2. Corey Kluber	Cleveland	2.89	20	7	.741	0	0	33	33	215	294	69	34	0	2	3	0	4	7	16
3. Chris Sale	Boston	2.11	12	4	.750	0	0	27	27	158	163	37	34	0	4	14	0	6	4	4
4. Justin Verlander	Houston	2.52	16	9	.640	0	0	34	34	214	281	60	37	0	5	8	2	3	6	3
5. Blake Treinen	Oakland	0.78	9	2	.818	38	5	68	0	80.1	58	7	18	3	6	1	0	7	0	4
6. Gerrit Cole	Houston	2.88	15	5	.750	0	0	32	32	200.1	240	64	64	0	9	7	0	14	5	11
7. Trevor Bauer	Cleveland	2.21	12	6	.667	1	0	28	27	175.1	195	43	55	2	12	9	0	11	7	7
8. Edwin Diaz	Seattle	1.96	0	4	.000	57	4	73	0	73.1	62	16	17	0	3	6	1	5	2	2
9. Luis Severino	New York	3.39	19	8	.704	0	0	32	32	191.1	275	72	46	0	8	5	0	10	6	13
10. Craig Kimbrel	Boston	2.74	5	1	.833	42	5	63	0	62.1	65	19	31	0	7	2	0	4	0	2

Brown type indicates league leader.
Notes: Walks (BB) do not include intentional walks (IB). For pitchers, caught stealing (CS) also includes pickoffs.
How does This Great Game determine the best hitters and pitchers? Find out here.

Back to 2016 Leaders & Numbers

Share this page with a friend.

Have a comment, question or request? Contact us at This Great Game.