> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://baseballthings.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # James Wood hit the ball harder than anyone in baseball in 2026 - URL: https://baseballthings.com/james-wood-hard-hit-rate-leaders-2026/ - Published: 2026-11-02T08:10:43.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-05T18:38:34.000Z - Description: James Wood led the majors in Hard-Hit rate (58.9%) and average exit velocity at 23. Here are the top 10. - Author: Baseball Things - Tags: News, MLB, 2026 in Review Hard-Hit rate is the share of a hitter's batted balls that leave the bat at 95 mph or faster, and no one in baseball topped James Wood's 58.9% in 2026\. He also led the majors in average exit velocity at 95.4 mph. At 23, he is the youngest player to lead both categories in a full season since Statcast tracking began in 2015; only Fernando Tatis Jr., at 21 in the 60-game 2020 season, did it younger. Contact got softer across the league. The average Hard-Hit rate among qualified hitters fell from 43.2% in 2025 to 40.8%, and 17 qualified hitters reached 50%, down from 22 a year ago. Munetaka Murakami was second at 56.8% and Kyle Stowers third at 56.4%. None of the top 10 is a free agent this winter. More from Baseball Things - [Free Agent Tracker](https://baseballthings.com/free-agent-tracker/)NEW — every 2026–27 MLB free agent, with signings updated live - [Arbitration Tracker](https://baseballthings.com/arbitration-tracker/)NEW — every 2027 arbitration-eligible player, with salary estimates - [Rule 5 Tracker](https://baseballthings.com/rule-5-tracker/)NEW — which Mariners prospects are eligible this winter and who’s protected ## [James Wood](https://baseballthings.com/players/james-wood/), RF — [Washington Nationals](https://baseballthings.com/washington-nationals-players/): 58.9% Hard-Hit rate Wood's 58.9% is the seventh-highest qualified Hard-Hit rate of the Statcast era and the best by a hitter 24 or younger in a full season. The six ahead of him belong to Tatis (62.2% in 2020), [Aaron Judge](https://baseballthings.com/players/aaron-judge/) (61.1% in both 2022 and 2024), Yordan Alvarez (59.8% in 2022), [Shohei Ohtani](https://baseballthings.com/players/shohei-ohtani/) (59.8% in 2024) and [Kyle Schwarber](https://baseballthings.com/players/kyle-schwarber/) (59.6% in 2025). He improved on the 56.3% he posted at 22 last season. The production matched the contact. Wood hit .265/.388/.503 with 30 home runs, a 142 wRC+ and 4.1 fWAR, and his on-base percentage ranked fourth in the majors. His 18.6% barrel rate was second only to Murakami's. He is the second Nationals player in this series to lead the majors in something, after base stealer [Nasim Nuñez](https://baseballthings.com/players/nasim-nunez/), which gives a 77-85 Washington team both the busiest legs and the loudest bat in baseball. [Nasim Nuñez is the first Nationals player to lead the majors in stolen basesNasim Nuñez led the majors with 49 steals as a part-timer, and Chandler Simpson, Bobby Witt Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Pete Crow-Armstrong all topped 40.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/08/BT27Logo1024width--1-.png)Baseball ThingsBaseball Things![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/10/tx-mlb-stolen-base-leader-1792580347733.jpg)](https://baseballthings.com/nasim-nunez-chandler-simpson-35-stolen-base-club-2026/) ## [Munetaka Murakami](https://baseballthings.com/players/munetaka-murakami/), 1B — [Chicago White Sox](https://baseballthings.com/chicago-white-sox-players/): 56.8% Hard-Hit rate In his first major-league season, Murakami led the majors in barrel rate (20.5%) and ranked fifth in average exit velocity (93.9 mph). His 35 home runs came with a .207 batting average, but a .347 on-base percentage and .478 slugging percentage gave him a 129 wRC+. The White Sox went 84-78, beat Houston in the Wild Card Series and lost to Cleveland in five games in the Division Series. ## [Kyle Stowers](https://baseballthings.com/players/kyle-stowers/), 1B — [Miami Marlins](https://baseballthings.com/miami-marlins-players/): 56.4% Hard-Hit rate Stowers split time between first base and both outfield corners and hit .239/.331/.459 with 21 home runs and a 114 wRC+. His barrel rate (12.8%) ranked 24th, a sign that more of his hard contact went into the ground or on a line than into the air. The Marlins finished 80-82. ## [Pete Alonso](https://baseballthings.com/players/pete-alonso/), 1B — [Baltimore Orioles](https://baseballthings.com/baltimore-orioles-players/): 56.2% Hard-Hit rate Alonso paired his fourth-best Hard-Hit rate with the fourth-best average exit velocity (93.9 mph) and 43 home runs, third in the majors. He hit .267/.363/.522 with a 148 wRC+ in his first season in Baltimore. The Orioles finished 79-82. ## [Jac Caglianone](https://baseballthings.com/players/jac-caglianone/), RF — [Kansas City Royals](https://baseballthings.com/kansas-city-royals-players/): 54.7% Hard-Hit rate In his first full season, the 23-year-old hit .289/.340/.494 with 23 home runs and a 129 wRC+, and ranked seventh in average exit velocity (93.3 mph). Wood and Caglianone were the only hitters 23 or younger in the top 10\. The Royals finished 69-93. ## [Fernando Tatis Jr.](https://baseballthings.com/players/fernando-tatis-jr/), RF — [San Diego Padres](https://baseballthings.com/san-diego-padres-players/): 53.9% Hard-Hit rate Tatis hit .289/.358/.470 with 25 home runs, a career-high 38 stolen bases and 5.4 fWAR, ninth in the majors. San Diego went 91-71, swept the Cubs in the Wild Card Series and lost to Milwaukee in four games in the Division Series. ## [Yordan Alvarez](https://baseballthings.com/players/yordan-alvarez/), DH — [Houston Astros](https://baseballthings.com/houston-astros-players/): 53.8% Hard-Hit rate Alvarez hit the second-hardest ball of the season, 118.5 mph, behind only Oneil Cruz, and ranked third in average exit velocity (94.4 mph). His career-high 42 home runs and 181 wRC+ led a season in which he topped the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Houston won the AL West at 81-81 and was swept by the White Sox in the Wild Card Series. ## [Elly De La Cruz](https://baseballthings.com/players/elly-de-la-cruz/), SS — [Cincinnati Reds](https://baseballthings.com/cincinnati-reds-players/): 53.7% Hard-Hit rate De La Cruz was second in average exit velocity (94.7 mph), fourth in barrel rate (16.0%) and fourth in fWAR (6.4), and he joined the 30/30 club with 30 homers and 30 steals while hitting .283/.365/.515\. The Reds finished 75-87. ## [Garrett Mitchell](https://baseballthings.com/players/garrett-mitchell/), CF — [Milwaukee Brewers](https://baseballthings.com/milwaukee-brewers-players/): 52.7% Hard-Hit rate Mitchell hit .262/.354/.416 with 11 home runs, a 116 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR while playing 140 games in center field, and ranked eighth in average exit velocity (93.2 mph). The Brewers had the best record in baseball at 103-59 and are playing Tampa Bay in the World Series. ## [Matt Olson](https://baseballthings.com/players/matt-olson/), 1B — [Atlanta Braves](https://baseballthings.com/atlanta-braves-players/): 52.0% Hard-Hit rate Olson played 162 games at first base and hit 41 home runs, his second 40-homer season. He hit .251/.321/.502 with a 122 wRC+. Atlanta won the NL East at 94-68 and lost to the Dodgers in four games in the Division Series. ## The other end of the list [Steven Kwan](https://baseballthings.com/players/steven-kwan/) had the lowest Hard-Hit rate among qualified hitters at 10.3%, followed by [Chandler Simpson](https://baseballthings.com/players/chandler-simpson/) at 13.4% and [Luis Arraez](https://baseballthings.com/players/luis-arraez/) at 19.4%. All three make a living by putting the ball in play rather than putting a dent in it. [Chris Sale's 2.29 FIP was the best by a starter 37 or older since Randy Johnson in 2001Chris Sale finished second to Jacob Misiorowski in FIP at 37, and seven qualified starters finished under 3.00 for the second straight year.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/08/BT27Logo1024width--1-.png)Baseball ThingsBaseball Things![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/10/tx--fip-at-age--1792581318565.jpg)](https://baseballthings.com/chris-sale-fip-leaders-2026/) [Yordan Alvarez led the majors in batting average, on-base and slugging percentage in 2026Yordan Alvarez won the 2026 batting title at .316 in a season when only seven qualified hitters reached .300, matching the fewest since 1968.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/08/BT27Logo1024width--1-.png)Baseball ThingsBaseball Things![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/10/tx-led-mlb-in-avg-obp-slg-1792581163540.jpg)](https://baseballthings.com/yordan-alvarez-batting-average-leaders-2026/)