Statcast is a beautiful thing. Since its introduction in 2015, the cutting-edge tracking technology has unlocked a wave of advanced metrics that offer deeper insights into a player’s performance in every facet of the game. Among its many capabilities, Statcast doesn’t just measure how far a ball travels — it tells us how fast it gets there. With that in mind, here are the top five hardest hitters of the 2025 MLB season.
5. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
Kyle Schwarber just keeps getting better — which has been the case for his whole career. The 32-year-old slugger is tied for the National League lead with 45 home runs and paces the majors with 110 RBIs. Schwarbs has tallied 329 career round-trippers, in a prime position to flirt with 500 toward the end of his career. Not bad for someone who got non-tendered by the Cubs back in 2020.
This season, Schwarber owns an MLB-leading 60.7% hard-hit rate, a stat measuring the percentage of batted balls hit 95 mph or harder. That mark has climbed to 65% since the beginning of July. He’s tied with Shohei Ohtani for the fifth most hard-hit balls (202) and ranks third among qualified hitters in Barrels Per Batted Ball Event (Brls/BBE %) at 20.1%.
4. Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
On the heels of a legacy-defining performance last October, Giancarlo Stanton was diagnosed with a pair of tennis elbows that kept him sidelined until mid-June. Many were uncertain whether the slugger could rebound from such an injury at 35 years old. But Big G, rarely ceasing to amaze, swiftly dispelled any doubt, delivering his best season in pinstripes so far.
Stanton is posting career-best numbers, headlined by 179 wRC+ that clears the 158 mark he put up during his MVP season with the Marlins in 2017. And even after hurting both his elbows, Big G has continued to hit the absolute screws off the ball. Among batters with 100+ plate appearances, Stanton owns the second-highest average exit velocity (95.2 mph) and the third-highest Brls/BBE % (21.2%). The sizzling 118 mph double that he ripped down the left field line against the Mets on July 6 is tied for the fourth-highest max exit velocity all year.
3. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani hits just as hard as he throws — and he throws gas. His 94.7 mph average exit velocity, the third-highest among qualified hitters, rivals his 97.9 mph average fastball velocity that ranks in the 95th percentile leaguewide.
The National League MVP frontrunner has registered 202 hard-hit balls, tied with Kyle Schwarber for the fifth most in the game. He also fronts the National League in Brls/BBE % at a whopping 23.1%. On May 5, Ohtani drilled a 386-foot two-run shot off Miami ace Sandy Alcantara, a laser that left the bat at a scorching 117.9 mph — tied for the sixth highest max exit velocity all season.
2. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
As the calendar flips to September, Aaron Judge is putting the finishing touches on his third career MVP campaign, leading the majors in OPS (1.106) and wRC+ (193) with the second most home runs in the American League (40). As if there were ever any doubt, the most prolific power hitter of his generation hits the ball really, really hard.
Among qualified hitters, Judge ranks fifth in hard-hit rate (56.2%), second in average exit velocity (95.1 mph), and leads the majors in Brls/BBE % (24.2%). His hardest hit this season nearly took someone’s head off — driving Blue Jays righty Jose Berrios’ sinker up the middle at a blazing 118.1 mph. It marked the third-highest max exit velocity of any player this year.
1. Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates
On May 25, Oneil Cruz dug in for his second at-bat of the day in the bottom of the third inning against Milwaukee right-hander Logan Henderson. He pounced on the first pitch he saw, blasting a 432-foot, heat-seaking missile that landed in the river beyond Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.
The ball jumped off the bat at a blistering 122.9 mph — the hardest hit ball of the season.
That home run wasn’t a one-off occurrence — he leads the majors with an average exit velocity of 96.4 mph. Cruz might not be a perennial All-Star like everyone else on this list. But when he connects, he hits the ball harder than anyone in the game.
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