Keep the remote close — these guys are must-see TV every time they step in the batter’s box. Here are the MLB’s top ten best hitters of the 2025 season.
10. Byron Buxton, OF | Minnesota Twins
Byron Buxton is elite when healthy, a point he’s emphatically driven home this season.
The 31-year-old outfielder — who had appeared in over 100 games just twice in his first ten seasons — is arguably having his best year at the dish. Through 82 games, Buxton is hitting .290 with a .928 OPS, 153 wRC+, and 23 homers — just six shy of setting a new career-high. He also hit for the cycle on July 12, which was pretty cool, too.
9. Michael Busch, 1B | Chicago Cubs
In a lineup that comprises a potential MVP candidate in Pete Crow-Armstrong and the top pending free agent in Kyle Tucker, Cubs first baseman Michael Busch has managed to stand out and then some.
Now in his third year, Busch is having his best season yet. He’s hitting .283 with 20 homers, just one short of matching his career-high in nearly 60 fewer games. Meanwhile, his .911 OPS and 156 wRC+ rank ninth and seventh in the league, respectively.
8. Juan Soto, OF | New York Mets
After initially struggling to find his stride, Juan Soto is back to shuffling in his first year in Queens.
The first couple of months of Soto’s Mets tenure were too small a sample size to judge a 15-year contract. The $765 million man entered Wednesday’s game hitting .256 with an .893 OPS, 151 wRC+, 24 home runs, and an MLB-leading 82 walks. And since the beginning of June, he’s carried a .291 average with 15 homers and a 1.063 OPS over 44 games.
7. Kyle Schwarber, DH | Philadelphia Phillies
No matter the occasion, Kyle Schwarber absolutely rakes.
The Philadelphia slugger, fresh off an All-Star Game MVP nod after going 3-for-3 in the tie-breaking home run derby, has 33 long balls to his name — third most in the National League — along with the sixth-highest OPS (.934) and wRC+ (156) in the majors.
6. Kyle Stowers, OF | Miami Marlins
Kyle Stowers was by no means a standout when the Miami Marlins acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles at last year’s deadline — but he is now.
The 27-year-old outfielder, who slashed just .186/.262/.195 in 50 games with Miami last season, is hitting .295 with 22 homers in 2025, boasting a top-five OPS (.937) and wRC+ (156) across all of baseball. Adding an exclamation point to his breakout, Stowers went deep three times in his first game back at his former ballpark on July 13.
5. Will Smith, C | Los Angeles Dodgers
Why do we like Will Smith? Because he gets on base.
The Dodgers’ backstop has been one of the toughest outs in baseball this season, trailing only Aaron Judge with a .325 average, .423 on-base percentage, and 173 wRC+. Smith also ranks top four in the majors with a .974 OPS, adding 14 homers and 48 RBIs.
4. Eugenio Suarez, 3B | Arizona Diamondbacks
Eugenio Suarez was already having a strong year at the plate — then he crushed five homers in his first four games after the All-Star break.
The Diamondbacks All-Star is hitting .254 with a .923 OPS and 150 wRC+, tied for the National League lead with 36 home runs and pacing the majors with 82 RBIs. Suarez has drawn significant trade interest ahead of this year’s deadline; if moved, he’d become the first player in MLB history with 35+ homers to be traded in-season (h/t: Bob Nightengale, USA Today).
3. Shohei Ohtani, DH | Los Angeles Dodgers
On the heels of the first 50/50 season in MLB history, Shohei Ohtani has picked up right where he left off.
While his .274 batting average is a bit low for his standards, the two-way superstar’s 36 home runs are tied for the National League lead, and his .993 OPS paces the NL — well on his way to a third straight MVP award and fourth in five years.
2. Cal Raleigh, C | Seattle Mariners
If the Home Run Derby was any indication, Cal Raleigh hits bombs on a nightly basis.
On Tuesday night, the Seattle switch-hitting slugger extended his MLB-leading home run total by blasting his 39th of the season. Raleigh is hitting .256 with a .989 OPS and 172 wRC+. He’s currently on pace for 62 homers this year — a mark that would tie Aaron Judge’s American League record — all while taking a beating behind the dish on a nightly basis.
If it were any other year, the Big Dumper would be a shoo-in for the American League MVP award.
1. Aaron Judge, OF | New York Yankees
NBA star James Harden once joked that he considers himself the greatest three-point shooter of all-time because “Steph [Curry] don’t count.” Aaron Judge is so dominant this season that he almost shouldn’t count.
After managing to outdo his historic 2022 campaign last year, the Yankee captain has somehow done it again. He’s supplemented 36 homers and 82 RBIs with the best batting average in baseball (.346), also pacing the league with a .455 on-base percentage, 1.169 OPS, and 211 wRC+.
At this point, Judge is compared less to the stars of today than he is to the most iconic figures in baseball history — and that’s exactly how it should be.
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