The 2 high contenders for the MLB batting title are about to conflict. And essentially the most enjoyable half is, they’re polar opposites.
On one facet, there’s Aaron Decide, behemoth slugger. On the opposite, there’s Jacob Wilson, contact hitter extraordinaire.
Because the Yankees and A’s face off at Yankee Stadium this weekend, Decide leads the Majors with a .361 batting common. Wilson is second at .345. However they rack up their hits in fully other ways.
Let’s check out the gorgeous distinction between Decide and Wilson. Listed below are the three greatest variations.
#1Judge: Excessive bat speedWilson: Excellent contact
Decide, as you may anticipate from a 6-foot-7 strongman, can ramp his swing as much as the very best echelon of bat pace. He has one of many quickest swings within the Majors. Wilson, however, has one of many slowest.
There are 225 hitters who qualify for Statcast’s 2025 bat pace leaderboard proper now. Decide is within the high 5 … Wilson is within the backside 5. The total spectrum of MLB bat pace is, basically, Aaron Decide to Jacob Wilson.
Highest bat pace in MLB in 2025
Lowest bat pace in MLB in 2025
It is easy to observe how Decide’s bat pace interprets to hits. The upper your bat pace, the more durable you possibly can hit the ball, and the more durable you hit the ball, the extra possible that ball is to be a success. And there you could have it.
However the lowest bat pace hitters within the Majors — Arraez, Kwan and Wilson — are three of one of the best contact hitters within the sport. That is as a result of what they lack in uncooked bat pace, they make up for in squared-up contact on the candy spot of the bat.
Wilson ranks proper on the high of the league in squared-up fee, which basically exhibits you which of them hitters get essentially the most out of their bat pace by hitting the ball on the candy spot. Over 40% of his swings this season have produced squared-up contact.
Highest % of swings squared up in 2025
Decide has far more bat pace to show into exit velocity, however what Wilson is nice at is popping the bat pace that he has into as a lot exit velocity as potential. Making strong contact on the barrel of the bat can get you tons of hits, too.
#2Judge: Lengthy fly-ball swingWilson: Brief line-drive swing
Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at Decide’s swing vs. Wilson’s. There’s extra to see within the swings that illustrates their contrasting approaches to hitting.
Decide has a prototypical energy hitter swing: An extended, Ruthian hack. Wilson has a prototypical contact hitter swing: A brief, compact minimize.
Decide’s common swing size this season is 8.1 toes — that is how far his bat travels from the beginning of his swing as much as the purpose of contact. He is certainly one of 12 qualifying hitters with a swing eight toes or longer.
Wilson’s common swing size this season is 6.0 toes. Solely he and Arraez have a swing that is six toes or shorter. The typical large league hitter has a swing size of seven.3 toes.
By the point Decide’s swing will get to the ball, it is also touring on the steep route wanted to drive the ball within the air. His common assault angle of 15 levels — that is the vertical angle the candy spot of the bat is shifting in the meanwhile it hits the baseball — is on the upper facet of Main League hitters. A excessive assault angle swing is a fly-ball swing. And when Decide hits fly balls, they’re homers, as a result of he is so sturdy. Dwelling runs depend towards batting common, too.
Wilson’s swing, however, is degree at contact. His common assault angle is simply two levels, certainly one of baseball’s lowest. A low assault angle swing is a ground-ball and line-drive swing. Wilson would not have the uncooked energy Decide does, so he must depend on balls in play for his hits. If he hits too many fly balls, he’ll simply fly out. So he would not.
Decide’s lengthy fly-ball swing lets him generate these excessive bat speeds, exit velocities and air contact to crush balls over the fence to any a part of the ballpark. Wilson’s brief line-drive swing helps him be direct to the ball, make plenty of sq. contact and gather his base hits.
#3Judge: Crush it or miss itWilson: Spray it however all the time hit it
The final large distinction, and possibly the obvious distinction, between Decide and Wilson is “harmful contact” vs. “quantity of contact.”
Decide swings and misses and strikes out lots. Greater than most hitters. However that does not matter. As a result of he crushes the ball far more.
Decide’s bombs far outweigh his whiffs. Despite the fact that his swing-and-miss fee ranks close to the underside of the league, he ranks on the high of the league in all the standard of contact stats that matter — exit velocity, hard-hit fee and barrel fee (balls he hits with each splendid exit velocity and splendid launch angle, that are prone to go for extra-base hits and residential runs), to call just a few of the massive ones.
Wilson has an method fully counter to that. He simply by no means whiffs, places tons of balls in play, and depends on his elite bat-to-ball ability to show these balls in play into hits for his batting common.
Wilson ranks close to the underside of the league in Statcast’s hard-hit metrics, however he ranks among the many best possible within the Majors in swing-and-miss fee and strikeout fee.
It simply goes to point out you, there’s a couple of technique to be a batting champion. Hits are hits, and Decide and Wilson are one of the best at getting them proper now, regardless of how completely different they’re.
