Kyle Schwarber strikes out a lot, an awful lot. He whiffed 805 times during the past five seasons, the equivalent of once every 2.9 at-bats.
Schwarber also hits for an incredibly low batting average. His BA for the 2020-2024 period was .226, which was worse than the corresponding averages for all other left fielders.
And yet Schwarber holds first place in today’s rankings for left field, thanks to his strong productivity at the plate.
Say what?
My rankings are determined by overall base value (OBV), which compares a given batter’s output against the performance of an average major leaguer under the same circumstances. The unit of measure is the base, specifically the number of bases attained through hits, walks, hit batters, stolen bases, and sacrifices.
Schwarber topped all left fielders in a pair of key offensive categories during the five-year period: home runs (174) and walks (412). His unparalleled power and high walk rate allowed him to amass 1,610 bases between 2020 and 2024.
The typical big-league batter would have reached 1,265 bases in the same number of plate appearances. That gives Schwarber a surplus of 345 bases, which translates to an OBV of plus-345, the best for any left fielder.
Today’s rankings are confined to players who made at least 1,400 plate appearances over the past half-decade and spent the bulk of that time in left field. Their OBVs are determined by their total stats, including any accumulated at other positions.
Schwarber piled up his top-rated base value for four clubs since 2020: the Cubs, Nationals, Red Sox, and Phillies. Runner-up Christian Yelich was remarkably stable by comparison, posting an OBV of plus-218 solely for the Brewers. Randy Arozarena of the Rays and Mariners finished third at plus-202.
Look below to see the half-decade’s top 10 left fielders. Each is listed with basic stats for 2020-2024: games, home runs, runs batted in, batting average, and overall base value.
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1. Kyle Schwarber (G 637, HR 174, RBI 397, BA .226) — OBV +345
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2. Christian Yelich (G 546, HR 65, RBI 248, BA .262) — OBV +218
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3. Randy Arozarena (G 622, HR 90, RBI 312, BA .253) — OBV +202
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4. Ian Happ (G 674, HR 100, RBI 336, BA .249) — OBV +195
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5. Tyler O’Neill (G 469, HR 95, RBI 239, BA .244) — OBV +139
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6. Jesse Winker (G 506, HR 65, RBI 228, BA .252) — OBV +134
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7. Mark Canha (G 604, HR 53, RBI 259, BA .250) — OBV +122
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8. Taylor Ward (G 487, HR 70, RBI 225, BA .259) — OBV +92
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9. Steven Kwan (G 427, HR 25, RBI 150, BA .285) — OBV +75
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10. Jurickson Profar (G 628, HR 59, RBI 247, BA .253) — OBV +55
