Top Two Strike Hitters by wOBA

Min. 100 Two Strike Plate Appearances (Click image to enlarge)

There is no shortage of good hitters in the top 10 of this list.  Some notables that didn't make the cut: Chris Iannetta of the Colorado Rockies (.322) has the the highest walk rate (21.5%) of all major leaguers with two strikes....Yankees' Curtis Granderson (.316) has 5.1% HR rate, 4th behind Cabrera, Tulowitzki, and Berkman....Victor Martinez (.328) of the Detroit Tigers has a .310 batting average in two strike counts, best in the majors.

The Triplers: Drew, Victorino, and Granderson

Stephen Drew of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies and Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees are three of the top triples hitters of the last 3.5 seasons.  They are young, fast, and bat mostly left-handed.  Is there another secret to their ability to hit triples?

First, look at where left-handed batter usually make contact with balls that result in triples:

MLB triples by left-handed batters, pitch frequency, 2008-2011.

Triples take up a good chunk of the strike zone, but the center of the high density area, is a bit down and away.  Our three outstanding triplers refine this further:

Stephen Drew triples, pitch frequency, 2008-2011.Shane Victorino triples as a LHB, pitch frequency, 2008-2011.Curtis Granderson triples, pitch frequency, 2008-2011.With these three hitters, the down and away preference for triples is very clear.  With all three, the triples are split between balls hit down the rightfield line and those hit to deep center, a bit to the rightfield side.  The pitch down and away is a tough one to drive for a homer, but it's a great one to drive over the head of the centerfielder.  Combine that with the speed of the batters and batting from the left side shortening the distance to third, and you can see why they own the triple advantage.

Baseball-All-Starlytics: Curtis Granderson: What a difference a year makes

"The Grandy Man can."

Yes, we're all sick of hearing that during Yankee radio casts but the truth is, Curtis Granderson can rake.

Were it not for the beast numbers of Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Bautista, not to mention Asdrubal Cabrera's season, we would be hearing chants of "MVP!, MVP!" at the Stadium

We have written in these pages in praise of Yankee batting coach Kevin Long whose work with Granderson has produced remarkable results. But you really need to see the numbers to appreciate the contrast.

What a difference a year makes

Let's compare Curtis Granderson's 2010 through July 5 to Grandy's 2011 season through July 5.

Granderson to July 5, 2010

Granderson's hot spots look like Caribbean islandsOn the morning of July 6, 2010, Curtis Granderson was hitting .228 with seven homers and 23 RBI. He was slugging .411. He was hitting .192 against lefties with one homer and 22 total bases and 23 strikeouts (more strikeouts than total bases can't be good).

Granderson to July 5, 2011

His Heat Map looks like a view of New England

First look at the difference in the map. He was getting destroyed at this point last year on the outer portion of the plate. High and away (in the strike zone) and low and away were ways of getting him out. That's no longer the case.

Now, look at the difference in his numbers: On the morning of July 6, 2011, Curtis Granderson is hitting .278 (I'm no math genius but I think that's 50 points higher) with 25 homers and 62 RBI. He is slugging .597. He is hitting .260 against lefties with nine homers and 63 total bases and 31 strikeouts (over twice as many total bases as whiffs is very good).

A history making season in the making?

The last Yankee outfielder to hit over 40 homers was Reggie Jackson in 1980 when he hit 41. In fact, and I found this surprising, there really have been relatively few Yankee outfielders with over 40 homers in a season. Babe Ruth did it 10 times, Mickey Mantle four times, Reggie, Roger Maris and Joe DiMaggio did it once each.There have been 26 Yankees, who've played at any position, who have hit over 40 homers and driven in 100+ runs.

Right now, Granderson is en route to being the next, he could be number 27 on this list exhibiting the power of the '27 Yankees.