AL Homer & Strikeout Percentage Leaders

I wanted to spend a few moments looking at ultimate results, all or nothing, homers vs. strikeouts.

There are 20 players in AL with at least seven homers this season led by Chris Davis, Mark Davis, and Edwin Encarnacion with 11 each.

Rk	Player	HR	Tm
1	Chris Davis	11	BAL
2	Mark Reynolds	11	CLE
3	Edwin Encarnacion	11	TOR
4	Robinson Cano	10	NYY
5	Chris Carter	9	HOU
6	Vernon Wells	9	NYY
7	Nelson Cruz	9	TEX
8	J.P. Arencibia	9	TOR
9	Jose Bautista	9	TOR
10	Mike Morse	9	SEA
11	Evan Longoria	9	TBR
12	Prince Fielder	9	DET
13	Mark Trumbo	9	LAA
14	Alex Rios	8	CHW
15	Adrian Beltre	8	TEX
16	Miguel Cabrera	7	DET
17	Carlos Santana	7	CLE
18	Alejandro De Aza	7	CHW
19	Mike Napoli	7	BOS
20	Ian Kinsler	7	TEX

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/13/2013.

There are 17 players with at least 36 whiffs led by Colby Rasmus and Chris Carter with 54 each

Rk	Player	SO	Tm
1	Colby Rasmus	54	TOR
2	Chris Carter	54	HOU
3	Mike Napoli	50	BOS
4	J.P. Arencibia	48	TOR
5	Adam Dunn	45	CHW
6	Mark Trumbo	44	LAA
7	Josh Hamilton	44	LAA
8	Alejandro De Aza	44	CHW
9	Brandon Moss	43	OAK
10	Will Middlebrooks	42	BOS
11	Chris Davis	38	BAL
12	Mike Morse	38	SEA
13	Drew Stubbs	38	CLE
14	Carlos Pena	38	HOU
15	Mark Reynolds	36	CLE
16	Jason Castro	36	HOU
17	Jarrod Saltalamacchia	36	BOS

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/13/2013.

But who are the batters with a good home run percentage and a decent strikeout percentage?

On this chart you want to be in the lower right corner where you see the effectiveness of Edwin Encarnacion, Robinson Cano, Alex Rios, Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Beltre, J.J. Hardy, and just out of the zone, Jose Bautista.

The lower left corner represents the batters who are lower in terms of strikeouts and lower in terms of homers. This group includes Elvis Andrus, Nick Markakis, Jeff Keppinger, Melky Cabrera, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez and others.

The upper right corner is comprised of guys who are hitting some homers, but striking out too much: Colby Rasmus, Chris Carter, Adam Dunn, and Nelson Cruz are some of the folks here.

The upper left corner are guys who are whiffing without showing power. This unenviable group includes Drew Stubbs, Carlos Pena, Jason Castro, Justin Smoak, Josh Hamilton, and assortment of other players you are already not happy with.

Yankees looking at Mark Reynolds and here's what they'll see

The Yankees need a third baseman at a price they are willing to pay which is why Mark Reynolds is getting their attention.

But while Reynolds does hit homers, 181 in his career including 23 this past season, he strikes out...a lot.

Here are the locations of Reynolds 159 2012 strikeouts

And if it seems as if he's chasing a lot of pitches, you are correct.

 Since 2008, Reynolds has hit .277 at Yankee Stadium

But in 151 plate appearances in New York, he has 20 walks and 49 whiffs.

But the Yankees need to replace homers and they need an affordable option, but these strikeout figures don't even address Reynolds iron glove.

Best Mistake Hitters since 2010

Highest HR% on Mistake Pitches since 2010

Player	P	PA	AVG	SLUG	K%	HR%
Jose Bautista	474	183	.396	.956	6.6%	16.5%
David Ortiz	383	176	.405	.971	4.5%	15.0%
Matt Joyce	250	97	.389	.958	11.3%	14.7%
Shelley Duncan	204	75	.387	.893	21.3%	14.7%
Jim Thome	214	83	.402	.927	16.9%	14.6%
Russell Branyan	172	62	.306	.806	19.4%	14.5%
Matt Kemp	508	185	.379	.879	9.7%	13.7%
Pedro Alvarez	214	82	.415	.915	12.2%	13.4%
Mike Stanton	293	116	.421	.956	10.3%	13.2%
Pat Burrell	246	79	.408	.921	11.4%	13.2%
Josh Hamilton	252	124	.369	.820	8.9%	13.1%
Brennan Boesch	276	129	.414	.875	7.0%	12.5%
Ryan Braun	458	178	.434	.914	6.7%	12.0%
Brian McCann	301	109	.367	.789	11.9%	11.9%
Carlos Pena	361	139	.296	.741	12.2%	11.9%
Jorge Posada	237	101	.257	.644	16.8%	11.9%
Adam LaRoche	242	93	.376	.817	9.7%	11.8%
Joey Votto	420	165	.466	.975	9.7%	11.7%
Mark Reynolds	459	170	.293	.731	17.6%	11.4%
Carlos Quentin	303	109	.286	.705	7.3%	11.4%
Prince Fielder	368	159	.365	.755	6.3%	11.3%
Albert Pujols	407	162	.379	.814	4.3%	11.2%
Curtis Granderson	411	110	.336	.776	3.6%	11.2%
Kelly Johnson	412	153	.329	.763	9.2%	11.2%

Make a mistake to any of these hitters, and you're bound to pay for it. The above list includes only pitches that crossed the center of the strike zone since 2010. It's no surprise that Jose Bautista has a high HR% on mistake pitches; same for David Ortiz, Matt Kemp and a bunch of others.

I'm somewhat surprised to see Matt Joyce as #3 on the list. Of the 36 home runs he's hit since the start of 2010, 14 have come on pitches right in the center of the strike zone. Eight of those HRs came in 2011 when he hit 19 total long balls.

Nick Swisher has the most hits on mistake pitches with 80, while teammate Derek Jeter's 79 hits has him tied for second with Michael Young.

Mark Reynolds, #20 on the list, also has 30 strike outs on pitches over the middle of the plate since 2010. That's second only to Adam Dunn with 33.