Thome Reaches 600 HR Club

In the sixth inning of last night's Twins/Tigers contest, Jim Thome flicked a Rick Porcello fastball over left field wall. One frame later, he went to the opposite field again on a Daniel Schlereth curveball, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa in the 600 home run club. Not bad for a former 13th-round pick who signed for the equivalent of about $27,000 in present-day dollars.

While Thome has pulled his share of moon shots to right field, last night's history-making homers highlight his all-fields slugging. Thome has the second-highest slugging percentage and second-most homers on pitches hit to the opposite field since 2002, according to Fangraphs, with Thome trailing only Ryan Howard in both categories. To center field, Thome has the third-best slugging percentage (behind Howard and Barry Bonds) and has the fourth-most dingers (Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Howard are one through three).

All of those homers hit to center and the opposite field are a product of Thome's ability to thump pitches thrown down the middle and on the outside corner. Since 2008 (the first year for which we have data), Thome has the third-best slugging percentage in the game on middle and away pitches:

Thome's in-play slugging percentage by location on middle and away pitches, 2008-2011

League average in-play slugging percentage by location on middle and away pitches, 2008-2011

Thome's .577 slugging percentage on middle and away pitches from 2008-2011 is bested by that of just Adrian Gonzalez (.587) and Pujols (.608).

Any time a player hits a nice, round milestone, talk tends to turn to his Hall of Fame prospects. The truth is, Thome didn't need to pass the 600 HR threshold to bolster his Cooperstown Credentials.

Thome has been a patient, powerful force at the plate for more than a decade and a half, and his career 71.1 Wins Above Replacement place him between Johnny Bench and Paul Waner for 45th all-time among position players, according to Baseball-Reference. Dozens of guys ranked lower on the list have been elected to the Hall of Fame. When Thome does get the call, his all-fields power will be a major reason.

Best Offspeed Hitters

Top 20 Offspeed Hitters by AVG, 2010-2011 (Min. 300 offspeed pitches faced)

While Justin Morneau has the highest batting average on offspeed pitches of all players since the start of the 2010 season, Ichiro has collected the most hits (140) over that period....This season, new Phillie Hunter Pence leads all hitters with 63 hits on offspeed pitches....Cleveland Indian Lou Marson has the lowest batting average on offspeed pitches (.116) of all active players since 2010.

Pitchers Challenging Ben Revere

Twins outfielder Ben Revere is a polarizing prospect. His backers see a high-contact hitter with blazing speed. His critics point out that the 5-foot-9, 175 pounder rarely gets the ball out of the infield and may be bullied by pitchers at the highest level. It's far too early to make a definitive judgment about the 23-year-old, but those shouting warnings about Revere's hitting ability have been right so far.

Revere's triple slash in 2011 (.264/.291/.295) is devoid of walks or power. And pitchers, knowing that the worst Revere can do to them is slap a single the other way, are challenging him to hit pitches over the plate.

Opponents have thrown Revere a fastball or a sinker about 68 percent of the time, which is the highest rate among MLB hitters and well above the 57-58 percent league average. And 53 percent of those fastballs/sinkers have been thrown within the strike zone (51 percent average). Revere's in-play slugging percentage versus fastballs and sinkers is chock full of blue:

Revere's in-play slugging percentage against fastballs

Revere has a .300 slugging percentage versus fastballs/sinkers, while the league average is .439. The lefty batter has one extra-base hit against a fastball in 2011: a double against Chicago's Gavin Floyd on June 15.

Similarly, pitchers are pounding the zone when they do decide to throw Revere breaking stuff. Over 57 percent of the curveballs and sliders that Revere has seen have been within the strike zone, compared to the 45 percent league average.

Revere's in-play slugging percentage against breaking balls

Revere's .231 slugging percentage against breaking balls is well short of the .351 league average.

One might look at Ben Revere's three percent walk rate and assume that he's hacking, but that's not the case. Rather, pitchers see a hitter who can't do much extra-base damage against them, and in response, they're throwing strikes and forcing Revere to prove that he can hit in the majors. After all, why tiptoe around the strike zone when the worst the batter can do is poke a single through the infield?