The best batters designated according to Buster Olney
Shohei Ohtani or Yordan Álvarez? Buster Olney’s analysis about the best players in each position reaches the most powerful batters in the game.
Spring Training camps are already underway, which means that it is time to analyze the state of baseball. As part of our preview of the 2025 season of the MLB, Buster Olney of AM850 Bring your classification series by positions back, in which you surveyed people in the industry to help you classify the 10 best players in each position.
Today, we classify the best designated batters in MLB.
The objective of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2025 season, not who could be the best in five years or throughout their career. We review a position per day for two weeks. Here is the rest of the calendar: Receptors, First base, second base, Third base, Campocortos, corner gardeners, central gardenersopening pitchers (27/2) and relieved (28/2).
When the National League adopted the designated batter position before the 2022 season, the change would improve the offensive, at least to some extent. Eliminating the spin to bat, mostly ugly, of the pitchers and replacing them with appearances of offensive players would mean more hits, more opportunities to score and more races.
But that theoretical effect seems to have been compensated by the growing domain and strength of pitching.
These are the last three complete seasons of offensive production of the National League before the designated batter’s rule (2018-2019 and 2021) was adopted, courtesy of the AM850 Paul Hembekides researcher:
.247 batting average
.317 ObP
.406 SLG
4.51 races per party
The first three production seasons of the National League with the designated batter (2022-24):
.247 batting average
.320 obp
.414 SLG
4.54 races per game
The offensive of the National League is practically identical even after the arrival of the designated batter, as well as the races in general have not increased much since the adoption of the prohibitions of the defensive shifts and the rules designed to improve the theft of bases. What has happened, apparently, is that the improvement in pitching (the openers throw less entries, the parade of overwhelming relief is lengthened) is engulfing offensives despite the fact that the conditions for the batters have increased.
All this suggests that, if the MLB wants more offensive and more action, it needs to reduce the long relief lists, limiting the number of arms available in each game, and restore the preeminence of the opening launchers. The longer the coaches are forced to trust their pitchers, the more likely they will have to mark careers.
The impact of the great designated batters will always be tangible. These are the 10 best in the big leagues at this time
Top 10 designated batters
1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Ohtani’s offensive production will inevitably decrease this season due to his return to the mound, but probably not so much. His 731 appearances on the plate last year were the most numerous of his career, but in 2021 and 2022, when he hit and launched full time, he had 639 and 666 appearances on the plate, respectively.
In 2024, there was no apparent Kriptonite.
2. Yordan Álvarez, Houston Astros
In the past, his preference has been to play in the left garden, but the injuries have forced him to accept this reality: he has more possibilities of being in the alignment and helping Houston if he works as a designated batter. Álvarez is one of the best pure baseball batters: only Aaron Judge, Ohtani and Juan Soto obtained better qualifications on WRC+ last season.
3. Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves
Perhaps the easiest contractual decision for any team this winter was the choice of the braves to accept the option of $ 16 million of Ozuna by 2025. There were moments last year in which he took the offensive on his own, and finished the season with an offensive line of .302/.378/.546, 39 homers and 104 ranges promoted, while playing the 162 games for Atlante.
4. Brent Rooker, Athletics
Fun with the numbers: last year, Rooker dominated situations when he hit with runners in the position of scoring, averaging .338 and slugging .669 with an OBP of .409. In times of great pressure, he hit .330
5. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
It is close to some milestones: Schwarber only lacks 16 home runs to reach 300 in his career, and with 95 more hits, he will reach 1000. He can sign for any team at the end of the 2025 season.
6. Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
With the excellent defensive field of the Cubs formed by Ian HaPP, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker (in order from the left garden to the right), Suzuki’s game time could be largely in the batter role designated this season, which seems to handle well. His offensive line in 59 games as a batter designated last season was .298/.386/.461; When he played in the right garden, it was .266/.347/.478.
7. Kerry Carpenter, Detroit Tigers
Think about the damage he did in just 87 games last season: 39 extrabases and a percentage of .587 slugging. If Carpenter remains healthy, he could be on his way to a complete explosion in the style of Brent Rooker.
8. Joc Pederson, Texas Rangers
It is the Happy Gilmore of baseball, with skills that lack nuances. He did not play in the field last year, he will not add anything running through the bases and still does not break the lefties. But it can hit skings and destroys all launches in times of great pressure: last year, it hit .346 in those situations, with an OPS of 1,164.
9. Ryan O’Hearn, Baltimore Orioles
He played 54 of his 142 games last season as a designated batter, and that number could increase this year, depending on how the orioles display Adley Rutschman. In those 54 games as a designated batter, O’Hearn prospered, hitting .280 with an OBP of .353.
10. Jorge Soler, Los Angeles Angels
Now he is considered almost impossible to play in the outer field, after his ugly season with the Braves last season. In just 304 tickets, he had less 10 DRS and less six outs above the average, which led Atlanta to get rid of him and pass it to Los Angeles. But it can still rake: Soler had an OPS+ adjusted 121 last season.
Outstanding mentions
Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees: He would have been in the top 10 if it had not been for his recent injury, which leaves the Yankees wondering how available it will be this season. He had a strong postseason in 2024, which put it within the reach of the 500 homers in his career (he is currently in 429).
Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox: It seems inevitable that the Red Sox get rid of Yoshida, renouncing what remains of his contract, because his best alignment is with Rafael Devers as a designated batter.
Jesse Winker, New York Mets: Such low placement might seem silly at the end of the season, since Winker will have many opportunities to harm the steep alignment of the Mets.
