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Stanton’s power

Posted by John Autin on July 16, 2011

With a pair of home runs off Carlos Zambrano Saturday at Wrigley Field, Mike Stanton now has 42 HRs in his first 188 career games -- tied for 17th in MLB history through 188 games, along with Albert Pujols, Hank Sauer, Richie Sexson and Matt Nokes.

It was his first multi-HR game this season and gave him 20 HRs for the year. He's the 28th player ever with 20+ HRs in each of his first 2 seasons.

The right-handed Stanton continues to show more power against righty pitchers:

  • vs. RHPs, 35 HRs in 511 ABs, 6.8%;
  • vs. LHPs, 7 HRs in 161 ABs, 4.3%.

In his first game ever against Zambrano, Stanton struck out in his first trip, but drove a HR the opposite way on a 1-2 pitch leading off the 4th, then did the same on a 2-0 pitch with 2 aboard in the 5th, knocking the Big Z out of the game.

Here are the players with at least 40 HRs in their first 188 games:

[Note: Because it's a game search, they're sorted by most games with a HR. To sort by total HRs, click on the "HR" heading.]

Rk Gcar Player #Matching PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP
1 Rudy York 51 Ind. Games 222 199 90 9 1 57 139 23 23 .452 .509 1.367 1.876 0 0 0
2 Mark McGwire 48 Ind. Games 206 184 85 7 1 56 91 18 34 .462 .519 1.424 1.943 0 0 3 4 1
3 Ryan Howard 47 Ind. Games 201 183 75 5 1 52 100 16 39 .410 .453 1.301 1.753 0 2 7 0 0
4 Ryan Braun 47 Ind. Games 209 199 99 9 3 54 99 7 31 .497 .522 1.387 1.908 0 0 0 3 5
5 Chuck Klein 44 Ind. Games 211 191 100 10 4 48 103 14 14 .524 .556 1.372 1.928 6 0 0
6 Tony Clark 43 Ind. Games 188 173 74 5 0 48 86 14 41 .428 .473 1.289 1.762 0 0 1 1 5
7 Ron Kittle 42 Ind. Games 178 161 66 1 1 43 85 15 39 .410 .455 1.230 1.685 0 2 3 0 3
8 Bob Horner 42 Ind. Games 184 169 84 12 0 48 87 10 18 .497 .516 1.420 1.936 0 4 3 1 0
9 Dick Stuart 41 Ind. Games 178 157 75 5 0 43 81 17 27 .478 .534 1.331 1.865 0 1 3 3 3
10 Frank Robinson 41 Ind. Games 186 173 80 8 2 44 72 8 28 .462 .495 1.295 1.789 2 0 0 3 1
11 Jimmie Hall 41 Ind. Games 186 166 72 4 0 43 81 18 31 .434 .486 1.235 1.721 1 1 2 0 3
12 Adam Dunn 41 Ind. Games 183 148 73 12 1 43 72 32 31 .493 .585 1.459 2.044 0 1 0 2 3
13 Chris Duncan 41 Ind. Games 159 143 69 5 0 43 79 12 29 .483 .522 1.420 1.942 0 2 0 2 4
14 Albert Pujols 40 Ind. Games 175 151 68 8 0 42 81 19 21 .450 .509 1.338 1.846 0 3 2 2 6
15 Richie Sexson 39 Ind. Games 170 160 74 4 0 42 86 7 19 .463 .488 1.275 1.763 0 1 0 2 4
16 Pete Incaviglia 39 Ind. Games 165 150 63 3 1 41 70 14 29 .420 .473 1.273 1.746 0 0 1 1 3
17 Josh Hamilton 39 Ind. Games 180 156 66 5 1 41 85 19 25 .423 .483 1.256 1.740 0 3 4 2 3
18 Mike Stanton 38 Ind. Games 165 150 66 8 2 40 73 13 31 .440 .485 1.320 1.805 0 1 2 1 4
19 Tony Conigliaro 38 Ind. Games 166 151 62 3 0 40 66 14 23 .411 .461 1.225 1.686 1 0 2 0 4
20 Cory Snyder 37 Ind. Games 156 148 57 3 0 43 74 7 28 .385 .410 1.277 1.687 0 1 1 0 3
21 Hank Sauer 37 Ind. Games 159 143 70 7 1 42 71 13 15 .490 .538 1.434 1.972 1 0 2 2
22 Alex Rodriguez 37 Ind. Games 180 161 78 16 0 40 86 15 22 .484 .520 1.329 1.849 1 3 1 0 2
23 Manny Ramirez 37 Ind. Games 160 142 70 8 0 41 80 15 22 .493 .535 1.415 1.950 1 2 1 0 1
24 Matt Nokes 37 Ind. Games 156 140 69 3 0 42 73 12 15 .493 .545 1.414 1.959 0 0 1 4 4
25 Evan Longoria 37 Ind. Games 171 154 71 13 0 43 82 13 36 .461 .503 1.383 1.886 0 2 1 2 3
26 Joe DiMaggio 37 Ind. Games 184 176 86 14 1 44 85 5 8 .489 .508 1.330 1.838 1 0 2
28 Wally Berger 37 Ind. Games 156 141 75 4 4 41 79 11 15 .532 .569 1.489 2.058 3 0 1
32 Hal Trosky 35 Ind. Games 165 144 79 14 0 41 98 21 9 .549 .606 1.500 2.106 0 0 0
33 Eddie Mathews 35 Ind. Games 161 142 61 8 2 40 71 18 22 .430 .494 1.359 1.853 1 0 1 0 1
37 Zeke Bonura 35 Ind. Games 167 150 71 4 0 41 89 17 9 .473 .527 1.320 1.847 0 0 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/16/2011.

But here's a better list -- hitters with at least 40 career HRs through age 21, sorted by OPS+.
In contrast to a reader's valid comment about the list above, this one has no "crap":

Rk Player OPS+ HR From To Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Pos Tm
1 Ted Williams 161 54 1939 1940 20-21 293 1338 1126 265 378 87 25 258 203 0 118 5 4 0 23 6 5 .336 .439 .601 1.041 *97/1 BOS
2 Jimmie Foxx 157 49 1925 1929 17-21 364 1301 1088 241 372 61 25 222 178 0 131 4 31 0 0 15 17 .342 .436 .579 1.015 *3/529 PHA
3 Mel Ott 146 86 1926 1930 17-21 539 2060 1724 359 570 106 14 370 282 0 127 10 44 0 0 21 0 .331 .428 .558 .986 *9/7845 NYG
4 Eddie Mathews 145 72 1952 1953 20-21 302 1274 1107 190 303 54 13 193 158 0 198 3 6 0 15 7 7 .274 .366 .541 .907 *5 BSN-MLN
5 Mickey Mantle 143 57 1951 1953 19-21 365 1552 1351 260 398 72 15 244 197 0 275 0 4 0 10 20 12 .295 .384 .497 .881 *89/675 NYY
6 Frank Robinson 138 67 1956 1957 20-21 302 1345 1183 219 363 56 11 158 108 12 187 32 13 9 27 18 6 .307 .378 .543 .920 *7/83 CIN
7 Ken Griffey 134 60 1989 1991 19-21 436 1805 1600 228 478 93 8 241 178 41 246 5 5 17 26 50 24 .299 .367 .479 .847 *8/D SEA
8 Bob Horner 130 56 1978 1979 20-21 210 874 810 116 239 32 2 161 46 8 116 5 1 12 16 0 2 .295 .332 .547 .879 *5/3 ATL
9 Tony Conigliaro 130 84 1964 1966 19-21 399 1658 1483 228 405 68 14 227 138 15 306 15 12 10 26 6 8 .273 .339 .508 .847 *9/78 BOS
10 Alex Rodriguez 129 64 1994 1997 18-21 352 1523 1384 260 435 100 6 228 109 2 265 9 12 9 29 51 12 .314 .366 .534 .900 *6/D SEA
11 Orlando Cepeda 129 52 1958 1959 20-21 299 1291 1208 180 380 73 8 201 62 17 184 8 0 13 28 38 20 .315 .349 .517 .866 *3/75 SFG
12 Al Kaline 129 59 1953 1956 18-21 473 1939 1737 268 540 74 21 275 175 16 162 7 8 12 45 23 14 .311 .374 .480 .853 *9/87 DET
13 Hank Aaron 125 40 1954 1955 20-21 275 1174 1070 163 320 64 15 175 77 5 100 6 13 8 33 5 3 .299 .347 .499 .846 79/4 MLN
14 Mike Stanton 121 40 2010 2011 20-21 187 746 668 90 171 38 5 110 66 9 222 6 0 6 15 8 4 .256 .326 .507 .833 *9/D FLA
15 Miguel Cabrera 121 45 2003 2004 20-21 247 1031 917 140 261 52 4 174 93 8 232 8 4 9 32 5 4 .285 .352 .497 .850 79/5D FLA
16 Vada Pinson 121 41 1958 1960 19-21 335 1522 1396 258 418 91 21 153 113 6 212 7 5 1 21 55 19 .299 .355 .483 .837 *8/97 CIN
17 Johnny Bench 116 42 1967 1969 19-21 328 1292 1182 157 325 66 4 178 85 15 201 6 3 16 25 7 12 .275 .323 .444 .767 *2 CIN
18 Justin Upton 112 43 2007 2009 19-21 289 1157 1022 153 278 57 16 139 120 13 295 7 1 7 16 23 9 .272 .350 .485 .836 *9/D ARI
19 Boog Powell 109 40 1961 1963 19-21 268 1002 904 111 228 35 4 136 87 13 168 2 3 6 26 2 3 .252 .317 .433 .750 *7/39 BAL
20 Andruw Jones 104 54 1996 1998 19-21 343 1211 1087 160 273 58 10 173 103 10 265 8 6 7 22 50 15 .251 .319 .472 .791 *89/7 ATL
21 Ruben Sierra 103 46 1986 1987 20-21 271 1107 1025 147 270 48 14 164 61 7 179 3 1 17 26 23 19 .263 .302 .472 .774 *9/78D TEX
22 Adrian Beltre 102 42 1998 2000 19-21 367 1403 1243 173 338 66 7 174 131 14 222 11 9 9 21 33 13 .272 .344 .438 .782 *5/6 LAD
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/16/2011.

16 Responses to “Stanton’s power”

  1. DavidRF Says:

    Wow... he's young, too. Only 21. He has a chance to crack the age-based leaderboards.

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/leaders_21_bat.shtml

    If he hits 12 more HR this season, he'll crack the top 10 through age 21.

  2. John Autin Says:

    @1, DavidRF -- Good point. And those same 12 HRs would put him into the top 20 for the first 2 seasons; 16 more HRs would get him into that top 10.

    He's certainly not a great hitter yet, but with that power and his apparent defensive ability (2.4 dWAR in his year-plus so far), he's got a chance to be an outstanding player.

    P.S. Don't look now, but the Marlins have won 7 out of 8 and are now 13-9 under McKeon....

  3. Fourfriends1679 Says:

    Wow, now that I look at it, there's a lot of crap on that list!

    For every McGwire, Pujols and Howard there two Incaviglia's, Stuart's, Nokes', Kittle's, Horner's and Snyder's.

    LOL

    Yes, I'm 1/2 kidding. I own enough late 198's BBall cards to know that those guys were at least "semi-stars." This just tells me (what I alreayd knew) that an auspicious start isn't necessarily all that meaningful.

    Still an interetsing post, though! 🙂

  4. DavidRF Says:

    @2
    126 OPS+ before today's outburst is very impressive for a 21-year old. Guys who play that well while that young project very well. He might be reminding Marlins fans of Miguel Cabrera.

  5. John Autin Says:

    Fourfriends makes a good point about the list I posted. But I should have added a 2nd list, the age-group list. As David said, doing what Stanton has done through age 21 (he turns 22 in November) is MUCH more predictive than doing it in the first 2 seasons.

  6. John Autin Says:

    I've updated the post to include the age-21 list.

    There are 22 players on the list:
    -- Of the 15 retired, HOF-eligible players, 10 have been inducted, and Junior Griffey is a virtual lock to make it 11 of 16. The remaining 5 retired players were no slouches, either.
    -- Of the actives, A-Rod has a HOF resume, and M-Cabrera is at least halfway home.

  7. Timmy P Says:

    Zambrano was pitching hurt today and Soto called a bad game.

  8. Evil Squirrel Says:

    So the Cardinals record for most HR's in their first 188 games is held by...... Chris Duncan!?!?!?

    I can become a millionaire winning bets with that little nugget....

  9. DavidRF Says:

    @5
    "Baseball age" according to that leaderboard is your age on June 30th. What's impressed me is that he's got the rest of the year to climb the list.

  10. RobM Says:

    That first list is not exactly loaded with HOFers! A few mixed in like Robinson and DiMaggion, and pending ones like Pujols and A-Rod, but most are not real greats. Much better to be on the second list.

  11. Charles Says:

    Stanton is the only player I can find to hit 20 homers in the minors and 20 in the majors the same year (2010)

  12. John Autin Says:

    @11, Charles -- Nice observation. I can't find another "20/20" guy, either (although I can't think of an efficient way of searching).

  13. Gosh Says:

    Hr. per 502 PA in first 2 yrs. of career , age up to 21.

    Player HR Age HR/502 PA GP PA
    Bob Horner 56 20-21 32.2 210 874
    Eddie Mathews 72 20-21 28.4 302 1274
    Mike Stanton 42 20-21 28.1 188 751
    Darryl Strawberry 26 21-21 27.6 122 473
    Albert Pujols 37 21-21 27.5 161 676
    Tony Conigliaro 56 19-20 27.3 249 1030
    Frank Robinson 67 20-21 25.0 302 1345
    Hal Trosky 36 20-21 24.7 165 732
    Jose Canseco 38 20-21 24.4 186 782

  14. Gosh Says:

    Incredibly that is as organized as i could make it. I don't no much about all these new fancy electronic computers,adding machines and calculators.

  15. John Autin Says:

    Don't sweat it, Gosh. The decimal point helps us find the relevant number.

  16. Kevin Says:

    Ron Kittle and Pete Incaviglia - oh my. OK throw in Nokes for good measure.

    There you have it. If Stanton continues on a good arc then he might join the likes of A-Rod, Pujols, and Griffey Jr. If he for some reason steadily fades from here like the ones I mentioned above...the Orioles will pick him up in 2021. (I hope not, he's one of the most exciting young players in the league)