Michael Saunders Spray Chart MLB Stats & Career Totals

The big spots do not change his strikeouts either way

Saunders strikes out in 31.7% of his trips with a runner in scoring position and 20.8% with the bases empty.

60 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, 173 with the bases empty.

His home runs almost all go to the same part of the park

5 of Saunders's 6 located home runs have gone to right field, the longest of them 413 feet.

6 tracked home runs in 2017.

There is one pitch he punishes whenever he sees it

Saunders does his damage against breaking balls: a .654 OPS against them, against .382 on offspeed pitches.

48 plate appearances ending on breaking balls, 32 on offspeed pitches.

There is one situation he simply cannot handle

Saunders is at his worst against right-handers, with a runner in scoring position, on fastballs: a .291 OPS there against .597 overall.

25 plate appearances in that situation.

He does not get on base enough to help

Saunders is on base at a .253 clip, 22nd percentile in the league.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 22nd percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 497th in MLB.

Everything that leaves the yard leaves to his pull side

5 of Saunders's 6 home runs have gone to his pull side and none of them the other way.

6 tracked home runs in 2017.

He beats the ball into the ground too often

Saunders finds a productive launch angle on only 31.3% of his contact, 18th percentile.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 18th percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 519th in MLB.

One pitch is where all his power comes from

Saunders slugs .404 against breaking balls and .226 against offspeed pitches.

48 plate appearances ending on breaking balls.

He squares the ball up as well as almost anyone

7.5% of Saunders's batted balls are barrelled, the batted-ball class that turns into extra bases more often than not. 71st percentile.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 71st percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 186th in MLB.

His contact is about the same with runners on

40.6% of Saunders's contact with a runner in scoring position is hit hard, against 33.3% of it with the bases empty.

60 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, 173 with the bases empty.

He is not producing at the plate this season

Saunders's OPS+ of 59 sits 27th percentile among hitters this season.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 27th percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 462nd in MLB.

His fly balls travel about as far as anyone's

Saunders's fly balls travel 270 feet on average, and his longest of the season went 413.

61 tracked balls hit at 20 degrees or more.

There is one situation he is at his most dangerous in

Saunders is at his best with the bases empty, on breaking balls: a .776 OPS there against .597 overall.

38 plate appearances in that situation.

He is not hitting the ball with any authority this season

Saunders's quality of contact only supports a .216 expected average, 34th percentile in the league.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 34th percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 417th in MLB.

His walks do not change much with runners on

Saunders walks in 8.3% of his plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, against 5.2% with the bases empty.

60 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, 173 with the bases empty.

His power holds up against both hands

The power is one-sided: Saunders slugs .329 against right-handers and .386 against left-handers.

173 plate appearances against right-handers, 60 against left-handers.

He has been unlucky, and the hits should start falling

Saunders's batting average is .202 but the quality of his contact projects .216, a gap of .014 in his favour once the bounces even out.

233 plate appearances in 2017.

He does not hit the ball hard, and it shows

Saunders averages 86.1 mph off the bat, 39th percentile in the league.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 39th percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 387th in MLB.

The power is not there this season

Saunders is slugging .344, 35th percentile in the league.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 35th percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 413th in MLB.

He almost never walks, which limits how he helps

Saunders walks in only 6% of his plate appearances, 38th percentile.

233 plate appearances in 2017. 38th percentile among qualified hitters in 2017, 396th in MLB.

He hits about the same with runners on as without

With a runner in scoring position Saunders has an OPS of .524; with the bases empty it is .622.

60 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, 173 with the bases empty.

There is one part of the field he lives in

Saunders hits it hardest the other way: 87.7 mph on average there, against 85.0 up the middle.

29 batted balls the other way, 61 up the middle.

He cannot get the bat on the ball in the big spots

With a runner in scoring position Saunders averages 84.6 mph off the bat, against 86.4 with the bases empty.

31 tracked batted balls with a runner in scoring position, 117 without.

Michael Saunders

Contextual Splits

Crunching the Numbers