Ryan Howard Spray Chart MLB Stats & Career Totals

He squares the ball up as well as almost anyone

15.9% of Howard's batted balls are barrelled, the batted-ball class that turns into extra bases more often than not. 96th percentile.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 96th percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 25th in MLB.

This is the kind of hitter he is, in one line

Howard trades contact for damage: top-end barrel rate, bottom-end strikeout rate: 96th percentile barrel rate, 18th percentile strikeout rate.

362 plate appearances in 2016. both percentiles among qualified hitters in 2016.

There is one situation he simply cannot handle

Howard is at his worst against left-handers: a .355 OPS there against .710 overall.

35 plate appearances in that situation.

The big spots do not change his strikeouts either way

Howard strikes out in 24.7% of his trips with a runner in scoring position and 33.5% with the bases empty.

81 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, 281 with the bases empty.

When he connects, the ball leaves in a hurry

Howard hits the ball hard: 92.5 mph off the bat on average, 93rd percentile in the league.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 93rd percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 43rd in MLB.

There is one pitch he punishes whenever he sees it

Howard does his damage against fastballs: a .771 OPS against them, against .515 on breaking balls.

224 plate appearances ending on fastballs, 80 on breaking balls.

He has been unlucky, and the hits should start falling

Howard's batting average is .196 but the quality of his contact projects .243, a gap of .047 in his favour once the bounces even out.

362 plate appearances in 2016.

A huge share of his contact is the hard kind

50.7% of Howard's contact leaves the bat at 95 mph or more, 92nd percentile in the league.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 92nd percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 53rd in MLB.

His contact is about the same with runners on

41.3% of Howard's contact with a runner in scoring position is hit hard, against 53.4% of it with the bases empty.

81 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, 281 with the bases empty.

His walks do not change much with runners on

Howard walks in 12.3% of his plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, against 6% with the bases empty.

81 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, 281 with the bases empty.

The strikeouts are the thing holding his season back

Howard strikes out in 31.5% of his trips, 18th percentile.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 18th percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 517th in MLB.

He does not get on base enough to help

Howard is on base at a .257 clip, 22nd percentile in the league.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 22nd percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 496th in MLB.

The shape of his contact says what kind of hitter he is

Howard averages 17.1 degrees off the bat: 42.5% of his contact is in the air and 35.3% of it is on the ground.

207 batted balls with a tracked launch angle.

One pitch is where all his power comes from

Howard slugs .512 against fastballs and .315 against breaking balls.

224 plate appearances ending on fastballs.

There is real damage in his bat

Howard is slugging .453, 78th percentile in the league.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 78th percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 137th in MLB.

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

With a runner in scoring position Howard averages 89.3 mph off the bat, against 93.5 with the bases empty.

46 tracked batted balls with a runner in scoring position, 161 without.

Which hand is pitching changes where he hits the ball

Howard pulls 43.7% of what he puts in play against right-handers and 28.6% of it against left-handers.

199 batted balls against right-handers, 21 against left-handers.

He gets the ball in the air at the angle that hurts

Howard finds the launch angles that produce hits on 41.1% of his contact, 73rd percentile.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 73rd percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 172nd in MLB.

He hits the ball far harder than his batting average suggests

Judged on how hard and at what angle he hits it, Howard should be hitting .243, 63rd percentile in the league.

362 plate appearances in 2016. 63rd percentile among qualified hitters in 2016, 233rd in MLB.

There is one situation he is at his most dangerous in

Howard is at his best against right-handers, with a runner in scoring position: a .824 OPS there against .710 overall.

74 plate appearances in that situation.

Everything that leaves the yard leaves to his pull side

10 of Howard's 25 home runs have gone to his pull side and 5 of them the other way.

25 tracked home runs in 2016.

There is one part of the field he lives in

Howard hits it hardest to his pull side: 93.5 mph on average there, against 90.3 the other way.

88 batted balls to his pull side, 25 the other way.

His fly balls travel about as far as anyone's

Howard's fly balls travel 330 feet on average, and his longest of the season went 455.

102 tracked balls hit at 20 degrees or more.

Ryan Howard

Contextual Splits

Crunching the Numbers