Leandre: Top 15 designated hitters entering 2024
With so many teams converting to the idea of a revolving door at designated hitter, only the top 15 will be ranked entering the 2024 regular season.
The designated hitter position, despite becoming universally utilized, is becoming more and more obsolete over time.
Not because teams are ignoring its importance, but because it’s seemingly used more as a “day off your feet” position and not one teams like to have an everyday guy there.
Some teams still utilize the designated hitter spot for one specific person, but because teams have a revolving door, ranking DHs is tougher.
As a result, I’m only ranking the top 15, as opposed to the top 30 like every other position.
Let’s get right into it.
15. Justin Turner — Toronto Blue Jays
Turner is getting a lot of reps at the corners for the Blue Jays this season, which I think is a mistake.
Last year with the Boston Red Sox, Turner went on a torrid run during the summer months before a heel injury hampered him in September.
He still drove in a career-best 96 runs and challenged his career-best for home runs (27) with 23.
His 2024 Spring Training is a little more of the same — 111 wRC+ with three homers and 11 driven in. However, his impact will be felt more as an adult in the room of a young team no matter how well he plays.
14. Ryan O’Hearn — Baltimore Orioles
The 30-year-old broke out in a platoon capacity for the Orioles in 2023, posting a 118 wRC+ with 14 homers and 60 driven in across 368 plate appearances.
He’s also had a great Spring Training with a 147 wRC+ and three extra-base hits.
While he appears to be a changed player since his time in Kansas City, I don’t know if I’m a believer in 2024. While I wouldn’t be shocked to see him find success again this season, I’m not expecting it.
13. Harold Ramírez — Tampa Bay Rays
Ramírez is historically a high-average guy but last year he added a bit of thump to his game.
It was only 12 homers, but that contributed to 33 extra-base hits and a career-high .460 slugging percentage.
He needs to hit for more power to climb these rankings a bit more, but he’s still a tremendous bat and the Rays are in a great spot having him hitting in the heart of the order.
12. Kyle Schwarber — Philadelphia Phillies
I love the power Schwarber exhibits but he’s such a volatile bat it’s impossible to rank him higher than 12th.
People forget, thanks to an insane October from a power standpoint, that Schwarber was awful heading into August. Through his first 473 plate appearances, he had a .182 average and 102 wRC+ despite the 27 homers.
He hits for a ton of power and walks a lot but the strikeouts are aplenty and he doesn’t get a lot of hits when he puts the ball in play (.209 BABIP).
11. Byron Buxton — Minnesota Twins
Buxton seems healthy this season and, as a result, is likely playing center field way more than he DHs. However, I still expect him to DH a good amount to protect his body and hopefully keep him healthy for the full season.
He also ranks 11th because he bottomed out last year at a 98 wRC+ and .316 xwOBA.
He did have a 136 wRC+ in 2022, but most recently he was not great at the dish. I expect him to be better, especially if healthy, but it’s never a guarantee with Buxton.
10. Masataka Yoshida — Boston Red Sox
It was a tale of two halves for Yoshida in his first MLB campaign.
Through the All-Star break, the lefty tied for 16th in wRC+ (136) and sixth in batting average (.316). He struggled immensely in the second half, but he looked burnt out from the travel schedule of playing in the United States after playing in the World Baseball Classic.
Similar to Ramírez, Yoshida’s biggest knock is the lack of power. He definitely can hit the ball out of the ballpark, but he makes so much contact that he often finds himself rolling over as opposed to driving the ball in the air with authority.
9. Joc Pederson — Arizona Diamondbacks
Pederson’s face value numbers regressed big time in 2023, but he posted a .366 xwOBA, cut down his strikeouts and walked more in 121 games.
Arizona was a great landing spot for the two-time World Series champion, with the desert air promising to elevate his power numbers so long as his quality of contact remains as strong as it has in recent years.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Pederson post near his career-high in homers, which is 36 back in 2019.
8. Christopher Morel — Chicago Cubs
I thought the Cubs would be bigger players for Matt Chapman than they were, but I’d still have Morel be the designated hitter in 2024.
Last year, Morel improved on his rookie season and slugged 26 homers in 107 games. His .508 slugging percentage was 75 points higher than that of his rookie season.
His strikeout numbers are troubling, but he’s emerging as a feared hitter in the heart of that up-and-coming Cubs lineup.
7. Brent Rooker — Oakland Athletics
Similar to Morel, Rooker has a strikeout problem. However, he was even better than Morel in one of the hardest ballparks to hit.
Last season, Rooker hit 30 bombs, drove in 69 and was named to the American League All-Star team as the Oakland A’s representative.
Unrelated to his ranking, but he’s also a tremendous follow on X.
6. Jorge Soler — San Francisco Giants
An underrated free agency saga of the winter was Soler’s, who ended up landing in San Francisco with the Giants on a multiyear deal.
The reason he falls to No. 6 is his lack of consistent production yearly. Since 2019, his wRC+ by year is as follows: 136, 107, 100, 95, 126. While four of those years was, at worst, league-average, you need more out of your designated hitter than slightly above average.
5. Marcell Ozuna — Atlanta Braves
Ozuna rebounded after two bad years in a row in 2021 and 2022.
4. Mitch Garver — Seattle Mariners
I mentioned this in my catcher rankings, but it’s a relief teams realized Garver isn’t a catcher.
He’s capable of catching, but he’s a designated hitter that can catch in an emergency. He’s not a great backstop but lord can he hit or what?
In three of Garver’s last five seasons, he’s posted at least a 138 wRC+ and .230 ISO.
I don’t know how well his swing will translate to playing in Seattle, but his offensive production has gone unnoticed for too long.
3. J.D. Martinez — New York Mets
It doesn’t look the same, but Martinez returned to an elite-level bat with the Dodgers last season.
He had a career-worst 31.1% strikeout rate but hit his most homers since 2019 (33).
He’s a DH only at this stage of his career, but he’s going to serve to Mets greatly as a right-handed power bat.
2. Yordan Alvarez — Houston Astros
I don’t want to undersell how great Alvarez is, but nothing I say can do him any justice.
The Astros use him in the outfield way too much. They should make him the everyday designated hitter and protect his body while letting him focus on nothing but hitting.
In his first 482 MLB games, he has a 166 wRC+ with 129 homers and 18.6 fWAR. He’s genuinely on a Hall of Fame track with likely at least another decade of top-flight production.
1. Shohei Ohtani — Los Angeles Dodgers
Since 2021, Ohtani hasn’t had a wRC+ below 142 but has 124 homers in that span.
While he won’t pitch in 2024, he’s still one of if not the best hitters in the game. So far with the Dodgers, he’s 3-for-10 but posted a 219 wRC+ in 34 Spring Training plate appearances.
He’s a freak and it’s still surreal to think about him with the Dodgers — not because it’s not a seamless fit but because it’s the first time I’ve ever looked at a team and thought, “There’s no way this team comes away empty-handed this season.”
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