The Strongest Splits Against LHP Going into the 2025 Season

Issue #225

Superstar hitters generally hit both RHP and LHP pretty well—that is part of what makes them so great. They might do a bit better against one or the other, but they are fairly balanced.

Other hitters, including some who are quite good and even All-Star caliber guys, have more extreme splits. Since there are far more right-handed pitchers than left-handed pitchers, having a good understanding of who hits particularly well against the relatively more rare lefties is useful for many things including daily fantasy baseball lineup construction and gaming, various proposition bets (HR, hits, total bases, etc.), and more.

So with the 2025 season about to begin, here is a list of 29 hitters who generally have strong splits that favor batting against LHP:

Tyler O'Neill, BAL, OF - O'Neill mashed lefties with 16 HR in 128 AB and a .313/.430/.750 line in 2024. He has a 90/133 OPS+ split over his career with a .270/.376/.547 line vs. LHP but only .239/.305/.446 vs. more common RHP.

William Contreras, MIL, C - Contreras has always hit lefties better than righties, including in 2024 when he slashed .313/.402/.486 vs LHP. Over his career his splits have been even more extreme at 87/136 OPS+, with a .327/.414/.559 vs. LHP and only .259/.337/.431 vs. RHP.

Ozzie Albies, ATL, 2B - A switch hitter, Albies hits lefties better than righties. Last year that meant .321/.339/.519 in 106 AB vs. LHP, while over his career his OPS+ split is 89/132, with an impressive .336/.362/.564 line vs. LHP and only .247/.309/.437 vs. RHP.

Ketel Marte, ARI, 2B - Also a switch hitter, Marte hits lefties better for sure. Last year he had 18 HR in 193 AB with a .342/.401/.679, and over his career has a 90/120 OPS+ split with a .309/.365/.539 vs. LHP and .266/.340/.432 vs. RHP.

Jose Altuve, HOU, 2B/LF - Altuve has always hit lefties better, but it was a bit more extreme in 2024 with a .370/429/.539 line in 154 AB vs. LHP. For his career his OPS+ split has been 94/116 with a .328/.388/.510 vs. LHP and .298/.354/.453 vs. RHP.

Teoscar Hernandez, LAD, OF - Hernandez has significantly more power vs. LHP, as last year he had 11 HR in only 155 AB and a .290/.357/.574 slash vs. lefties. Over his career his OPS+ split is 93/119 with a .277/.334/.558 line vs. LHP and only .257/.315/.462 vs. RHP.

Paul Goldschmidt, NYY, 1B - Goldy has always really destroyed lefties, and even though 2024 was his worst season, he still hit LHP to the tune of .295/.366/.473 with 5 HR in 146 AB. Over his career, his OPS+ split is 92/126, with a .323/.424/.586 vs. LHP and .279/.368/.488 vs. RHP.

Yandy Diaz, TBR, 1B - Diaz hit an impressive .347 in 127 AB vs. LHP in 2024, and over his career his OPS+ split is 91/121 with .311/.394/.501 line vs. LHP and .279/.364/.404 vs. RHP.

Lane Thomas, CLE, OF - Thomas has always hit LHP better, and that continued in 2024 as he slashed .302/.386/.492. Over his career his OPS+ split is a wide 84/137, with a .302/.366/.514 slash line vs. LHP but only .223/.290/.391 vs. RHP.

Jeremy Peña, HOU, SS - Peña slashed a solid .306/.333/.478 vs. lefties in 2024, and overall for his career has a wide 88/132 OPS+ split. That amounts to slashing .307/.344/.478 vs. LHP but only .244/.294/.370 vs. RHP.

Ryan Mountcastle, BAL, 1B - Mountcastle slashed a nice .306/.350/.463 vs. LHP in 2024, and that aligns with his 92/119 OPS+ split for his career, which has meant .285/.338/.503 vs. LHP and only .256/.307/.426 vs. RHP.

Adley Rutschman, BAL, C - Rutschman's splits became more extreme in 2024 than in his first two seasons, as he slashed .329/.390/.512 in 164 AB vs. LHP, but only .219/.290/.342 vs. RHP.

Ke'Bryan Hayes, PIT, 3B - Best known for his defense at the hot corner, when hitting Hayes does better against lefties, as shown in 2024 when he slashed .309/.383/.469 in 81 AB vs. LHP. Overall, he has a 86/134 OPS+ split in his career, with a .295/.345/.475 line vs. LHP and only .243/.300/.348 vs. RHP.

Taylor Ward, LAA, OF - Ward has always hit lefties better, but that was even more extreme in 2024 as he slashed .325/.377/.496 in 117 AB vs. LHP. Over his career he has a 95/113 OPS+ split, with a .287/.355/.450 line vs. LHP and a .239/.321/.419 line vs. RHP.

Isaac Paredes, HOU, 3B - Paredes slashed .295/.377/.489 vs. lefties in 2024, which was even better than the .274/.366/.456 he has hit LHP over his five seasons overall, vs. only .218/.322/.411 vs. RHP thus far.

Alec Bohm, PHI, 3B - Although Bohm's splits were less extreme in 2024, over his career his OPS+ split has been 87/132. This has meant a .307/.355/.515 line vs. LHP but only .265/.315/.377 vs. RHP.

Zach Neto, LAA, SS - Only two years in the majors, but so far Neto has extreme splits. Last year he had 5 HR in 107 AB with a .374/.422/.598 vs. LHP, and over his two seasons he has a 87/154 OPS+ split with a .325/.388/.548 line vs. LHP and only .220/.296/.388 vs. RHP.

Luis Rengifo, LAA, INF - Rengifo hit an impressive .352 in just 54 AB vs. LHP in 2024, which is a bit more extreme than his 93/117 OPS+ split over his career, where has has slashed .276/.322/.449 vs. LHP and .243/.308/.371 vs. RHP.

Andy Pages, LAD, OF - As a rookie in 2024, Pages feasted in lefties, slashing .357/.396/.520 in 98 AB, and only .213/.277/.371 in 305 AB against RHP.

Heliot Ramos, SFG, OF - Ramos looks to be primary LF for the Giants in 2025, and he hit lefties really well last year 40-108, 10 HR, .370/.439/.740

Rob Refsnyder, BOS, OF - Refsnyder is player with well-known splits over his career, and this continued in 2024 as he slashed .302/.393/.548 with 8 HR with in 126 AB vs. LHP. Over his career his OPS+ split is 78/124, with a .277/.380/.419 line vs. LHP and .231/.304/.331 vs. RHP.

Luis Robert Jr., CHW, CF - Robert had a down year overall, but over his career he has had a notable 93/124 OPS+ split, which has meant a .302/.367/.513 line vs. LHP but only .258/.302/.463 vs. RHP.

Randy Arozarena, SEA, LF - Although less so in 2024, in general Arozarena has had a notable 90/127 OPS+ split over his career. This means a .282/.374/.520 line vs. LHP but only .243/.336/.405 vs. RHP.

Trevor Story, BOS, SS - Story didn't play much in 2024, but over his career he's had a 89/130 OPS+ split, hitting LHP to the tune of .297/.370/.593, but only .253/.318/.467 vs. RHP.

Josh Jung, TEX, 3B - Jung also didn't play much in 2024, but in his three seasons so far he has a 86/143 OPS+ split, with an impressive .306/.349/.572 line for LHP but only .242/.286/.411 vs. RHP.

Tyler Fitzgerald, SFG, 2B/SS - In two seasons, Fitzgerald has hit LHP to the tune of .311/.352/.588 but RHP to a more pedestrian .256/.316/.445.

Chas McCormick, HOU, OF - Over his four seasons, McCormick has had extreme splits at 87/131 OPS+, hitting .288/.360/.505 vs. LHP but only .234/.309/.387 vs. RHP.

Tommy Edman, LAD, 2B/CF - Edman in very limited at-bats went 14-34 with 4 HR, for a .412/.417/.882 slash line in 2024. I wouldn't even mention this, except in his career he has a 90/128 OPS+ split, with a .256/.314/.374 line vs. RHP but a much stronger .284/.325/.509 vs. LHP.

Jose Iglesias, SS/2B/3B - As of now, Iglesias is still a free agent. He is 35, but is versatile infielder, and he's also a useful hitter especially against LHP. In 2024 he went 37-92 with a .402/.455/.544 line vs. lefties, and in his career his OPS+ split is 93/119 with a .300/.345/.433 line vs. LHP and .276/.315/.369 vs. RHP.

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