MLB standings ordered by average exit velocity: Braves blowing away baseball

ATLANTA, GA - MAY 28: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 reacts with Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves after Olsons two run home run during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on May 28, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MAY 28: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 reacts with Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves after Olsons two run home run during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on May 28, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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What if the MLB standings were all about hitting the baseball hard? We look at the 2023 MLB standings ordered by average exit velocity.

Just about any baseball fan can go to any website and look at the MLB standings based on the traditional wins and losses. We know that the Tampa Bay Rays are pacing the American League while it’s the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers doing so in the National League.

But what is the case if we were creating the MLB standings based on something else. After all, there are so many advanced stats in baseball these days, so there are so many metrics to eye that you could essentially rank the league by.

And in that light, who doesn’t love to see the baseball get absolutely tattooed off of the bat? So which teams are doing that the best? We went to Baseball Savant for the answers and have the MLB standings if the teams in baseball were ordered by their average exit velocity for the 2023 season as of May 30.

MLB standings ordered by average exit velocity: Braves, Rays, Angels pacing baseball

  1. Atlanta Braves – 91.2 mph
  2. Tampa Bay Rays – 90.3 mph
  3. Los Angeles Angels – 90.0 mph
  4. New York Yankees – 89.9 mph
  5. Texas Rangers – 89.9 mph
  6. Baltimore Orioles – 89.8 mph
  7. Los Angeles Dodgers – 89.8 mph
  8. St. Louis Cardinals – 89.7 mph
  9. Kansas City Royals – 89.6 mph
  10. Pittsburgh Pirates – 89.4 mph
  11. New York Mets – 89.3 mph
  12. Detroit Tigers – 89.2 mph
  13. Seattle Mariners – 89.2 mph
  14. Boston Red Sox – 89.1 mph
  15. Minnesota Twins – 89.0 mph
  16. Arizona Diamondbacks – 89.0 mph
  17. Philadelphia Phillies – 89.0 mph
  18. San Francisco Giants – 89.0 mph
  19. San Diego Padres – 88.9 mph
  20. Chicago Cubs – 88.9 mph
  21. Toronto Blue Jays – 88.7 mph
  22. Miami Marlins – 88.5 mph
  23. Chicago White Sox – 88.4 mph
  24. Houston Astros – 87.8 mph
  25. Colorado Rockies – 87.8 mph
  26. Washington Nationals – 87.8 mph
  27. Milwaukee Brewers – 87.8 mph
  28. Oakland A’s – 87.7 mph
  29. Cleveland Guardians – 87.7 mph
  30. Cincinnati Reds – 87.0 mph

When you look at the MLB standings in this context, it’s truly not that surprising. The Braves, though they haven’t scored the number of runs that the Rays, Rangers and Dodgers have this season, have been mashing the baseball. As of May 28, Atlanta had eight more home runs that traveled 440+ feet on the season than any other team in baseball.

As for the Rays, Rangers and Dodgers, they are the league-leaders in runs scored this season, so it’s no shock to see these clubs ranking inside the Top 10 of these standings in terms of exit velocity.

Down at the bottom of the standings, though, it’s shocking to see the Astros and Brewers in the bottom third considering that they are both playoff teams if the season were to end today. Having said that, they’ve also done tremendous work in terms of pitching and, perhaps more notably, the lack of pop might help explain why Milwaukee leads the NL Central with a -21 run differential on the season.

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