Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber quietly dominate a key MLB metric

Kyle Schwarber is putting together a strong season with the Phillies, while Juan Soto, in his first year with the Yankees, has been steadily showing off his power. Together, they’ve cracked into one of MLB’s most elite statistical clubs.

According to Sarah Langs on X, both Soto and Schwarber rank in the 96th percentile or better in hard-hit rate and chase rate — meaning they rarely swing at pitches outside the strike zone, and when they do swing, they make serious contact. This rare combo of plate discipline and raw power makes them two of the toughest outs in baseball.

Despite it being his first year in pinstripes, Soto is already making noise with a max exit velocity of 114.3 MPH — a key factor behind his 8 home runs so far in 2025. Phillies‘ Schwarber, meanwhile, edges him out in exit velocity with a 116.7 MPH average across 132 batted ball events.

Soto and Schwarber linked in another major stat

Schwarber ranks in the top 10 of several categories, including at-bats per home run (10.6), total bases (103), and on-base percentage (.396). But beyond hard-hit rate and chase rate, there’s just one more major category where both Schwarber and Soto stand out, according to Baseball Reference: walks. Soto is tied for second with Rafael Devers at 39, while Schwarber sits just behind at third with 38.

Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after striking out in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on April 09, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Outside of that, Soto hasn’t cracked the top tier in categories like home runs or RBIs. Instead, he appears on a less flattering leaderboard — grounding into double plays — where he’s tied for the 2nd spot in the MLB with 9, alongside J.T. Realmuto and two others.

Schwarber pulling ahead

Schwarber’s season has been even more notable, not just because he recently joined the 300 home run club, but also because he’s nearing free agency and could be in line for a major payday. On the other side, Soto just lost his first series of the season with the Yankees and appears to be growing frustrated with the constant questions about his former team.

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