🕒 3:09 AM UTC 🕒
Happy New Year! With Spring Training quickly approaching, players are gearing up for the 2024 season. Many are aiming to make improvements, whether it’s in their plate discipline, swing accuracy, or power hitting. Pulling off a major change in just one offseason is no easy task, but every year, some players manage to do just that. It’s always fascinating to see the impact of these adjustments and wonder if they can sustain them over time.
Baseball Savant’s year to year changes leaderboard makes it even easier to spot those who impressed the most in at least one statistical category. Check out 10 standout examples from last season, each with high expectations for 2024.
HITTERS
Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
-12.2 points in strikeout rate (23.6% to 11.4%)
It’s hard to believe Acuña could get even better after his incredible 2023 season. His monster numbers — .337 average, 41 home runs, 106 RBIs, 149 runs, 217 hits, and 73 stolen bases — made him a no-brainer for NL MVP. But if we’re nitpicking, strikeouts were his downfall in 2022, with a 23.6% strikeout rate that ranked near the bottom of the league. Flash forward to 2023 and Acuña drastically improved, dropping his K% by 12.2 points. With a 97th percentile ranking, Acuña became a force to be reckoned with at the plate, and he could be even more dominant in 2024.
Corey Seager, Rangers
+7.7 points in hard-hit rate (45.5% to 53.2%)
Despite playing just 119 games last year, Seager put up big numbers and came in second in AL MVP voting. His secret? A major leap in hard-hit rate, which soared to the 96th percentile in 2023. Seager’s impressive turnaround shows just how much can change in a single offseason.