Mike Trout is hitting the ball harder and on the barrel more often than almost anyone in baseball despite sporting a batting average of .174 and slugging percentage of .326.
What's behind Mike Trout's low batting average?
In every way except the averages, Mike Trout is back to doing Mike Trout things in the batter's box, with a key metric expected to change soon to prove it on the stat line.
Mike Trout's average exit velocity and barrel rates are elite, with a 25.8% barrel rate in the 99th percentile of qualified hitters.
He sits behind only Owen Cassie and Kyle Schwarber among qualified hitters, and his 92.6 average exit velocity places him above sluggers like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Freddie Freeman.
So far Trout has recorded multiple hits with exit velocities greater than 100 miles per hour, including his 106.1 MPH double and a 109.7 MPH home run.
Mike Trout's walk rate is impressive
Both the walk and the strikeout have always been part of Trout's game, and at his best Mike Trout was an on base machine who would still swing through the high fastball but rarely expand his strike zone.
So far this year, Trout's 20% walk rate is again in the top 1% of all of baseball, tied for first with Yordan Alvarez for the most walks in baseball with 14.
This is yet another good indicator for Trout, who is chasing pitches outside of the zone less often than 95% of MLB hitters.
Why are Mike Trout's numbers so bad?
In short, luck is the reason, with BABIP being a notoriously fickle statistic in a small sample size, and Trout's career BABIP of .340 expected to even out soon.
For his career, Trout sports a BABIP of .340, and even in his recent seasons that number has been between .310 and .323, so his current .174 batting average is not sustainable.
Expect Mike Trout to go on a tear soon
As long as Trout keeps swinging at good pitches and hitting the ball hard, this trend will change, and by the metrics, Trout should be hitting well over .300 and slugging, with his bat speed still in the top 13% in the game.
And when he swings, his bat speed is still in the top 13% in the game, so it's only a matter of time before his numbers start to reflect his true performance.
Mike Trout is taking walks and swinging at good pitches, which is a good sign for his upcoming games.