Data shows Giancarlo Stanton is hardest hitter in MLB

    PHOENIX -- Ozzie Guillen manager once predicted Giancarlo Stanton would kill someone one day with a line drive. Nobody hits a ball harder, and now there's proof.

    According to SportsVision data, Stanton is the undisputed king of scorch. Of the 10 hardest hit balls in the majors this season (through June 16), four of them came off Stanton's bat. And, remember, Stanton missed five weeks with a hamstring injury.

    The hardest:

    -- On April 25, Stanton singled off the Cubs' Edwin Jackson. The ball left his bat at 114 miles per hour.

    -- On April 23, Stanton grounded into a double play at Minnesota. The ball was also clocked at 114.

    -- Only four struck balls all season have been timed at 112 mph or higher. Three of those belong to Stanton. The Angels' Mark Trumbo snuck into the picture with a 112 mph home run on May 3.

    According to Eric Esteban at Fox Sports Florida, the data is provided by SportsVision, "the same company that provides our FOX TRAX" and is "based on proven PITCHf/x tracking technology. HIT SPEED tracks the initial speed of the ball off the bat. The current league average hit speed is 77 mph.

    Here's the breakdown:

    10 Hardest Hit Safely

Batter	Pitcher	Date	Inning	Batted_Ball_Speed	Hit_Type	Hit_Desc
Giancarlo Stanton	Edwin Jackson	2013-04-25	1	114	Single	Giancarlo Stanton singles on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Alfonso Soriano, deflected by shortstop Starlin Castro. Placido Polanco to 2nd.
Giancarlo Stanton	Scott Feldman	2013-04-26	1	112	Single	Giancarlo Stanton singles on a sharp line drive to center fielder Dave Sappelt.
Mark Trumbo	Miguel Gonzalez	2013-05-03	2	112	Home Run	Mark Trumbo homers (7) on a line drive to left center field.
Nelson Cruz	Dallas Keuchel	2013-05-10	6	111	Home Run	Nelson Cruz homers (8) on a fly ball to left field.
Giancarlo Stanton	Alfredo Figaro	2013-06-12	7	111	Single	Giancarlo Stanton singles on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Logan Schafer. Ed Lucas to 2nd.
Michael Morse	Jason Vargas	2013-04-28	8	111	Home Run	Michael Morse homers (7) on a fly ball to left field.
Jose Bautista	Phil Hughes	2013-04-28	6	111	Double	Jose Bautista doubles (3) on a sharp line drive to left fielder Vernon Wells.
Giancarlo Stanton	Mike Pelfrey	2013-04-23	5	110	Double	Giancarlo Stanton doubles (3) on a sharp line drive to center fielder Aaron Hicks.
Justin Upton	Cole Hamels	2013-04-01	5	110	Home Run	Justin Upton homers (1) on a fly ball to left center field.
Chase Headley	Brandon Maurer	2013-05-28	1	110	Double	Chase Headley doubles (9) on a fly ball to center fielder Michael Saunders.

 

10 hardest hits in play.

Batter	Pitcher	Date	Inning	Batted_Ball_Speed	Hit_Type	Hit_Desc
Giancarlo Stanton	Kevin Correia	2013-04-23	1	114	Grounded Into DP	Giancarlo Stanton grounds into a double play, shortstop Pedro Florimon to second baseman Brian Dozier to first baseman Justin Morneau. Placido Polanco out at 2nd.
Giancarlo Stanton	Edwin Jackson	2013-04-25	1	114	Single	Giancarlo Stanton singles on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Alfonso Soriano, deflected by shortstop Starlin Castro. Placido Polanco to 2nd.
Giancarlo Stanton	Scott Feldman	2013-04-26	1	112	Single	Giancarlo Stanton singles on a sharp line drive to center fielder Dave Sappelt.
Mark Trumbo	Miguel Gonzalez	2013-05-03	2	112	Home Run	Mark Trumbo homers (7) on a line drive to left center field.
Hanley Ramirez	Jeff Locke	2013-06-14	4	111	Grounded Into DP	Hanley Ramirez grounds into a double play, shortstop Clint Barmes to second baseman Neil Walker to first baseman Garrett Jones. Adrian Gonzalez out at 2nd.
Nelson Cruz	Dallas Keuchel	2013-05-10	6	111	Home Run	Nelson Cruz homers (8) on a fly ball to left field.
Michael Morse	Zach McAllister	2013-05-18	2	111	Groundout	Michael Morse grounds out, second baseman Jason Kipnis to first baseman Carlos Santana.
Carlos Gonzalez	Jeff Samardzija	2013-05-15	4	111	Groundout	Carlos Gonzalez grounds out, second baseman Darwin Barney to first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Giancarlo Stanton	Alfredo Figaro	2013-06-12	7	111	Single	Giancarlo Stanton singles on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Logan Schafer. Ed Lucas to 2nd.
Michael Morse	Jason Vargas	2013-04-28	8	111	Home Run	Michael Morse homers (7) on a fly ball to left field.