Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin Among MLB’s Best Hitting Pitchers

Besides being good on the mound this year, Arizona starters Zack Greinke and Patrick Corbin have been solid at the plate.

Of all the pitchers in baseball, 70 of them have at least 20 at-bats this year. Not surprisingly, only a few have batting averages of .200 or better. As of August 1st, there are exactly seven. Of those seven, the Arizona Diamondbacks have two of them — Zack Greinke and Patrick Corbin — making them the only team with multiple guys on the list.

Best Hitting Pitchers of 2018 (min. 20 AB)

1. G. Marquez, COL (.342)
2. M. Scherzer, WSH (.277)
3. S. Ohtani, LAA (.258)
4. Z. Greinke, ARI (.256)
5. C. Martinez, STL (.242)
6. Z. Wheeler, NYM (.229)
7. P. Corbin, ARI (.220)

(Stats courtesy of MLB.com, as of 8/1)

Both Greinke and Corbin have 40-plus at-bats this year, with Greinke leading the D-Backs pitching staff with 11 hits. Corbin, to his credit, is not far behind with nine of his own. In addition, the pair are also No.1 and No.2 in on-base percentage, runs batted in, and total bases.

While Greinke has always been a solid stick, forged into history with a 2013 Silver Slugger Award, his most impressive stat this year has taken place on the base paths. Right now, Greinke leads all pitchers with three stolen bases. Ohtani, a guy who’s essentially a position player, has two and four others have one.

Unfortunately, another Diamondbacks’ arm, Robbie Ray, is on the opposite side of the league leaders. Ray, although solid at the plate in 2015 and 2016, has the most at-bats of any pitcher without a hit (0-for-23).

No Diamondbacks’ pitcher has homered yet this year. Greinke — who has six career home runs — is yet to hit one as a member of the Diamondbacks.