Who is baseball's best power hitter?

Who is the best power hitter in baseball? It depends on how we define the term. Do home runs alone make a power hitter?  Home run distance? Does a slugger have to be a good hitter to qualify or does the guy who memorably smashes a hanger or two a month count, too?

There are plenty of ingredients that come together to make the perfect power pie. Let’s examine the different types of power hitters before settling on the ideal slugger in the game today.

Mistake Crushers

They might not be the best hitters in the game and making use of their prodigious power can be difficult at times, but when a mistake crusher runs into an errant fastball - look out.

Mike Morse is actually off to a great start to 2014 but guys like Morse, Chris Carter of the Astros, Juan Francisco of the Blue Jays, and Mark Trumbo of the Diamondbacks probably fall under this category. When they hit a ball, it stays hit.   

Straight beasts

Sometimes, a hitter is so strong they don’t need a mistake to smash. They make their own good fortune, managing to coax balls over the fence even after hitting them off the end of the bat or on the label.

This is not an entry-level skill. Jose Abreu, Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz, and maybe even Mike Napoli fall under this category. No park can hold them.

Little guys with huge swings

Too often, players who are “small” in stature are encouraged to slap the ball, to make use of their legs as they’ll never become power hitters. Thankfully, this is often baloney and some great power hitters were created by brave hitting coaches freeing up players who don’t look the part to swing from their heels.

Carlos Gomez, Ian Desmond, Brian Dozier, and even Brett Lawrie (when he makes contact) all rank as guys capable hitting the ball a long way given half a chance.

Great hitters with value added

These guys are always among the league leaders in slugging percentage because they’re great hitters. They do it all and their finely-honed swings produce tons of power by synergy, not as much by design.

Troy Tulowitzki, Paul Goldschmidt, Edwin Encarnacion, Hanley Ramirez, Yasiel Puig, and Miguel Cabrera are great players who also happen to hit home runs without striking out too much. A nice combination if you can find it.

Aesthetic Athletics

Few players can say they have elevated hitting home runs to an art form. David Ortiz might rub some folks the wrong with his antics but there is no questioning his power hitter credentials. He gets bonus points for all his homers seeming to come when the Sox need them most.

Few can match his style. If there was to be a right-handed counterpart to Big Papi, it would be Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. Everything looks like it’s a bomb off the bat.

Both these guys are truly great hitters in their own right. They’re both adept at hitting around the shift and seem to cut their strikeout rate year after year. It’s a better baseball world with these two guys in it.

The Perfect Weapon

This season, Mike Trout ranks second in slugging percentage, fourth in isolated power (slugging minus batting average, a quick measure of extra base power), he features the third highest average home run distance. He’s the games best player who also happens to run like the wind, pull home runs back, and also steals bases at a higher success rate than anybody in history.

Beyond the gaudy numbers, Trout hits pitches out that he has no business even touching. First it was Chris Sale and then he did something similar to Cleveland this week. He hit a pitch out of the park that left even his teammates in shock.

Post-game, Hank Conger summed up the collective feeligns of the baseball world.

"Honestly, I was truly [ticked] after that home run. It's unbelievable. It's so effortless. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I was truly [ticked]. How do I do that? Seriously. How do I do that?"

You don’t, Hank. You just don’t.

The Phenom

Honestly...

HONESTLY

The best. He hits them the farthest and the most often and in the most unusual fashion. Home runs are Giancarlo Stanton’s domain and we’re all lucky he permits us access.  

So who’s best? Despite all the evidence in favor of Stanton, it has to be Mike Trout for my money. Nobody else is quite as capable as the Angels outfielder or making pitchers fear that even when they make a perfect pitch, he can turn it into a run.