Looking at Numbers From the 2025 Pacific Coast League

Anthony Maldonado, now with the Astros, didn’t have a clean year by any means. The former Marlin had a 5.10 ERA in Las Vegas and conceded 10 home runs over 47.2 IP. However, he struck out 60 and posted a Whiff% near 40%.

This list also includes Carson Palmquist and Trevor McDonald, two pitchers who saw time at the MLB level in 2025.

Palmquist didn’t succeed in his first run with Colorado. The left-hander gave up 10 home runs in 34.1 IP with the Rockies.

McDonald did better. The righty struck out 14 over 15 innings and posted a 1.80 ERA.

Flipping the script

Now, let’s talk about the hitters with the highest Whiff%:

As expected, some players have MLB experience but had trouble making consistent contact at the highest level are here.

Keston Hiura and now-Twins outfielder James Outman check that box, as does Zack Gelof of the Athletics.

There’s also Brice Matthews, the Astros’ 2023 first-round pick. As noted when Matthews first made his MLB debut in July, the young infielder had a major problem catching up to fastballs up in the zone.

On the other side of the spectrum, Mariners prospect Rhylan Thomas had the lowest Whiff% (9.4%) in the Pacific Coast League. The only Triple-A player with a lower Whiff% was now-Athletics prospect Michael Stefanic (8.2%).

Hard-hit menaces

Let’s move on to hard-hit batted ball metrics:

The Dodgers are going to have some decisions on their hand next season.

For one, Alex Freeland hit well in Triple-A. Sixteen home runs and 46 extra-base hits for Freeland, a former third-round pick who could be in the conversation for a middle infield role in 2026.

Ryan Ward, meanwhile, forced his way onto the 40-man roster. As noted above, Ward was the league leader in home runs (36) and didn’t strike out a lot or whiffed (21.6%) a lot. Additionally, Ward was tied with Freeland for third in walks (83).

This list also included Keston Hiura, Jon Singleton, and Trey Mancini, all of whom have significant MLB experience.

Barrels

Next up are the best barrel hitters in the Pacific Coast League:

Dominic Canzone finished 2025 as an important hitter for the Mariners down the stretch. Before he was recalled in June, Canzone hit very well in Tacoma. The outfielder hit .296 with 13 home runs and 22 extra-base hits for the Rainiers.

Junior Perez earned himself a spot on the Athletics’ 40-man roster this past November. A year after he posted a .676 OPS in Double-A Midland, Perez cracked 26 home runs and 61 extra-base hits in Las Vegas. The 24-year-old also stole 27 bases.

Then, there’s Bryce Eldridge.

Eldridge, who was promoted to the Giants in September, hit 18 home runs with the River Cats this past season. And, some of those home runs weren’t cheap, either.

It should be noted that the top ten does not include Ryan Ward, who had more barrels (50) than any other player in Triple-A this season. Ward’s 11.2 Barrel% wasn’t low, by any stretch of the imagination. However, the percentage goes down with more contact.

Ground-ball kings

Lastly, the best ground-ball pitchers in the PCL:

Minimum 100 batted balls in play. Note that our GB% does not consider bunt groundballs.

Thanks to the hitter-friendly environment of the PCL, one would think that ground-ball pitchers would have an advantage in the league. While Trevor McDonald had an ERA north of 5.00, he was able to make it through to pitch with San Francisco late in the year.

Jason Alexander, meanwhile, posted a sub-2.00 ERA between Las Vegas and Sugar Land. He surrendered just three home runs over 64 innings.