We’re just about one-third of the way through the 2022 MLB regular season, so you know what that means. Yes, our May home run recap is here! Similar to what we did at the end of April, we’ll be slicing and dicing the month’s home runs in a bunch of different ways.
After discussing who hit the most and fewest home runs (for an individual and team), we’ll drool over the longest home runs, as well as marvel over the shortest home runs of the month. From there, we’ll look at the hardest-hit and softest-hit dingers before finishing with the homers that produced the highest and lowest launch angle.
As usual, we’ll be adding some context while providing plenty of videos to watch. A special thanks to MLBHRVideos on Twitter for making it easy to find all these dingers, as well as OnlyHomers.com for the excellent database they maintain.
Mookie Betts: 12 Home Runs
It’s been a tale of two seasons through two months for Mookie Betts. At the end of April, the outfielder had just three home runs and six RBI while posting a wRC+ of 116. In May, those numbers jumped up to 12, 27, and 218, respectively. Looks like he’s back on track.
Aaron Judge: 12 Home Runs
May was more of a continuation of what Aaron Judge had already started the month before. He’s set to hit free agency at the conclusion of the regular season, and it appears that his betting on himself will pay off handsomely. Judge owned a .961 OPS and 178 wRC+ through the end of April, but those numbers improved to 1.077 and 203, respectively, in May. He also doubled his homer production (six to 12) and nearly doubled his RBI production (13 to 25).
Paul Goldschmidt: 10 Home Runs
You wanna talk about getting red hot? That’s exactly what Paul Goldschmidt did in May. For the season, he’s slashing .352/.422/.626 with 11 homers, 43 RBI, and a 195 wRC+. The first baseman finished the month on a 22-game hitting streak. It’s included 11 different multi-hit performances. Nine of his homers and 32 of his RBI have come during this stretch, all while hitting .438/.480/.888.
Jose Altuve, Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Trevor Story, Jorge Soler: 9 Home Runs
We’ve got a five-way tie here, but there was no way I wouldn’t talk about the bounce-back Trevor Story has experienced for the Red Sox. In the span of about a week, he went from a free-agent bust to well worth the six-year, $140 million deal he signed not too long ago. As recently as May 15th, Story’s season-long OPS was sitting at .561. As he enters June, it’s currently .744.
There were 20 qualified hitters that didn’t go yard during the month of May. The most surprising ones of all? I’d have to go with Wander Franco and Ozzie Albies. It’s also worth noting that guys like Freddie Freeman and Ketel Marte each only hit one homer this past calendar month.
Milwaukee Brewers: 46 Home Runs
The Brewers are entering June with a three-game lead in the NL Central, and they slugged .432 as a squad in May. There were 14 different players to hit at least one homer for Milwaukee. Half of them hit at least seven dingers. Tyrone Taylor (six), Rowdy Tellez (six), and Luis Urias (five) led the way.
Los Angeles Angels: 41 Home Runs
The Angels had nine players slug at least two dingers last month, with three of them hitting at least seven. Can you guess who is at the top? That’d be Mike Trout, who hit eight. He had company, though, as Jared Walsh also hit eight. Shohei Ohtani was hot on their tracks with seven of his own.
New York Yankees: 40 Home Runs
Nine Yankees sluggers hit a homer in May, but only three collected more than three dingers. As you can imagine, the three that surpassed that number went to work. We already know about Judge’s 12, which obviously paced the squad. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres each had seven, as well.
Houston Astros: 39 Home Runs
With a 32-18 record prior to action on June 1st, the Astros seem to have quietly built up a five-game lead in the AL West. Dusty Baker‘s offense boasted four players with a wRC+ greater than 150 (Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Peña).
Arizona Diamondbacks: 39 Home Runs
While competing in the NL West is a pipedream at this point, the DBacks have come alive as a squad. As of this writing, they’re 25-26 after winning 15 of 29 games played in May. They actually had seven different players hit at least three dingers last month, with four slugging at least six. Those players were Christian Walker, David Peralta, Jordan Luplow, and Pavin Smith.
San Diego Padres: 15 Home Runs
The Padres struggled on offense overall in May. They posted a team wRC+ of 83, which was better than only the Athletics and Tigers, who also both appear on this list. Manny Machado stayed hot, though — he hit four of those homers and produced a 157 wRC+.
Oakland Athletics: 15 Home Runs
The Athletics’ team wRC+ of 79 was the second-worst mark in baseball last month (so yes, the Tigers were the worst at 74). Oakland watched five players post at least two homers, but only Seth Brown hit more than that (he hit three). He also paced the position players in fWAR (0.5) and wRC+ (122) for the month.
Cleveland Guardians: 20 Home Runs
Unsurprisingly, Jose Ramirez was the offensive star for the Guardians in May. He led the team in pretty much every major offensive category. Seriously — you can see for yourself. He did it comfortably, too.
Washington Nationals: 20 Home Runs
As of June 1st, the Nationals are 18-33 and already 16 games out of first place in the NL East. They’re taking up residence in the basement, and Juan Soto deserves better than that. He led the squad with five home runs, but without much lineup protection, he slashed just .225/.358/.441.
Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers: 21 Home Runs
It’s not surprising to see Detroit here — they had the fewest team homers in April, too. It’s always surprising to see the Rockies on a list like this because of where they play home games. However, having the Blue Jays here is the most surprising of all given the amount of collective power in their lineup. Bo Bichette raked, though — he slashed .296/.339/.537 with five homers and 16 RBI, both of which led Toronto in May.
Jesus Sanchez: 496 feet on May 30th
Talk about sneaking this in at the buzzer, right? And of course, it had to come at Coors Field. As it currently stands, this home run from Jesus Sanchez ended up being one of the longest in 2022. When looking at moonshots at Coors, I feel like most (if not all) I’ve seen have come from right-handed hitters. I’ve never seen someone visit that portion of the upper deck. Unreal power.
Yordan Alvarez: 469 feet on May 30th
Speaking of unreal power, that’s a normal day at the office for Yordan Alvarez. This blast was just one of two he slugged on May 30th against the Athletics. The one you see above was the longer of the two, but both his dingers traveled for a combined distance of 913 feet.
Tommy La Stella: 464 feet on May 17th
If you must wait until the middle of May to hit your first home run of the year, you might as well hit it 460-plus feet, right? This blast from Tommy La Stella came where else, but at Coors Field. La Stella made his season debut the day prior, going hitless in one plate appearance. This game was a three-hit performance for him, all of which went for extra bases (one homer and two doubles).
Marcell Ozuna: 458 feet on May 29th
Although he missed the majority of 2021, Marcell Ozuna still managed to slug one of the longest home runs of that season. This one didn’t quite travel 479 feet, but once you get over 450, it’s all gravy, isn’t it? This dinger was the first time Ozuna got one over 430 feet in 2022. At 109.5 mph, it’s also currently the hardest-hit homer for him this year.
Aaron Judge: 456 feet on May 12th
Aaron Judge had himself a good month, don’t you think? What strikes me about the tanks he hits is that it doesn’t even look like he’s swinging hard. It’s a nice easy stroke and the ball just carries for what feels like an eternity. This was Judge’s second homer this season that traveled 450-plus feet. The other one traveled 451 on May 1st in Kansas City.
Kevin Kiermaier: 293 feet on May 24th
The shortest home runs of the month can sometimes feel a little anti-climactic, so I’m very appreciative of Kevin Kiermaier making it as exciting as possible with an inside-the-parker. It’s not as exciting as watching Prince Fielder do it, but we’ll still take it.
Adam Frazier: 321 feet on May 22nd
Plenty of players have taken advantage of Pesky Pole at Fenway Park. Adam Frazier is just the latest example of someone doing just that. This homer produced an 87.1 mph exit velocity, so you better believe we’ll be talking about it again very soon.
Yandy Diaz: 333 feet on May 14th
I’m still trying to figure out exactly how Yandy Diaz even got enough barrel on this pitch to send it over the fence at the Trop. This type of stuff feels just as impressive (if not more so) than a 450-plus foot tank.
Giancarlo Stanton: 335 feet on May 10th
The short porch at Yankee Stadium is well known for a reason, folks. With no disrespect at all to Giancarlo Stanton (especially because he terrifies me a bit), this bad boy looked like a pop-up. I mean, did it not? Looking back to the start of 2021, this dinger is Stanton’s shortest.
Harold Ramirez: 337 feet on May 24th
OK, now this is a little freaky. The Trop makes a second appearance in this short list, and Harold Ramirez went oppo taco like his teammate…to just about the exact same spot. Gotta love baseball.
Willson Contreras: 116 mph on May 31st
This dinger was the hardest-hit home run of Contreras’ career, which dates back to 2016. Did you notice it didn’t really get all that high off the ground, either? Well, remember that because you’ll see it again in a couple of minutes.
Giancarlo Stanton: 115.9 mph on May 12th
Stanton’s 97.2 average exit velocity this season is among the best in baseball. That’s because he’s able to do stuff like this. He didn’t even have to pull the ball to send it nearly 116 miles per hour. I’m surprised nobody in the stands got hurt by this missile. That thing left the ballpark in about 0.2 seconds.
Aaron Judge: 114.9 mph on May 3rd
Isn’t it fun to watch both Stanton and Judge get off to terrific starts this season? It’s a shame Stanton landed on the Injured List because it felt like they were competing with one another every night on the Statcast leaderboards. This dinger from Judge is just one of 10 homers that have traveled at least 110 miles per hour so far this season.
Jesus Sanchez: 114.7 on May 30th
If a baseball is going to travel 496 feet, it doesn’t matter if it happens at Coors Field or the worst possible location for dingers — it needs some exit velocity. The season is still young, but we’re going to be seeing this dinger again and again throughout the year and once the regular season is finished, too.
Mike Trout: 114.4 mph on May 18th
What would our monthly home run recap be without Mike Trout included? Not any fun, that’s what. It’s just nice to have the man healthy and playing every day again. He’s already surpassed 3.0 fWAR for the first time since 2019. And as long as he stays on the field, he’ll keep racking up the numbers.
Adam Frazier: 87.9 mph on May 22nd
There are really only two ways to utilize the short distance from home plate to the Pesky Pole. You either hit an absolute rocket that doesn’t have much of a launch angle, or you do what Adam Frazier did. In this case, he paired one of the month’s shortest homers with the slowest exit velocity. But hey, they all count the same, folks.
Jace Peterson: 90.8 mph on May 11th
At the moment, Jace Peterson has put 16 balls in play with an exit velocity between 85 and 91 mph. The above homer was the fastest of the bunch. It was also the only time he recorded a hit.
Jean Segura: 91 mph on May 14th
Jean Segura slugged two homers with five RBI in 71 April plate appearances. In 108 trips to the plate this past month, he doubled his homer output (four) and more than doubled his RBI production (four to 15). His wRC+ also went from 78 to 123.
Derek Hill: 91.2 mph on May 30th
Derek Hill has struggled to a .254/.289/.324 line in his first 79 plate appearances of the season. The above homer was his first of the year, and at the moment, it’s his only one. Might as well make it count in some way, right?
Jordan Luplow: 92.1 mph on May 11th
Jordan Luplow has accumulated just 11 hits in 71 plate appearances this season. Just over half of them (six, to be exact) have left the yard. They can’t catch the balls he puts in play if they go over the fence, ya know. It’s science.
Kyle Tucker: 46 degrees on May 12th
Kyle Tucker’s home run and RBI production between April (four homers, 14 RBI) and May (four homers, 15 RBI) were nearly identical. However, his overall production at the plate took a huge jump. The young outfielder’s wRC+ went from 96 to 155.
Edwin Rios: 45 degrees on May 10th
Edwin Rios‘ first 88 plate appearances of 2022 have been awfully interesting. He’s posted a 132 wRC+ with seven total homers and 17 RBI, but it’s accompanied by a 40.9% strikeout rate.
Yoshi Tsutsugo: 43 degrees on May 22nd
Hearing an announcer discuss Yoshi Tsutsugo hitting a home run off Yadier Molina was certainly not something I was anticipating this season. Yet, here we are, and it’s one of the many reasons why I just love baseball so much. That blast hasn’t gotten Tsutsugo going at the plate, though. He owns a 60 wRC+ and -0.6 fWAR through 135 plate appearances.
Jack Suwinski: 43 degrees on May 11th
Jack Suwinski‘s rookie campaign hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest of starts, as a 75 wRC+ in 105 plate appearances would suggest. He’s at least trending in the right direction, though? His first 20 plate appearances came in April, which resulted in a -18 wRC+. That was followed by a 97 wRC+ in May.
Jorge Soler: 43 degrees on May 15th
This was one of the nine homers Soler hit in May. I just love watching him admire his work. Even though this wasn’t the hardest-hit ball of his life, he knew it was gone. After posting a .587 OPS and 73 wRC+ in April, Soler improved those numbers drastically to .939 and 163 in May, respectively.
Brad Miller: 43 degrees on May 12th
In just about the same number of plate appearances, Brad Miller more than doubled his home run output for the Rangers from April (two) to May (five). His OPS improved from .545 to .813, and his BABIP going from .205 in April to .306 in May was likely a big help.
Kevin Kiermaier: 15 degrees on May 24th
It’s not surprising for Kiermaier’s inside-the-park home run to also have the lowest launch angle of the month. I mean, you’ve seen the line drive he hit, right? This was one of four homers the outfielder collected during the month of May, bringing his season total to six.
Enrique Hernandez: 16 degrees on May 24th
There’s just something about May 24th and low-launch-angle home runs, I suppose. For Enrique Hernandez, it was his second of four total homers so far this season. After posting a career-high 4.1 fWAR with 20 homers and a 110 wRC+ last season for Boston, he’s off to a slow start in 2022 (0.2 fWAR, four homers, 72 wRC+).
Giancarlo Stanton: 17 degrees on May 12th
Stanton was having himself a terrific month before hitting the IL. He slugged seven homers in 85 plate appearances but also accumulated 21 RBI with a 1.005 OPS in the process.
Willson Contreras: 18 degrees on May 31st
The hardest-hit homer of May also has one of the lowest launch angles? Well, that’s not surprising in the slightest. Could Contreras’ days on the North Side be numbered as we approach the trade deadline? He’s playing well enough to boost his trade stock, that’s for sure. Through 173 plate appearances, the backstop has already accumulated 1.7 fWAR. He posted a 2.1 fWAR in 483 plate appearances last year.
Juan Yepez: 18 degrees on May 23rd
Juan Yepez got called up to the bigs after posting a 149 wRC+ to start 2022 in Triple-A. His first 100 big-league plate appearances have gone quite well. All he’s done is slash .278/.340/.456 with four homers and 14 RBI. That susses out to a 128 wRC+ to go along with 0.3 fWAR.
Pete Alonso: 18 degrees on May 18th
How well is Pete Alonso playing right now? Well, when he does anything good at Citi Field (which was often in May), the Polar Bear has been getting “MVP!” chants from the crowd. He slashed .315/.398/.611 for the month with nine home runs and 30 RBI. Those RBI are a team record for the month of May.
Here are our other monthly home run recaps from the 2022 season:
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