Tigers' Kerry Carpenter joins Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani in impressive statistic

Tigers' Kerry Carpenter joins Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani in impressive statistic originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Detroit Tigers are one of the top teams in the American League, thanks in part to contributions from various players on their deep roster. But one hitter stands out for his consistent production against one kind of pitcher.

As the Detroit Tigers PR account on Twitter/X revealed, Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter, since the start of 2024, ranks third in slugging percentage against right-handed pitchers with a .598 slugging percentage.

The only two hitters ahead of him are Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, two of the best hitters in baseball, who have won MVP awards in 2024 and could be on their way to another MVP in 2025.

Kerry Carpenter has established a new career high with 21 homers this year.

His .598 SLG vs. right-handers since the start of 2024 ranks 3rd in baseball (min. 500 PA vs. RHP), behind only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. pic.twitter.com/xeRWIujz2B

— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) August 11, 2025

Carpenter, this season, has 305 at-bats with 263 coming against right-handed pitchers. In those at-bats, Carpenter has a .274 batting average with a .563 slugging percentage and a .865 OPS. Of his 21 home runs this season, 19 have come against righties.

If he could play every day against a right-handed pitcher, Carpenter would be among the MVP favorites based on his production over the past two seasons. While this season has been impressive, in 2024, he was even more impressive.

Across 236 at-bats against right-handed pitchers, Carpenter had a .305 batting average with a .631 slugging percentage and a .994 OPS. He hit 17 home runs, 16 doubles, and five triples on 72 of his hits against right-handed pitchers in 2024.

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The 27-year-old has been nothing short of incredible against right-handed pitchers, ranking third in baseball among hitters with at least 500 at-bats against right-handed pitching since the start of the 2024 season.

He's a big part of the Tigers' offense this season, and while the team has struggled a little as of late, they're still in first in the AL Central, and Carpenter will be a big piece toward them holding onto that lead.

So far in 2025, Carpenter has played 91 games, 27 shy of his previous career high in 2023. While he missed time earlier in the year and doesn't always play against left-handed pitching, Carpenter has been a big contributor for the Tigers in 2025.

He's already hit the most home runs he's had in a single season, and would need 20 more RBIs, 10 more runs scored, 36 more hits, three more doubles, and two more triples to set career-highs in all of those categories.

Against right-handed pitching, Carpenter has proven to be one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. Only Ohtani and Judge, the 2024 MVPs, have been better sluggers against right-handed pitching since the start of 2024.

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