10 MLB Sluggers with Limitless Power

There's a difference between a home run and a bomb.

A home run is a ball that clears the fence, resulting in a run. A bomb is a ball that you know is gone the minute you hear the sound, resulting in a shattering of the pitcher's confidence.

I'm not here to talk about the home run hitters. I'm here to talk about the 10 guys in the league with power to spare. When they hit home runs, the pitcher's family will feel it.

Pujols may hit a lot of home runs, but Josh Hamilton will have the pitcher scared that he's about to give up a Sportscenter Top 10 play because Hamilton hits 500 foot bombs just for funsies.

These are the 10 guys in the MLB with Limitless power.

No. 10: Ryan Howard

People kill Ryan Howard's contract, as well they should. He's overpaid by any sense of the word.

But even though he's not putting up numbers anywhere near his 2006 MVP season, when he gets ahold of the ball, you better duck and cover.

Even when he's slumping, there's always a chance that Howard can put a ball into the stratosphere.

No. 9: Carlos Quentin

Quentin hasn't really been himself since his injury in 2008, but more and more he's starting to return to his old form.

This isn't a guy who really hits for average. Quentin puts balls into the air and hopes that his brute strength will carry them over the wall. Much of the time that's exactly what happens.

He's had a couple of impressive power runs this year, so we know the potential is there. 

No. 8: Adrian Belte

Aside from one glorious 48-homer season in 2004, Adrian Beltre has never hit more than 30 HRs in a season.

But you ask around the league who the most dangerous hitters in baseball are, and Beltre's name is sure to come up at some point.

Beltre is a mistake hitter. You pitch carefully around this guy, because if you slip up, you're not going to pay for it with a double in the gap, you're going to pay for it with runs on the board, because he can hit it hard and long.

No. 7: Carlos Pena

Pena is another guy who had been around the league and has always put up unexceptional numbers. But there's a reason teams keep giving him a chance.

He can knock the ever-loving snot out of the ball.

Pena may not do it all that often, with only one stretch of three years where he hit 116 home runs, but there's always the threat of getting taken yard.

It's all about, as Dennis Reynolds would say, the implication.

No. 6: Mike Stanton

Mike Stanton hasn't even been around for a full season yet, but he's already made a big impression.

He may strike out five times for every dinger he hits, but it's worth it for the entertainment value alone.

I don't think I've seen the guy hit a home run that's barely cleared the fence. With Stanton, you always know.

No. 5: Prince Fielder

Is it any wonder that so many of the guys on this list are big boys?

Fielder is the kind of baseball player who looks more inclined to be an NFL lineman, but instead he's an MLB All-Star because he can do one thing.

Mash.

And mash he does. Try to sneak a fastball by Fielder and it'll be gone before you even realize what happened.

No. 4: Wily Mo Pena

Wily Mo Pena is not a great baseball player.

He's been bouncing around the major leagues since 2002 and had even been toiling in the minors since 2008, but he got another chance with the Diamondbacks this year.

So he's only hitting .196. That doesn't matter. What matters is what I saw him do when he faced off against the A's this year.

He had the hardest hit ball I have ever seen in my life. He made contact and the ball was gone in a second. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.

Wily Mo will never be an All-Star, but he has got some of the rawest power ever. 

No. 3: Josh Hamilton

I have had the rare pleasure of watching Josh Hamilton hit batting practice a couple of times. It's phenomenal.

The thing that I love the most is the sound. When a lot of guys hit the ball perfectly, you hardly hear anything. With Hamilton, it sounds like thunder each and every time.

He's a modern day Babe Ruth. The guy is just herculean.

Need any proof? Just check out the 2008 Home Run Derby. That's all you need.

No. 2: Jose Bautista

I'm putting Bautista on this list because even though he's 30 years old, he's just now finding his rhythm. He hit 54 homers last year out of nowhere and has kept it up at a torrid pace.

And for as many home runs as he's hitting, there aren't many cheapies in that group. Bautista is straight crushing the ball.

Who knows how much power he's still got in there waiting to be unleashed? Bautista may just be the definition of limitless. 

No. 1: Bryce Harper

I know, I know, he's not officially in the major leagues yet. But who else could top this list other than baseball's villain-in-waiting?

I mean, he may already be the most exciting hitter in the game without a major league at-bat. His homers are legendary for how long they are.

Harper isn't a physical specimen like Josh Hamilton or Ryan Howard, he's just a guy who knows how to hit a baseball, and may be able to do it better than anyone else very soon.

There is no ceiling to Harper's potential, but there's even less of one for his power. When he gets to the bigs, Sportscenter is going to be filled with his monster home runs.

Just wait and see.