MLB's 15 Best Power Hitting “Little Guys”

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The greatest power hitters in baseball history are hulking, statuesque men with muscles bulging under their uniforms, waiting to launch a meatball 500 feet into the air.

But power is about more than just brute strength and size. From Joe Morgan to Phil Rizzuto to Kirby Puckett, the annals of MLB history are ripe with stories of guys who could do more with less.

Some of today’s best hitters may not measure up to their superhuman teammates on the scales, but they more than compensate for their shortcomings with what they do on the stat sheet.

Here are baseball’s 15 best little sluggers.*

* To qualify, players must be 6-feet tall or shorter.

15. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, Seattle Mariners

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Ichiro has never been regarded as much of a power threat because he always bats at the top of the lineup and is better known for spraying singles all over the field than trying to go deep.

But just because Ichiro has only had three seasons of double-digit home runs and just 93 home runs in his career, that doesn’t mean he’s unable to launch one.

Ichiro is one of those rare ball players who can put a ball anywhere he wants to, including in the bleachers. Just imagine what his .422 slugging percentage would look like if he was dropped in the order and told to swing away.

14. Ivan Rodriguez, C, Washington Nationals

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Pudge may be 39 and well past his prime, but at 5’9” and 205 pounds he still deserves mention as one of the great little sluggers of all time.

Rodriguez has hit 311 career home runs and reached double digits every year from 1993-2007. He also topped 20 home runs five consecutive seasons from 1997-2001, including a career-high 35 in 1999.

Rodriguez has as compact of a frame as you will ever see, and his .464 career slugging percentage and his 14 All-Star selections is evidence that baseball is about more than just size.

13. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Philadelphia Phillies

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Rollins (5’8”, 170 pounds) isn’t going to win any bar fights, but luckily the shortstop can just use his MVP trophy to bludgeon people to death.

The long-time shortstop is a true five-tool player, with phenomenal power for his size. His 168 career home runs are among the most ever by a shortstop and he has three 20-20 seasons on his resume, including a 30-40 effort during his MVP year in 2007.

Rollins, 32, has hit a bit of a wall professionally and has watched most of his offensive numbers plummet, but he’s still just as much of a threat to send a misplaced fastball over the fence.

12. Magglio Ordonez, OF, Detroit Tigers

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Ordonez, 37, may not have much left in those muscles of his, but once upon a time Magglio was a true offensive force.

In a span of five seasons from 1999-2003 Ordonez (6’0”, 215 pounds) hit 160 home runs and was a perennial MVP candidate. Injuries and poor performance have mitigated the expectations on his career, but Ordonez still owns a .502 career slugging percentage with 293 home runs.

He hasn’t had a 20-HR season since 2008 and he’ll probably never have one again, but the six-time All-Star is still more than qualified for this list.

11. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Boston Red Sox

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Ellsbury is virtually identical physically to Granderson, but much to everyone’s surprise his power is also just as real.

Ellsbury has exploded for 23 home runs this season, 14 more than his career-high and three more than he had in his four previous big league seasons. He also has a career-high 34 doubles this season and is still one of the fastest men in baseball.

At just 27 years old, this may just be the beginning for Ellsbury. He’s never going to win a HR crown, but if he can hit 20 jacks a season while playing Gold Glove defense and defending his title as the best leadoff man in baseball then he’s got a very bright future ahead of him.

10. Miguel Tejada, SS, San Francisco Giants

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If you were to look at baseball’s best little sluggers five years ago, then Tejada would undoubtedly be No. 1 on this list. But considering he’s in the later stages of his career, I can’t justify putting him higher than No. 10.

Tejada, 37, stands in at just 5’9” and is a slender 220 pounds. It’s incredible that his frame can support so much muscle, but there’s no way that 304 career home runs and 463 doubles are all a fluke.

In his prime Tejada was a lock to hit 30 home runs and was a frequent participant of the HR Derby, an event that he won in 2004.

9. Rickie Weeks, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers

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Weeks may have had an embarrassing showing at the 2011 HR Derby, but the fact that he was even chosen to participate is a testament to his prodigious power.

The 5’10”, 215-pound second baseman is on the verge of his second consecutive 20-HR season and his slugging percentage continues to climb to nearly .500.

Weeks is still just 28 and multiple injuries have kept him from reaching his full potential, but when healthy he’s a guaranteed 20-20 player.

8. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

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People are just beginning to recognize the talent that is Andrew McCutchen. The 24-year-old franchise player for the Pirates has every tool you could ask for from a ball player, including power.

McCutchen has a career-high 19 home runs this season and he’s entirely capable of consistently hitting 25-30 once his 5’10”, 190-pound body fully develops. It won’t be long before some of those 92 career doubles and 18 triples start travelling just a few feet further.

Nobody knows what McCutchen’s ceiling is, but if we’re going by precedent then Barry Bonds (the Pittsburgh version) might be an appropriate name to toss out there.

7. Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas Rangers

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It took a few years, but Kinsler (6’0”, 200 pounds) has finally developed into the all-world talent everyone thought he would be.

He’s already recorded his third 20-20 season of his career and with some luck could make it his second 30-30 season. Unlike most power hitters, Kinsler is also incredibly difficult to strike out and has a habit of doing something productive offensively.

His .462 career slugging percentage puts him squarely in the ranks of the best power-hitting second baseman ever, but that qualifier may not be necessary for much longer.

6. David Wright, 3B, New York Mets

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It’s not often you see third basemen who are just 6-feet tall, but it’s even rarer to see third basemen who can hit like Wright.

The five-time All-Star is a monster offensively and during his prime he was able to hit 40 doubles and 30 home runs like clockwork. Wright is having a down year in 2011, but his .510 career slugging percentage doesn’t lie.

Assuming Wright can rebound from a down year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him reach 400 home runs. After all, he’s just 28 years old.

5. Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees

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Cano (6’0”, 205 pounds) might be the physical equivalent of Wright, but his power is even better.

Cano, 28, just recorded his third consecutive 20-HR season and with a little luck he should reach 40 doubles for the fifth time in his career. Cano’s also no slouch on the base paths and has hit 26 career triples.

With a .308/.347/.494 career line it’s almost a shame to think that Cano might not even be one of the three best hitters on his own team, but that certainly won’t stop him from being included here.

4. Adrian Beltre, 3B, Texas Rangers

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Including Beltre on this list may be a bit of a stretch because at 220 pounds he’s hardly a small fry. But the defensive whiz and offensive juggernaut still stands at just 5’11” and is one of the shortest true power hitters ever.

Beltre has 298 home runs in 14 big league seasons, including a career-high 48 in 2004. He typically hits 20-30 home runs a season with a nice sprinkling of 30-40 doubles.

Beltre’s .464 career slugging percentage may not be much higher than most of the players on this list, but he also spent five years of his life playing in the offensive wasteland in Seattle. This season his slugging percentage is back over .500.

3. Curtis Granderson, OF, New York Yankees

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Granderson is right around 6-feet tall, but at just 185 pounds he’s as thin as a rail. Turns out the rail is made up entirely of muscle.

The 30-year-old has always been a legitimate power threat and had an incredible 2007 season in which he hit 38 doubles, 23 triples and 23 home runs. But these days Granderson has shied away from the two-bagger and is slamming round-trippers at a rate unmatched by anyone in the American League.

Granderson leads the AL in home runs (38), triples (10) and RBI (107), despite playing in the same division as guys like Mark Teixeira, Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Bautista. With nearly 30 games left and 24 steals already on his resume it wouldn’t be a stretch for Granderson to join the much-famed 30-30 club. 

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox

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At 5’9”, 180 pounds and with a receding hairline, Pedroia looks more like a middle-aged auto mechanic than a professional ball player. But numbers don’t lie and Pedroia’s are just phenomenal.

The Laser Show has already tied his career-high in home runs this season with 17, and has 49 extra-base hits in total. His .463 career slugging percentage is among the highest ever for a second baseman, and it’s only going to go up.

Perhaps the most fascinating stat of Pedroia’s career is his .728 slugging percentage and 1.189 OPS when batting clean-up, something he’s done for nearly 100 at-bats.  At this rate he probably deserves a few more.

1. Dan Uggla, 2B, Atlanta Braves

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Uggla (5’11”, 205 pounds) doesn’t look all that athletic. But when you watch him swing a bat you realize he is capable of absolutely pounding the ball.

The Braves second baseman just reached 30 home runs for the fifth consecutive season and has 184 career home runs in just six big league seasons, a level of production matched recently only by the likes of Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard.

Uggla doesn’t contribute much else on the field in terms of speed or defense, but with a .483 career slugging percentage I doubt any of his manages will be complaining.