What is Whiff Rate? Definition, Formula, and Example
Whiff rate is the percentage of a batter's swings that miss the ball — calculated as swings-and-misses divided by total swings — and is the cleanest single measure of a pitch's bat-missing ability.
2026 MLB Whiff Rate Leaders
As of June 8, 2026Live top 5 by whiff rate from real Statcast data, refreshed nightly from Baseball Savant.
| # | Pitcher | Team | Whiff Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mason Miller | SD | 42.8% |
| 2 | Jacob Misiorowski | MIL | 39.5% |
| 3 | Devin Williams | NYM | 39.3% |
| 4 | Alex Lange | KC | 39.1% |
| 5 | Tyler Phillips | MIA | 38.8% |
See the 2026 MLB Whiff Rate Leaders — the full ranked list of every qualified pitcher with team, position, and card rating.
What is whiff rate?
Whiff rate is the percentage of swings that come up empty. It's the single cleanest measure of a pitch's bat-missing ability because it strips out everything that happens when the ball is actually hit — luck, BABIP, defense, park factors. League-average whiff rate across MLB sits around 24-25%. On a single pitch type, a 35% whiff rate is plus, 40% is plus-plus, and anything above 50% is the kind of pitch that builds a Cy Young season.
See the 2026 MLB Whiff Rate Leaders for the current live ranking from real Statcast data.
How whiff rate is calculated
The formula is simple:
Whiff% = Whiffs ÷ Swings
A whiff is any swing that misses, whether the ball crossed the zone or not. Called strikes are not whiffs. Foul tips caught for strike three count as whiffs; foul balls do not. The denominator is total swings, not total pitches — that distinction matters because it separates whiff rate from Swinging Strike Rate (SwStr%), which divides whiffs by all pitches thrown.
Example: a pitcher throws 100 pitches. The batter swings 40 times and misses 14 of those. Whiff rate = 14 / 40 = 35%. Swinging strike rate = 14 / 100 = 14%. Same numerator, different denominator, different story.
Worked example: Strider's slider and Arraez's bat control
In 2023, Spencer Strider's slider posted a 53.2% whiff rate — the best mark in MLB among pitchers with 100+ sliders thrown. More than half the swings it generated missed entirely. His four-seam fastball ran a 32.8% whiff rate, also elite for a heater since four-seamers league-wide sit around 22%. Put another way: over 500 sliders thrown, Strider produced roughly 270 whiffs on that pitch alone.
On the hitter side, Luis Arraez had a 9.1% whiff rate in 2023 — lowest in MLB by a comfortable margin. Fewer than one in ten swings missed. That's what drove his .354 batting title; if you put the bat on the ball that often, BABIP does the rest. Aaron Judge, by contrast, ran a 31.2% whiff rate that same year — elite power, contact-prone.
Why whiff rate matters
For pitchers, whiff rate translates almost directly to strikeout upside. It's the purest indicator of nastiness because outcome stats like K% depend on count leverage and batter approach, while whiff rate just asks "did they miss?" For hitters, a low whiff rate is a durable skill — it floors BABIP in down years and survives slumps. Front offices use pitch-specific whiff rates to sort legitimate strikeout weapons from breaking balls that only eat at-bats. Fantasy drafters use rising whiff rates on secondary pitches as their earliest breakout signal.
Limitations and common misconceptions
Whiff rate ignores location. A pitch that only gets swings when hitters chase way out of the zone can post a gaudy whiff rate while generating zero called strikes — that's why CSW% (called strikes plus whiffs divided by total pitches) exists as a combined metric. Whiff rate also says nothing about damage on contact; a hanging slider that gets hammered for a homer is not a whiff, but it's also not a success. Don't confuse whiff rate with strikeout rate — K% depends on two-strike sequencing, pitch selection, and batter approach, not just raw bat-missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good whiff rate for a pitcher?
A good whiff rate for a pitcher is above about 30%; league average sits near 24–25%, a 35% mark on a single pitch is plus, 40% is plus-plus, and anything above 50% is the kind of swing-and-miss weapon that anchors a Cy Young season.
How is whiff rate calculated?
Whiff rate is whiffs divided by total swings, expressed as a percentage. A whiff is any swing that misses, in or out of the zone; called strikes and foul balls are not whiffs. The denominator is swings, not pitches — that is what separates whiff rate from swinging-strike rate (SwStr%), which divides whiffs by all pitches thrown.
Who leads MLB in whiff rate in 2026?
The current 2026 whiff rate leaders are shown in the live top-5 table above, refreshed nightly from Baseball Savant. The full ranked list of every qualified pitcher is on the 2026 MLB Whiff Rate Leaders board.
Is whiff rate the same as strikeout rate?
No. Whiff rate measures only whether swings miss, while strikeout rate (K%) also depends on two-strike sequencing, pitch selection, and batter approach. Whiff rate is the purer indicator of raw bat-missing stuff and tends to stabilize earlier in a season than strikeout rate.
Related terms
In Legends Deck
Legends Deck uses per-pitch whiff rate to drive each pitcher card's strikeout profile directly. When the simulation resolves a swing, the model samples against the pitch's whiff rate conditional on count and location — so a Strider card throws sliders that miss bats at their real 53% clip, not a blended average. On the hitter side, whiff rate feeds the contact rating: Arraez's card makes contact on over 90% of swings, which means more balls in play, more BABIP exposure, and a lineup anchor who rarely strikes out looking.