Max Muncy’s Bat Is Somehow Getting Even More Powerful
Muncy has long been a high-level power hitter for the Dodgers. So far this year, he's showing that he might have even more in the tank.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have been a dominant force in the NL West for a number of years now. Despite the considerable resources at their disposal, the run they have been on over the past decade remains unprecedented.
They’ve finished with a 56.2% win rate or above in every season dating back to 2013, and they have won the NL West in 13 of the past 14 years. Yet, despite the star power they have employed during this time, one name stands above the rest.
Third baseman Max Muncy is in the midst of his ninth season with the Dodgers in 2026. Now that Clayton Kershaw has retired, this makes him the longest-tenured Dodger on the active roster.
It is hard to argue with the Dodgers’ logic in keeping him around this long. Over his 969 games with the Dodgers, Muncy has hit .233/.358/.487 with a 129 OPS+. The only year Muncy has maintained a below-average wRC+ with the Dodgers was in the shortened 2020 season, where his wRC+ was 98.
Muncy also has the sixth-most career home runs as a Dodger with 221 and has the sixth-most postseason home runs in MLB at 16 since he joined the Dodgers in 2018. In short, Muncy has been a massive part of the Dodgers’ success over the past decade.
Yet, all signs indicate that Muncy is far from done. In 2026, he has seemingly found a way to level up his game further. In his age-35 season, Muncy is hitting .260/.360/.526 and has already hit 12 home runs in just 45 games.
Sure, the season is still relatively young. However, evidence suggests this version of Muncy might be here to stay.
Stats were taken prior to play on May 19.
An Unconventional Fix
Muncy’s emergence as one of the premier power hitters in the game is not a recent development.
Since 2018, Muncy has four seasons with over 35 home runs and has recorded a 117 wRC+ in all but two seasons. He is known as a three-outcome hitter for the most part, maintaining elite slugging, walking, and chase rates at the expense of low batting averages and high strikeout rates.
However, Muncy has looked different as of late.
This shift started last year. After a brutal start to the 2025 season, Muncy needed to make a change. Alongside some tweaks to his swing, Muncy started wearing glasses while hitting to help deal with an astigmatism in his right eye.
From then on, Muncy began to crush the ball. Not only did he return to form, but he has been one of the most elite hitters in baseball since making these changes.
He hit his first home run of 2025 on April 30. Since then, Muncy has the fifth-best wRC+ (159) among all MLB hitters. Among MLB third basemen, he has been far and away the most dominant hitter. No other third baseman with 450 or more plate appearances over this span has a wRC+ above 131.
Among those qualified, Muncy leads the Dodgers with a 147 wRC+ in 2026, with center fielder Andy Pages trailing just behind at a 141 wRC+. In addition to his offensive presence, Muncy has also been playing the best defense of his career at third base.
Despite the small sample size, Muncy’s production has been undeniable. While regression would not be out of the question, his underlying metrics suggest that he might still have more in the tank.
Balancing the Approach
Early last year, one of the things Muncy had been struggling with was his ability to consistently lift the ball to the pull side.
As a home run hitter looking to pull the ball in the air with power, he has maintained a consistently high average launch angle. This figure peaked as high as 26.6 degrees in 2024. However, through April 29 of last year, Muncy’s launch angle stood at just 14.4 degrees.
Upon switching to wearing glasses, Muncy bumped this figure back up to 19.6 degrees by season’s end. Still, this represented a sharp 7.0 degree drop from his 2024 numbers.
Coincidentally, he still ended the year with great slugging numbers. In fact, his expected slugging percentage actually increased from .461 to .497 from the end of 2024 through 2025.
A possible explanation for this phenomenon lies in Muncy’s quality of contact.
Since 2022, Muncy has gotten under the ball at contact on over 31% of batted ball events each year. Over the years, Muncy’s fly-ball approach could have turned some would-be hits into outfield fly balls and line outs. As such, it would make sense that Muncy’s lower launch angle has led to a marked increase in batting average.
Muncy has not held a batting average over .250 in any season since 2019. However, this season, Muncy’s batting average has hovered around .260, all while retaining his home run potential.
This change has not come as a result of more line drives, but rather a 7.4% increase in his ground-ball rate. Though you may not expect it, this change has been a major difference maker for Muncy as an all-around player.
Room for Improvement?
The big question concerning Muncy’s performance is whether it is sustainable. As with most players performing at an elite level early in a season, the chance for regression is always present.
On the contrary, Muncy’s underlying metrics suggest he is actually underperforming compared to where he could be. This year, Muncy has averaged a .260 batting average, .526 slugging percentage, and .386 wOBA. These are all solid figures in their own right.
However, Muncy also has a .283 expected batting average, .593 expected slugging percentage, and .413 xwOBA. These figures grade out in the 85th percentile, 98th percentile, and 97th percentile, respectively.
Muncy is also registering an 88th-percentile average exit velocity (92.1 mph), 97th-percentile barrel percentage (19.4%), and 94th-percentile hard-hit percentage (53.7%). His batting run value grades out in the 90rd percentile overall, according to Baseball Savant.
At the same time, Muncy continues to work patient at-bats, registering an 83rd-percentile walk rate (13.5%) and 77th-percentile chase rate (24.9%). These two figures are down from previous years, though they are still high-level.
If the overall results point to Muncy working a more well-rounded, balanced approach, this trade-off is a wholly worthwhile one.
Not to mention, Muncy also has a 93rd-percentile fielding run value and 95th-percentile range value at third base this season.
As a result, Muncy has already accumulated 2.1 fWAR in just 45 games this season, putting him well on his way to set a new career best. The figure to beat is 4.5 fWAR, a total he reached in 2021, a season where he played 144 games and hit 36 home runs.
Keep it Rolling
It is not often that Muncy is talked about as a superstar. But, maybe he should be.
Dating back to 2018, Muncy has the 24th-best wRC+ among MLB players with 1000+ plate appearances. This puts him ahead of the likes of Bobby Witt Jr., Corbin Carroll, and Julio Rodríguez, among other stars. He also has the 13th-most home runs over this span.
Despite struggles with injury, eyesight issues, and early career struggles, Muncy has persevered. His consistent production over the past decade is a testament to his work ethic and endurance.
Muncy might slip backwards in his quality of performance as this season wears on. However, the run he has been on dating back to early 2025 cannot be understated.
Amidst Muncy’s early-season struggles last year, rumors began to swirl regarding a potential trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Nolan Arenado. The third baseman has long been linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors, but a deal never materialized.
At the time, Muncy was asked how he felt about the rumors: “It’s never easy, but it’s baseball. It’s a business,” replied Muncy. “If I’m able to just relax and go out there and play, by the end of the year, you may not even know what my first month was.”
It’s safe to assume he was right about that aspect. Surely, the Dodgers are content with their decision to retain him as well.
Should Muncy continue this resurgent run deep into the 2026 season, it would most likely become the best season of his career to this point. Regardless of where he lands by the end of the season, Muncy has established himself firmly within the upper echelon of MLB hitters.
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Written by
Ryan Murphy is a contributing writer for Just Baseball and graduate of James Madison University. The former Southern California native is an avid fan of the…