He leads baseball in home runs with 38, setting multiple records for the first half of a season<\/a> along the way including most homers by a catcher and most homers by a switch-hitter. He came just one homer short of Barry Bonds\u2019 record of 39 homers in a season before the All-Star Game. And he\u2019s got the unforgettable nickname of \u201cBig Dumper\u201d that will no doubt get plenty of mentions whether it\u2019s Monday\u2019s Home Run Derby broadcast or Tuesday\u2019s All-Star Game itself.<\/p>\n What may not garner much attention is perhaps the biggest reason for Raleigh\u2019s breakout in 2025. He\u2019s always been a big threat at the plate from the left side against right-handed pitching, but his righty swing against southpaw pitchers used to be seen as a bit of a hole in his game.<\/p>\n Not anymore. And not by a longshot.<\/p>\n Raleigh isn\u2019t just enjoying his best season as a right-hander. He\u2019s absolutely crushing left-handed pitchers, and in fact has essentially been the best hitter in all of baseball when swinging from the right side. Just ask the Detroit Tigers<\/a>, who watched him hit homers off lefties in back-to-back at-bats Friday to drive in five runs combined in the final two innings of a 12-3 Mariners win.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Marvel at these numbers Raleigh has produced with his right-handed swing.<\/p>\n \u2022 As a right-handed hitter against left-handed pitchers this season, Raleigh owns a .333\/.382\/.853 slash line for a 1.235 OPS in 104 plate appearances. The .333 batting average is third among all right-handed hitters in MLB and tied for 14th against lefty pitching. Not bad for a guy whose career-high average for an entire season (against all pitching) is .232.<\/p>\n \u2022 Raleigh\u2019s 1.235 OPS from the right side is the highest of any MLB right-handed hitter this season \u2013 yes, even better than Yankees superstar and American League MVP favorite Aaron Judge (1.195). Those numbers include all of Judge\u2019s plate appearances, though, factoring in both righty and lefty pitchers since he\u2019s not a switch-hitter. When you focus on just plate appearances against lefties, Raleigh is second in OPS to Judge (1.355).<\/p>\n \u2022 The main area where Raleigh has the advantage over Judge against lefties is \u2013 surprise! \u2013 home runs. Of Raleigh\u2019s 38 homers, an MLB-leading 16 have come against southpaws. Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber is second with 14 (out of 30 total), while Judge is third with 11 (out of 35).<\/p>\n \u2022 Because of the sheer amount of damage Raleigh has done against lefties, he also beats Judge for the highest Weighted Runs Created Plus<\/a> (wRC+) against left-handers. That\u2019s a great metric for measuring how much a hitter is producing runs, and Raleigh is No. 1 against lefties at 244, while Judge is second at 240. For wRC+, league average is 100, so Raleigh is essentially 144% more productive against left-handed pitchers than a league-average hitter. That\u2019s\u2026 pretty good.<\/p>\n \u2022 What really jumps out is Raleigh was a below-average bat against lefties for his first four MLB seasons. From 2021 through 2024, Raleigh had a combined slash line of .202\/.271\/.410 for a .681 OPS and 95 wRC+ swinging right-handed. He had 20 homers in 413 plate appearances against left-handers, and 13 of those came in 2024. Now compare that to 2025, where Raleigh has 16 homers in just 104 plate appearances against lefties. It\u2019s an insane turnaround.<\/p>\n Now, Raleigh\u2019s been strong with his lefty swing against right-handed pitchers in 2025, but he hasn\u2019t taken the same kind of leap on that side of the plate. Against righties this season, he has a .229\/.375\/.53 slash line for a .918 OPS with 22 homers in 297 plate appearances. His 143 wRC+ against righties ranks 16th in MLB.<\/p>\n Point being, Cal Raleigh may be known for his left-handed bombs<\/a> in a Mariners uniform<\/a>, but his incredible 2025 season has more to do with him becoming a right-handed monster than anything else. Here\u2019s hoping he gets a shot to feature it by facing a southpaw in Tuesday\u2019s Midsummer Classic.<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022 Seattle Mariners MLB Draft Tracker: Keep up with every 2025 pick<\/a>
\u2022 Salk: Michael Arroyo is best story in Mariners\u2019 farm system<\/a>
\u2022 Three things we learned about Mariners\u2019 top pick Kade Anderson<\/a>
\u2022 The impressive numbers behind Mariners\u2019 Motor City outburst<\/a>
\u2022 Seattle Mariners in Futures Game: Switch-pitcher Cijntje shines<\/a><\/p>\n
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