Most improved MLB hitters since the All-Star break

The Major League Baseball season is a marathon, giving players plenty of time to make adjustments and rewrite their personal narrative.

In the weeks since the All-Star break, we’ve seen a number of hitters do just that. Some have rebounded in a big way after struggling prior to the break. Others, meanwhile, were already having strong seasons but have found ways to level up.

Comparing OPS figures before and after the All-Star break, the 10 players below have made the biggest performance leaps during the second half (minimum 250 pre-break plate appearances; 100 post-break PAs).

All stats below are through Friday.

1. Gavin Lux, 2B, Dodgers: +497 points
Pre-All-Star: .562 OPS | Post-All-Star: 1.059 OPS

As MLB.com’s Mike Petriello noted recently, Lux has changed his swing after getting off to a rough start this season, taking more aggressive cuts in an effort to generate more power. Lux has increased his average bat speed by 1.5 mph since the All-Star break, and his hard-hit and barrel rates have both jumped considerably as well. The second baseman has hit seven homers over 32 games in the second half, matching his previous season high in the process. His overall OPS has jumped from .562 to .706 since the break.

Guerrero’s return to superstar status has been a silver lining in an otherwise disappointing season for the Blue Jays. The first baseman entered the break with 14 homers and an .815 OPS — similar to his .804 OPS across 2022-23 — but he has been an indomitable force at the plate in the second half. Guerrero has slashed .400/.479/.825 with 12 homers over 32 games in that span, recapturing the impressive form he showed in his breakout 2021 season.

3. Jake Burger, 1B/3B, Marlins: +459 points
Pre-All-Star: .635 OPS | Post-All-Star: 1.094 OPS

Burger has made a dramatic turnaround after hitting .225 with 10 homers and a .635 OPS in the first half. The 28-year-old has gone deep 15 times in 32 games since the All-Star break, tying him with Aaron Judge for most home runs in the Majors during that time and putting him on pace for his second straight 30-homer season.

4. Jeff McNeil, 2B, Mets: +391 points
Pre-All-Star: .591 OPS | Post-All-Star: .982 OPS

McNeil had a lot of success in the past slapping the ball to all fields and taking advantage of teams shifting against him, even winning a batting title in 2022 (.326 BA, .836 OPS). McNeil, though, was negatively impacted by the new shift restrictions put into place last season, tumbling to a .270 average with a .711 OPS. His production dropped off further in the first half of 2024, as he hit just .216 with a .591 OPS. However, a change in approach has led to a second-half resurgence for the 32-year-old. With his pull rate up 11.7 percentage points (from 39.5% to 51.2%) since the All-Star break, McNeil has recorded seven homers and 10 doubles while slashing .307/.368/.614 over 31 games.

5. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals: +332 points
Pre-All-Star: .928 OPS | Post-All-Star: 1.260 OPS

Already in the American League MVP conversation prior to the break, Witt has taken his offensive game to another stratosphere in the second half. In 31 games, the 24-year-old has delivered an eye-popping .427/.486/.774 slash with nine home runs and only 14 strikeouts in 140 plate appearances. Witt leads MLB with a .348 batting average and 110 runs scored on the season and has recorded 25 homers, 26 steals and a 1.009 OPS to boot.

6. Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees: +326 points
Pre-All-Star: 1.112 OPS | Post-All-Star: 1.438 OPS

You wouldn’t think the player who led MLB with 34 homers and a 1.112 OPS prior to the All-Star break would have much room for improvement, but Judge somehow has found another gear. The AL MVP frontrunner has produced 15 dingers with a 1.438 OPS over 31 games since the break and is currently on pace to tie his own AL record with 62 home runs. His 1.192 OPS on the season is 81 points higher than the MLB-leading 1.111 OPS he produced in his 2022 AL MVP campaign.

7. Josh Bell, 1B, D-backs: +325 points
Pre-All-Star: .644 OPS | Post-All-Star: .969 OPS

Bell had nine homers and a .636 OPS in his first 97 games with the Marlins this season, but he went yard five times in his final seven games in a Miami uniform before being dealt to the D-backs at the Deadline. The switch-hitting first baseman has continued to produce with Arizona, recording four homers and an .845 OPS over 19 games since the trade to give the club a lift with Christian Walker sidelined by an oblique strain.

8. Jorge Soler, OF, Braves: +281 points
Pre-All-Star: .702 OPS | Post-All-Star: .983 OPS

Is history repeating itself in Atlanta? Three years ago, the Braves acquired Soler from the Royals at the Trade Deadline to give their outfield a boost after Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL. The move paid off, with Soler excelling down the stretch before going on to win World Series MVP honors. The Braves went back to the well in 2024, picking up Soler in a Deadline deal with the Giants to help replace Acuña, once again sidelined by a torn ACL. Soler has produced an .897 OPS over 16 games with the Braves, building on the 1.090 OPS he had in 11 games with San Francisco coming out of the All-Star break.

9. Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers: +280 points
Pre-All-Star: .678 OPS | Post-All-Star: .958 OPS

One of the most hyped prospects in baseball prior to his 2024 debut, Chourio went through some growing pains earlier this season, struggling to the tune of a .207/.251/.323 slash over his first 51 games while racking up far too many ground balls (51.7% GB rate) and strikeouts (27.3% K rate). However, the 20-year-old began to find his footing in June and has only gotten better in the second half, hitting .347 with six homers, eight steals and a .958 OPS over 30 games. He has notched 16 multihit games in that time, tied with Judge for the most in MLB.

10. Corbin Carroll, OF, D-backs: +278 points
Pre-All-Star: .635 OPS | Post-All-Star: .913 OPS

After winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award with 25 homers and 54 steals in 2023, Carroll spent the first half mired in a lengthy slump that resulted in a .213 average with five homers and a .635 OPS. However, he appears to have found his swing once again. The young outfielder has gone deep nine times with a .580 slugging percentage over 31 games since the break, notching a 47.2% hard-hit rate (36.2% pre-break) and an 11.2% barrel rate (3.8% pre-break) in that span.