Hottest Bats in MLB: Ivan Herrera Is Seeing Beach Balls

Forget the season-long averages for a minute; hot is a right-now thing. Every line below comes straight from the last seven days of box scores, with a 8 at-bat minimum so nobody sneaks on with one good afternoon.

The hottest hand

Ivan Herrera (STL) is seeing beach balls. He has collected nine hits in his last 14 trips to the plate over three games, good for a .643 clip, and the at-bats keep getting louder.

Spread it out and that is 3.0 hits a game, every game, for the whole stretch, not one big night propping up a quiet week.

He has done it without a single home run, which somehow makes the hit total more impressive, just a steady drumbeat of base hits. He has still driven in 2 along the way.

The rest of the hot list

Right behind him is Chandler Simpson (TB), who has gone 8-for-13 over the same stretch, a .615 pace with one RBI.

Jac Caglianone (KC) has quietly gone 7-for-12 (.583) with three homers and seven RBI.

Add Jake McCarthy (COL) to the watch list as well, 7-for-13 over the stretch with two homers and three RBI.

Also swinging it well: Yandy Diaz (TB) 7-for-14, Jackson Holliday (BAL) 6-for-12, Bo Bichette (NYM) 6-for-10.

By the numbers

Here is the top of the board, straight from the box scores:

Worth remembering

Qualification here is simple and strict: at least 8 at-bats and more than one game inside the window, so a single loud afternoon cannot crowd out a real heater.

Small samples run hot and cold by nature. Treat this as a snapshot of who is seeing it well right now, not a forecast of anyone's next at-bat.

Next up on the slate: St. Louis Cardinals against Philadelphia Phillies. Check back after that one goes final.