Ramon Laureano Is Destroying The Baseball, How Is This Happening?

Outfielder Ramon Laureano has been on a tear since joining the San Diego Padres on July 31. The 31-year-old outfielder came over from Baltimore along with all-star Ryan O'Hearn. At the time, O’Hearn and closer Mason Miller were the “faces” of the Padres trade deadline. While those two have performed very well in San Diego, Laureano has been better than almost everyone else in baseball since joining the Padres. 

Playing in Oakland for most of his career, Laureano was always a reliable player. Limited health issues, .700-.800 OPS, and solid defense. He never really exploded, but always found himself in the lineup. This season has been a completely different story, though, and it couldn’t be coming at a better time for San Diego. 

In 2025, Laureano has put up superstar numbers:

• 106 G / 385 PA
• 21 HR
• .300/.361/.553 Slash Line
• 7.3 BB% / 23.6 K%
• 152 wRC+

When general manager A.J. Preller acquired him at the deadline, he was already having the best season of his career (144 wRC+). Given how big an outlier this number was compared to his career averages, it was reasonable to assume he would come back to earth a bit after arriving in San Diego. Instead, the opposite has happened. Since joining the new clubhouse, Leaureano has put up:

• 24 G / 95 PA
• 6 HR
• .330/.379/.625
• 6.3 BB% / 20 K%
• 180 wRC+

It's one thing for a player to put together a fluky all-star first half or a late-season hot streak, but Laureano has cemented himself as one of the best hitters of the 2025 season. How has he done it? 

To start, we have to break down some of the unsustainable success he has taken advantage of. This isn’t to diminish his performance, but we want to see the whole picture. 

Part of Laureano’s dominance this season has come from his high batting average and on-base percentage. While he has always had decent bat skills, he isn’t hitting the ball notably hard, nor is he limiting strikeouts to the point where these slash lines would become permanent (a 23.6% strikeout rate is a huge career improvement, but still not great).  

He sits at the 51st percentile for hard-hit rate on Statcast and just the 36th percentile for squared-up percentage. Additionally, Laureano has enjoyed a .350 BABIP for the season, one of the highest among qualified hitters. 

These numbers can provide some context, but can’t be the full explanation for his surge. Laureano found new power in 2025 that turned him into one of the best batters the Padres have had in years. Despite his mid-sized 5.10 frame, he is slugging at a rate that is one of the best in MLB. 

One of the main skills Laureano has improved on in 2025 is his bat speed consistency. His 72.2 mph bat speed in 2025 is around his career average, and actually 0.5 mph lower than 2024. What’s different is the median of his swing speeds. In the past, Laureano’s swing speeds were very sporadic. High amounts of sub-65 mph and over 75 mph. Now, for the first time in his career, over 20% of his swings are in the 72 mph range. 

This increased consistency has enabled him to hit the ball harder and more frequently. The numbers also support this claim. Resulting from his consistent bat speeds:

• 87th Percentile Barrel Rate (13.9%)
• 87th Percentile Hard-Hit Rate (50.2%)
• 85th Percentile LA Sweet-Spot Rate (38.2%)
• 94th Percentile Expected Slug (.547)

Not only is he utilizing bat speeds to harness more power, but the numbers also tell us that he is reading pitches very well. His 648 competitive swings are the highest of his career since Statcast began tracking them. He is also striking out at the lowest rate of his career (23.6%). 

His plate approach and swing data support these statistics. His 24.4% chase rate is 6% lower than his 2025 mark and is coupled with a 28.6% first-pitch swing rate (7.6% lower than 2024). 

It doesn’t stop there. Laureano has further committed to plate discipline by lowering his overall swing percentage from 52.3% in 2024 to 46.8% in 2025, and whiff percentage from 31.8% to 26.6%. 

This offseason, Laureano decided to adjust his approach, and he is reaping the rewards. 

It’s been a variety of improvements that have all mixed to make the magic potion for Ramon Laureano. Starting with some ball in play luck, added in with newfound bat speed consistency and a developed eye at the plate, and you have the best trade deadline acquisition of the A.J. Preller era.