Ildemaro Vargas is currently the best hitter in MLB

Ildemaro Vargas began the 2026 MLB season with a career batting average of .249 in 1,219 plate appearances. His highest OPS came in 2019, when he posted a .712 mark during his first stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Back with the Diamondbacks this season, Vargas currently leads the National League in batting average (.378) and ranks in the top three in slugging percentage and OPS. He currently holds a 24-point lead for the best batting average in the National League ahead of Yordan Alvarez (.354).

I didn't have that on my bingo card.

The 34-year-old is currently on a streak of 22 consecutive games with at least one hit. He has recorded a hit in every game he's played this year for the Diamondbacks, which has certainly helped them keep pace with the breakneck pace set by the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the National League West.

A 22-game hitting streak is the third-longest in Major League Baseball history to start a season, and Vargas undoubtedly has his sights set on the 30-game streak set by Ron LeFlore of the Detroit Tigers in 1976. Vargas ranks third behind Luis Gonzalez (30 in 1999) and Tony Womack (24 in 2000) for the longest such streak in franchise history.

After last night's game, Ildemaro Vargas is officially a qualified hitter. His rankings in MLB:

AVG: 1st (.372)
SLG: 3rd (.698)
OPS: 3rd (1.091)
wRC+: 3rd (200)
fWAR: T-9th (1.5)

His 22-game hitting streak is the longest to start a season in the last 20 years! pic.twitter.com/DoexfI70jc

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) April 30, 2026

His highest single-season home run total also dates back to his first stint in the Arizona desert in 2019, when he hit a career-high six home runs—a mark he has already matched this year before the calendar even turned to May.

Barring a miracle, things will likely return to normal for Vargas in the coming weeks. But he'll certainly have a story to tell his grandchildren about this start to the 2026 season.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.