Giancarlo Stanton is in the zone

Last night, Giancarlo Stanton hit his 34th home run of the season, tying for the second-most homers in a season in Marlins history.

When healthy, Stanton has been a force with a .952 OPS, batting .283 and leading the majors with .600 slugging percentage. 

Take a look at his slugging this season:

It is apparent from the graphic above that pitchers need to fear throwing Stanton a strike.

Look at Stanton's effectiveness at pitches in the strike zone:

His numbers are overwhelming. On pitches in the strike zone, Stanton is hitting .358, slugging .795, with an OPS of 1.161. Against lefties his numbers are even better with pitches in the strike zone hitting .373 and slugging .851 

Here are the Marlins who have hit at least 30 homers in a season:

Rk	Player	HR	Year	G	AB	RBI
1	Gary Sheffield	42	1996	161	519	120
2	Giancarlo Stanton	34	2012	113	413	79
3	Giancarlo Stanton	34	2011	150	516	87
4	Miguel Cabrera	34	2007	157	588	119
5	Dan Uggla	33	2010	159	589	105
6	Hanley Ramirez	33	2008	153	589	67
7	Carlos Delgado	33	2005	144	521	115
8	Miguel Cabrera	33	2005	158	613	116
9	Miguel Cabrera	33	2004	160	603	112
10	Mike Jacobs	32	2008	141	477	93
11	Dan Uggla	32	2008	146	531	92
12	Mike Lowell	32	2003	130	492	105
13	Dan Uggla	31	2009	158	564	90
14	Dan Uggla	31	2007	159	632	88
15	Derrek Lee	31	2003	155	539	92
16	Cliff Floyd	31	2001	149	555	103
17	Preston Wilson	31	2000	161	605	121

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/12/2012.