The Yankees over the weekend, scored 36 runs, and 15 homers. Which is truly remarkable from a fans standpoint. But there new-found success, isn’t just all on them. Recently, someone from the Yankees found out that batters like Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr, we’re not hitting the ball in the bats ‘sweet spot’. The ‘sweet spot’ is directly where the barrel of the bat is. Once you hit that, you almost have the perfect combination of exit velocity and launch angle. Their fix was quite simple, they made new bats that moved more of the wood into the label, so the hardest part of the bat strikes the ball.

Michael Kay explains that the Yankees made new bats "where they moved a lot of the wood into the label so the harder part of the bat is going to strike the ball."

Seems relevant today… pic.twitter.com/cpldzigdrT

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 29, 2025

It’s an amazing idea, and i can not be upset at the Yankees for finding something that works. A batter like Anthony Volpe, who was well under the league average for barrels last season, is already up to 2 this season, with two home runs. Volpe is also hitting the ball harder then he ever has in his career.

Also, Chisholm, who despite being above the league average for barrels, didn’t get his third homerun last season until April 28th. In just three games against the Brewers, he has already reached that mark. Leaving the series with a 1.667 OPS and a .417 AVG. Chisholm last season batted a .256 in 562 AB’s.

The Yankees’ analytics department found that Anthony Volpe often makes contact near the label of his bat rather than the barrel. To adjust, he modified his Victus bats by adding more wood where he tends to hit the ball, creating a thinner barrel end. Several players, including Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and Austin Wells, are using the Torpedo bat, an innovation credited to Yankees analyst Aaron Leanhardt.

Giancarlo Stanton hinted that bat adjustments in 2024 contributed to his elbow injuries but didn’t share details. Meanwhile, players across the league, including Junior Caminero of the Rays and some Orioles, have experimented with the bat.

Bellinger, who switched to a Louisville Slugger Torpedo model this offseason, likes its weight distribution, saying it feels lighter and provides a larger sweet spot.

The Yankees in just 3 games, have a 1.231 OPS, 82 total bases, .333 AVG as a team, and 15 home runs. Making Milwaukee’s flight home, just that more unfortunate. The Brewers weren’t able to pick up a win against them and their pitchers got rocked. Nestor Cortes left New York after only 2.0 IP, his stat book reads a 36.00 ERA. Though several home runs off Brewers pitcher Nestor Cortes on Saturday came from Torpedo users, Cortes downplayed its impact, acknowledging the science behind it but saying it doesn’t bother him. Aaron Civale has 3.0 IP and left with a 15.00 ERA, he allowed three home runs.

The proof is in the pudding, these Torpedo bats WORK, and man do they work good. This made me ask myself two questions. First, is this even legal, and if it is legal, which players and teams would benefit the most from these Torpedo bats.

For this research, i used Baseball Savant MLB, where they track every stat you can possibly think of. Batters qualify for this stat/chart if they had a minimum 2.1 PA per team game for batters.

Important numbers to know, is the league average for barrels, and BBE (batted ball events) numbers.

Barrels AVG in MLB	BBE (Batted Ball Events) AVG
29.9	357.4

Are these Torpedo bats even LEGAL?!

The short answer, is yes. They are completely legal, Major League Baseball confirmed Sunday that the bats do not violate Major League rules or bat supplier regulations. Rule 3.02 states that bats cannot be more than 2.61 inches in diameter and 42 inches in length.

The long answer, is yes but how long until well one, all these teams adopt it and these games turn into high scoring affairs. Second, how long until a team complains to the MLB to outlaw them. We’ve seen how quick these players can get their hands on them with Dansby Swanson and other Cubs reportedly using a Torpedo bat yesterday game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

For example, let’s take the Tush Push in the NFL. The Eagles found a play that worked really well, where they put the biggest guys on the line, give Hurts the ball, and Saquon Barkley pushes them all into the Endzone or the First Down. Now other teams have tried to add it into their playbook but no one does it like the Eagles.

Now, the NFL owners, will vote on Tuesday to outlaw the play completely! Which makes you think, if enough owners, GM’s, players, and fans want some change. I would not be surprised to see Manfred make a in season move.

Now the MLB rule specifically states as below.

• (a) The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood. 
• NOTE: No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game (either championship season or exhibition games) until the manufacturer has secured approval from Major League Baseball of his design and methods of manufacture.
• (b) Cupped Bats. An indentation in the end of the bat up to 1¼ inches in depth is permitted and may be no wider than two inches and no less than one inch in diameter. The indentation must be curved with no foreign substance added.
• (c) The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance that extends past the 18-inch limitation shall cause the bat to be removed from the game.
• NOTE: If the umpire discovers that the bat does not conform to (c) above until a time during or after which the bat has been used in play, it shall not be grounds for declaring the batter out, or ejected from the game.
• (d) No colored bat may be used in a professional game unless approved by Major League Baseball.

The MLB has already came out and said that these bats we’re legal, but the NFL also said that when reporters asked about the play. Now i don’t see too many teams wanting this to be changed unless it creates a problem, for example really high scoring games, situations where pitchers are getting overused. But we’ve already seen other players adopt these Torpedo bats.

My final thoughts on the issue are, well it’s not illegal, so let’s see how far these Torpedo bats go, before owners start to complain.

Who Would Benefit the Most from a Torpedo Bat

First off, doing the research for this, i realized three players absolutely stand out completely from all the others in this stat. Those three are Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto. They all had above 90 barrels last season, everyone else had below 78. A huge difference at the top from the rest of the field.

As we mentioned, a barrel is when a batter hits the ball with the perfect combination of exit velocity and launch angle. Which if you have every played MLB The Show, you know that’s a PERFECT PERFECT!

Usually these plays amount to a really good hit or a home run, now we’ve seen players who we’re below the league average of barrels, starting to belt this season. Which is really awesome to see players who usually can’t hit for contact, hitting absolute bombs.

For example, let’s take a player like Dansby Swanson, who was 75th in the league for barrels last season. He reportedly used a Torpedo bat yesterday and was able to get a HR and a single, off the bat. That one HR home-run was a barrel according to Baseball Savant.

As i mentioned before, these Torpedo bats work. But who might benefit the most from them? I did some research and some players stand out more then others, but players like Ohtani, Judge, Soto and even Bobby Witt Jr don’t really need these unless the want a 100 HR season.

Qualified Batters with Barrels (Min 2.1 PA per Game)

Last, First Name	Batted Ball Events	Barrels
Bauers, Jake	184	19
Benson, Will	192	22
Contreras, Willson	205	23
Fitzgerald, Tyler	207	17
Gorman, Nolan	216	36
d’Arnaud, Travis	222	23
Alvarez, Francisco	224	15
Tucker, Kyle	225	29
Cave, Jake	229	12
Tauchman, Mike	229	17
Lowe, Josh	232	24
Naylor, Bo	236	19
Garver, Mitch	237	20
Siri, Jose	238	35
Torkelson, Spencer	238	16
Taylor, Tyrone	241	17
Wade Jr., LaMonte	245	23
Singleton, Jon	247	22
Drury, Brandon	247	9
Friedl, TJ	251	8
Moore, Dylan	251	22
Robert Jr., Luis	253	25
O’Neill, Tyler	254	44
Lee, Korey	255	19
Haniger, Mitch	255	23
Fry, David	255	19
Toglia, Michael	255	44
Jiménez, Eloy	255	20
Moreno, Gabriel	256	17
DeLuca, Jonny	257	10
Buxton, Byron	258	34
Schneider, Davis	258	31
Díaz, Elias	258	12
Marte, Starling	259	18
Rosario, Amed	260	12
Brown, Seth	261	22
Horwitz, Spencer	262	21
Correa, Carlos	262	24
Margot, Manuel	265	13
Pederson, Joc	266	34
Larnach, Trevor	268	27
Marsh, Brandon	270	27
Nootbaar, Lars	273	27
Raley, Luke	273	30
Amaya, Miguel	274	13
Rizzo, Anthony	274	11
Joe, Connor	275	13
Wells, Austin	275	25
Lowe, Brandon	275	34
Stanton, Giancarlo	276	57
Fermin, Freddy	277	9
Rojas, Johan	277	7
Sosa, Lenyn	277	17
Toro, Abraham	277	12
Realmuto, J.T.	279	29
Abreu, Wilyer	279	31
Moniak, Mickey	279	26
Triolo, Jared	281	15
Perkins, Blake	281	11
Polanco, Jorge	281	25
Adell, Jo	282	33
Massey, Michael	282	20
Freeman, Tyler	283	9
Vientos, Mark	283	40
Kelenic, Jarred	283	28
Fraley, Jake	283	9
Brennan, Will	283	13
Crow-Armstrong, Pete	285	21
Schuemann, Max	286	16
Hernández, Enrique	289	14
Estrada, Thairo	290	14
Gonzales, Nick	290	23
Kepler, Max	291	18
Perdomo, Geraldo	291	9
Crawford, J.P.	291	19
DeJong, Paul	294	30
Hayes, Ke’Bryan	294	7
Martinez, J.D.	295	44
Kirk, Alejandro	298	20
Pages, Andy	299	32
Melendez, MJ	299	25
Tellez, Rowdy	299	24
Pérez, Wenceel	300	13
Rocchio, Brayan	300	12
Canha, Mark	302	10
Renfroe, Hunter	302	20
Tatis Jr., Fernando	303	44
Yastrzemski, Mike	306	32
Hoskins, Rhys	306	39
Isbel, Kyle	306	12
Butler, Lawrence	308	34
Riley, Austin	309	46
Bailey, Patrick	309	17
Espinal, Santiago	311	6
Bader, Harrison	313	20
Caballero, José	314	16
Candelario, Jeimer	316	26
McCutchen, Andrew	317	38
Rojas, Josh	317	18
Gelof, Zack	317	28
Westburg, Jordan	321	38
Conforto, Michael	323	38
Varsho, Daulton	324	20
Jeffers, Ryan	325	27
O’Hoppe, Logan	326	39
Yoshida, Masataka	328	18
Winker, Jesse	329	25
Cowser, Colton	330	45
Lux, Gavin	331	20
Lopez, Otto	332	17
Kim, Ha-Seong	333	16
Pham, Tommy	335	24
Wong, Connor	336	21
Lopez, Nicky	337	5
Albies, Ozzie	338	21
Busch, Michael	338	38
Miranda, Jose	339	20
Thomas, Lane	340	25
Stephenson, Tyler	342	31
Langeliers, Shea	343	44
Ramos, Heliot	344	50
Ortiz, Joey	346	16
Sheets, Gavin	348	20
Harris II, Michael	349	35
Mullins, Cedric	350	17
Meyers, Jake	351	24
Sánchez, Jesús	352	43
Walker, Christian	354	47
Dubón, Mauricio	355	10
Bogaerts, Xander	355	18
Suzuki, Seiya	356	41
Soler, Jorge	356	45
Greene, Riley	358	48
McNeil, Jeff	360	11
Cruz, Oneil	364	57
Blackmon, Charlie	364	19
Lowe, Nathaniel	365	21
Urshela, Gio	365	18
Mountcastle, Ryan	365	32
France, Ty	370	27
Heim, Jonah	371	22
Turner, Justin	372	17
McCarthy, Jake	372	10
Rodgers, Brendan	372	21
Rooker, Brent	373	62
Taveras, Leody	375	22
Raleigh, Cal	376	58
Young, Jacob	377	6
O’Hearn, Ryan	377	26
Smith, Will	379	41
Morel, Christopher	381	39
Seager, Corey	381	58
Devers, Rafael	384	50
Benintendi, Andrew	384	24
Arozarena, Randy	384	32
Schwarber, Kyle	384	60
McMahon, Ryan	386	42
Langford, Wyatt	387	36
Burger, Jake	389	48
Judge, Aaron	390	105
Kiner-Falefa, Isiah	392	9
Swanson, Dansby	393	36
Betts, Mookie	397	24
Clement, Ernie	397	15
Rafaela, Ceddanne	398	30
Frelick, Sal	400	3
Doyle, Brenton	401	42
Vierling, Matt	402	30
Hernández, Teoscar	402	60
Happ, Ian	403	47
De La Cruz, Elly	403	51
Suárez, Eugenio	406	46
Marte, Ketel	407	50
Neto, Zach	407	34
Smith, Josh	407	15
Turner, Trea	408	28
Keith, Colt	408	23
García, Adolis	409	51
Chourio, Jackson	410	32
Ruiz, Keibert	410	13
Chisholm Jr., Jazz	412	40
Castro, Willi	413	29
Rodríguez, Julio	413	42
García Jr., Luis	415	33
Harper, Bryce	415	44
Nimmo, Brandon	416	38
India, Jonathan	417	32
Gurriel Jr., Lourdes	417	28
Abrams, CJ	418	29
Chapman, Matt	419	53
De La Cruz, Bryan	419	39
Bell, Josh	421	32
Stott, Bryson	422	15
Santana, Carlos	424	31
Schanuel, Nolan	426	15
Goldschmidt, Paul	428	46
Ward, Taylor	430	56
Arcia, Orlando	431	23
Kwan, Steven	431	11
Springer, George	432	40
Bellinger, Cody	432	27
Olson, Matt	435	54
Pasquantino, Vinnie	439	31
Steer, Spencer	439	28
Alonso, Pete	440	58
Adames, Willy	440	53
Ozuna, Marcell	440	68
Paredes, Isaac	443	20
Vaughn, Andrew	443	41
Bleday, JJ	448	37
Freeman, Freddie	450	41
Contreras, William	459	46
Alvarez, Yordan	461	67
Torres, Gleyber	461	29
Soto, Juan	461	91
Naylor, Josh	462	39
Merrill, Jackson	462	52
Turang, Brice	462	11
Cronenworth, Jake	463	36
Perez, Salvador	467	57
Tovar, Ezequiel	467	42
Castellanos, Nick	469	38
Reynolds, Bryan	469	45
Santander, Anthony	471	55
Carroll, Corbin	471	34
Díaz, Yandy	472	36
Machado, Manny	473	52
Profar, Jurickson	473	34
Bohm, Alec	474	32
Rutschman, Adley	475	29
Henderson, Gunnar	475	53
Burleson, Alec	478	31
Verdugo, Alex	478	27
Ohtani, Shohei	479	103
Garcia, Maikel	481	18
Diaz, Yainer	486	37
Volpe, Anthony	486	19
Winn, Masyn	486	18
Arenado, Nolan	493	16
Lindor, Francisco	494	67
Giménez, Andrés	495	14
Bregman, Alex	499	32
Peña, Jeremy	500	27
Altuve, Jose	509	33
Donovan, Brendan	511	28
Duran, Jarren	515	48
Hoerner, Nico	519	6
Guerrero Jr., Vladimir	524	72
Witt Jr., Bobby	538	77
Ramírez, José	544	47
Semien, Marcus	546	36
Arraez, Luis	611	10

Now let me remind you of how we are going to score this, 252 players qualified on Baseball Savant’s barrel stat list. Which to qualify you need a minimum 2.1 PA per team game.

We did the equation by adding all the players on one team, by barrels and BBE’s and finding the average for each team.

Barrels AVG – 897.7 ÷ 30 = 29.9

BBE AVG – 10,724 ÷ 30 = 357.4

BBE is just mainly a stat to look at in this case since the Torpedo bat is said to decrease misses.

Batters That may Benefit from a Torpedo Bat

Name	Attempts	Barrels
Kyle Tucker	225	29
J.T. Realmuto	279	29
Willi Castro	413	29
CJ Abrams	418	29
Gleyber Torres	461	29
Adley Rutschman	475	29
Jarred Kelenic	283	28
Zack Gelof	317	28
Trea Turner	408	28
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	417	28
Spencer Steer	439	28
Brendan Donovan	511	28
Trevor Larnach	268	27
Brandon Marsh	270	27
Lars Nootbaar	273	27
Ryan Jeffers	325	27
Ty France	370	27
Cody Bellinger	432	27
Alex Verdugo	478	27
Jeremy Peña	500	27
Mickey Moniak	279	26
Jeimer Candelario	316	26
Ryan O’Hearn	377	26
Luis Robert Jr.	253	25
Austin Wells	275	25
Jorge Polanco	281	25
MJ Melendez	299	25
Jesse Winker	329	25
Lane Thomas	340	25
Tommy Pham	335	24
Josh Lowe	232	24
Carlos Correa	262	24
Rowdy Tellez	299	24
Jake Meyers	351	24
Andrew Benintendi	384	24
Mookie Betts	397	24
Willson Contreras	205	23
Travis d’Arnaud	222	23
LaMonte Wade Jr.	245	23
Mitch Haniger	255	23
Nick Gonzales	290	23
Colt Keith	408	23
Orlando Arcia	431	23
Will Benson	192	22
Jon Singleton	247	22
Dylan Moore	251	22
Seth Brown	261	22
Jonah Heim	371	22
Leody Taveras	375	22
Spencer Horwitz	262	21
Pete Crow-Armstrong	285	21
Connor Wong	336	21
Ozzie Albies	338	21
Nathaniel Lowe	365	21
Brendan Rodgers	372	21
Mitch Garver	237	20
Eloy Jiménez	255	20
Michael Massey	282	20
Alejandro Kirk	298	20
Hunter Renfroe	302	20
Harrison Bader	313	20
Daulton Varsho	324	20
Gavin Lux	331	20
Jose Miranda	339	20
Gavin Sheets	348	20
Isaac Paredes	443	20
Jake Bauers	184	19
Bo Naylor	236	19
Korey Lee	255	19
David Fry	255	19
J.P. Crawford	291	19
Charlie Blackmon	364	19
Anthony Volpe	486	19
Starling Marte	259	18
Max Kepler	291	18
Josh Rojas	317	18
Masataka Yoshida	328	18
Xander Bogaerts	355	18
Gio Urshela	365	18
Maikel Garcia	481	18
Masyn Winn	486	18
Tyler Fitzgerald	207	17
Mike Tauchman	229	17
Tyrone Taylor	241	17
Gabriel Moreno	256	17
Lenyn Sosa	277	17
Patrick Bailey	309	17
Otto Lopez	332	17
Cedric Mullins	350	17
Justin Turner	372	17
Spencer Torkelson	238	16
Max Schuemann	286	16
José Caballero	314	16
Ha-Seong Kim	333	16
Joey Ortiz	346	16
Nolan Arenado	493	16
Francisco Alvarez	224	15
Jared Triolo	281	15
Ernie Clement	397	15
Josh Smith	407	15
Bryson Stott	422	15
Nolan Schanuel	426	15
Enrique Hernández	289	14
Thairo Estrada	290	14
Andrés Giménez	495	14
Miguel Amaya	274	13
Connor Joe	275	13
Will Brennan	283	13
Wenceel Pérez	300	13
Keibert Ruiz	410	13
Manuel Margot	265	13
Johan Rojas	277	7
Ke’Bryan Hayes	294	7
Sal Frelick	400	3

When analyzing MLB hitters who are at or just below the league average for barrels, it’s important to recognize that these players have room for improvement in a way that could significantly impact their performance and their team’s success. Barrels, which are essentially the perfect combination of exit velocity and launch angle, often translate into extra-base hits—whether that’s doubles, home runs, or hard-hit singles that keep rallies alive. It’s not always about hitting .310 with 70 home runs; sometimes, it’s just about putting the ball in play effectively and consistently.

Take a player like Anthony Volpe, for example. He was below the league average in barrels at one point, yet he’s now emerging as one of the Yankees’ top hitters. This is proof that even slight mechanical adjustments, improved bat speed, or better pitch selection can turn an average or below-average barreler into an offensive force.

Even elite players like Mookie Betts find themselves on this list. Now, imagine if someone like Betts were to get his hands on a Torpedo bat—a bat engineered for optimal performance. If that were to happen, the Dodgers’ lineup, already one of the most dangerous in baseball, could become even more lethal.

The Torpedo bat isn’t illegal, but as with any potential game-changing equipment, it’s only a matter of time before it starts making waves in MLB. Once the first domino falls and players begin to see the benefits, we might witness a shift in how hitters approach maximizing their barrel rate.

In the end, it all comes down to making solid contact at the right angle. For players hovering around the league average in barrels, a small adjustment could mean the difference between being an average hitter and becoming a true offensive weapon.