Torpedo Bats: A Home Run or Strike Out for Baseball’s Future?

By Chloe Agas | 20 April, 2025

Yankees’ second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. steps up to the plate with a metal custom-made torpedo bat in hand. (Pamela Smith / AP)

They’ve taken Major League Baseball by storm.

And no, I’m not talking about the Miami Marlins being in first place in the NL East after the first four games of the 2025 season or the Chicago Cubs handing the Dodgers their worst shutout loss in franchise history.

What’s actually taken the league by storm is what literally makes plays in baseball possible in the first place – but with a slight twist.

Torpedo bats are known for their rounded barrel-shaped ends and have recently raised questions about their usage in Major League Baseball games. Additionally, they have been critiqued for giving players and teams an unfair advantage. I will be diving into the spectacle that is the torpedo bat and how they may play a role in future games for Major League Baseball.

A torpedo bat is laid beside a set of batting gloves. (ESPN)

What are Torpedo Bats?

Torpedo bats can be broken down into the following elements: 

First, we have the unique barrel taper that makes the bat its kind. Deemed resting in a “non-traditional location,” according to MLB, the design caters explicitly to a design where the mass of the bat aligns with the hitter's own hands, creating a designated “sweet spot” when making contact with a baseball. For perspective, a standard bat tapers to a sweet spot located towards the end of the barrel, with mass distributed more evenly throughout the barrel. 

The design of the torpedo bat is attributed to Aaron Leanhardt, who is a former Yankees analyst. Leanhardt came up with the idea after analyzing shortstop Anthony Volpe’s swing data, noticing that Volpe tended to make contact near the label of the bat. Then, bats were custom-made, moving the wood closer to the label to accommodate Volpe’s hitting tendencies. Soon enough, other teammates began to experiment with the barrel-shaped invention. 

With the rising usage of torpedo bats, manufacturers such as Louisville Slugger and Victus Sports have partaken in working with players and engineers in designing these torpedo bats for gameplay. Although these bats have been catered towards MLB players, torpedo bats have also been made to be purchased by the public. 

Manufacturers such as Marucci, Victus, and Chandler were among the first to release torpedo bats on sale to the public, with prices ranging from $199 to $239. Following the release on March 31st, Jared Smith, the CEO of Victus said in an interview for The Phillies Show that in 14 years of making bats, the torpedo sparked the most interest. 

“It was the most popular bat that we’ve had in the first 24, 48, 72 hours,” Smith said. “You can keep adding up the numbers – it’s been the most popular drop.” 

The game that first sparked the controversy was on March 29th, when the New York Yankees scored 20 runs against the Milwaukee Brewers, with right fielder Aaron Judge hitting three out of the nine home runs struck that game, including a grand slam. 

Notably, several Yankees players – including Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt – were using custom-made bats with modified barrels. 

But the Yankees aren’t the only team that is testing the waters. Since then, other players from the Phillies, Cardinals, Reds, Cubs, and other teams have been utilizing torpedo bats during regular-season games. 

When asked about the usage of torpedo bats, Chisholm Jr. said that a torpedo bat isn’t any different. 
“I wouldn’t say it comes off the bat differently – I think I still hit the ball the same,” Chisholm Jr. said. “It gives you a feeling of feeling like you have more to work with.”

Cincinnati Reds’ shortstop Elly De La Cruz is one of multiple players utilizing torpedo bats this season. (Jeff Dean/Getty Images)

How are Torpedo Bats affecting MLB?

With this, I dove into research on statistics about batting average and velocity from MLB players who have utilized the torpedo bat this season. In an April 1 blog post by Dean Ciriaco, he found that players were averaging 89.9 mph in average exit velocity versus the 87.8 mph average in the MLB in 2024. However, it's worth noting that many of these numbers may change as the season progresses. 

Let’s take a look at Chisholm Jr.’s 2025 season stats – batting avg (.165), HR (6), OPS (.754), and average exit velocity at 88.9 – notably, he also has a barrel rate of 19.1 and a hard-hit rate of 42.6. In simpler terms, these indicate that he is consistently hitting the ball harder with better launch conditions. 

When we place torpedo bats into the bigger picture – we also begin to question how this will affect future gameplay in the MLB, such as hitting strategies where the batter maximizes an inside-out contact point with the barrel.

The rise in torpedo bats also needs to account for not only the batters at the plate, but also the pitchers who are working around them. The bat’s design features a more concentrated mass with a tapered end, it helps improve barrel control and increase hitting speed. Some fans have speculated on posts across Reddit about pitching strategies that can counteract the effectiveness of torpedo bats, such as pitching more towards the outside edge of the plate to reduce the ball’s contact with the barrel. 

With the bat essentially being custom-made to the “sweet spot” of specific hitters, I can also see why pitchers need to adopt strategies that reduce contact with the barrel. Furthermore, according to an article by ESPN, Leanhardt said that the torpedo bat in practice could increase the weight of the bat and slow down swing speed. This trade-off now presents itself as a “sweet spot” to pitching strategy, centering around velocity and timing from the mound. 

Baseball stock photo. (The Daily Telegram)

Chloe’s Catch: Are torpedo bats deemed innovative or an imbalance of the game?

I’ve deemed baseball to be a game of skill and strategy. 

One where success relies not just on physical or material matter, but on the tactics within. 

When you think about it, players have to make split-second decisions, from the pitcher deciding their sequence to the follow-through after that ball makes contact with the bat. There is a back-and-forth dynamic created from spatial awareness and mechanisms that add layers between the offense and defense of opposing teams on the field. 

As I was writing up this piece, it struck me that torpedo bats may become the new “normal” when we turn on our devices to tune in to our favorite team’s games across the country. 

The controversy surrounding the use of torpedo bats stems from speculation about unfair advantages and even allegations of cheating. 

Although the torpedo bats still meet MLB’s regulations, I argue that torpedo bats hand an unfair advantage and skews the balance between offense and defense. Think about it. Earlier, I mentioned the March 29th game, where the Yankees hit 15 home runs – nine of which were struck with torpedo bats. While some may find it intriguing, I find it concerning. An inflation of offensive statistics could threaten the balance between the offensive and defensive strategies which could potentially ruin the depth of the sport. 

Leanhardt said that “players were frustrated by the fact that pitching had gotten so good,” but with the invention of torpedo bats, instead of working around the challenge, it's like hitters are being handed a shortcut that dilutes the traditional tug-of-war the game brings. 

This shift also raises a question I ponder as I look forward to the future of the sport: Is baseball still going to stick to its core identity or has it become one big science experiment? And if we stick to reshaping the bat, how will the game be reshaped?