The New York Yankees swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the Bronx, outscoring Milwaukee 36-14, as they knocked out 15 home runs to tie the American League and National League record for most home runs in the first three games of the season. However, many look to a new revolutionary bat structure as a reason for the Yankees’ prolific home run start to the season.
Aaron Leanhardt is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He later returned to Michigan as a professor in physics from 2007 to 2014; however, Leanhardt left his teaching position to become an assistant coach first in the Independent Atlantic League and later in a community college in Montana before joining the Yankees as a Minor League hitting coach in 2018.
Leanhardt quickly climbed through the organization’s ranks, with many players commenting on the intuitiveness of Leanhardt’s explanations of his hitting advice. In 2024, Leanhardt became the organization’s first-ever “Major League Analyst.”
“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.” According to the official Major League Baseball Rule Book.
The Bat shifts the density of the barrel from the traditional position towards the top of the bat, to an almost unorthodox location, shifting more towards the bat’s handle.
There have been many innovations in baseball bats over the past few years, the first being Axe Bats. Axe Bats slant the knob at the end of the bat to replicate the handle, it was originally popularized by players such as Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Another example is No-Knob Bats — bats without knobs at all, that slightly adjust weight distribution, used lovingly by Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets.
Players around the league have adapted and begun to use this innovation in the sport. Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds went 4-5 with two home runs, four runs, and 11 total bases in his first game using the Torpedo Bat. Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who set the record for hardest-hit exit velocity in 2024 at 121.5 was in the 99th percentile for average exit velocity at 95.5 and began using the Torpedo Bat this year.
However, Cruz improved one of his struggles, the Launch Angle Sweet Spot percentage, by using the new innovation, going from the 27th percentile (32.1%) to the 97th percentile (51.7%). By shifting the sweet spot of the bat from the generic location to lower towards the handle, Cruz’s more compact swing, due to his 6’ 7” height, allows for a higher percentage of better swings from the newly minted centerfielder.
Finally, the possibly most improved, Yankee shortstop Anthony Volpe, entering his junior season, went from a Baseball-Savant batting run value in the 4th percentile (-16) in 2024 to the 87th percentile (4) to begin the 2025 season. Volpe homered just twelve times in 160 games and a very much below average .657 OPS, producing an 86 OPS+ (100 is the average) in the previous year, but so far this season, he’s launched four long balls, a .908 OPS and 160 OPS+. Volpe has also improved immensely in almost every category: average exit velocity (22nd percentile to 66th percentile), expected slugging percentage (8th to 75th), and barrel percentage (12th to 86th).
In an interview with Bryan Hoch, Volpe explained his thoughts on the Torpedo Bats. “The concept makes so much sense. I know I’m bought in,” Volpe said. “The bigger you can have the barrel where you hit the ball, it makes sense to me.”
Many players are intrigued by the bat, using the Torpedo Bat in batting practice to test the hype around the invention. However, some have also decided against it. San Diego Padres’ Brandon Lockridge explained that he tested the Torpedo Bat during Spring Training, yet chose to stick with his current baseball bat. Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who has won the MVP in two of the last three seasons (2022 and 2024), decided against changing over to the Torpedo Bat with many of his other teammates. It seems to have not mattered, though, with the bat hitting a league-leading six home runs so far this season, driving in 20 runs.
The Torpedo Bat is more of a situational tool, which relies heavily on the batter rather than the bat itself, usually working better with players who get jammed more often because of their swing path.
After the Yankees opening series, many fans and even a few players sided against the Torpedo Bats, looking for a possibility to ban the innovation.
“Baseball has always done this,” said Nolan Belcher, GCSU’s baseball head coach. “Hitters adjust, and then pitchers adjust right back.”
It’s true that whenever batters make an adjustment, even one that does not involve such a drastic change as moving the bats’ sweet spot, pitchers will soon follow, learning new ways to attack hitters.
Just a few years ago, Major League Baseball introduced the pitch clock, forcing pitchers to speed up their motions in a way to decrease the length of baseball games and retain viewer attention. Many immediately thought this was an advantage for batters, forcing pitchers to potentially become uncomfortable in comparison to when they had more time, yet pitchers, as usual, quickly adjusted, and the pitch clock has become a beloved addition to the sport, successfully, decreasing the average game time from a little over three hours to about two hours and 45 minutes.
With the popularity of the new bats growing, Minor League Baseball will shortly take suit, and if the bats stand, it’s possible that NCAA Baseball may soon follow in the Major’s footsteps.
“We would try it out, and if we thought it was in the best interest of the player, we’d certainly give him a shot and let him use it,” Blecher said.
As of now, the bat has not been banned by Major League Baseball, but it’s also not a cheat code for every player. It depends on the player’s mechanics for the success of the bat, and right now, the New York Yankees have seen that success. Only time will tell to see how far the Torpedo Bats will make it in baseball, but it seems as of right now, many players will continue to give it a shot, trying to torpedo some baseballs out of the ballpark.