Over the weekend, Statcast released new data on bat speed. For the uninitiated, MLB.com's Mike Petriello has a comprehensive write-up here. It's a fascinating data set, providing insight into swing mechanics in looking at speed & length of swings, with some of the associated outcomes mixed in.
Ultimately, the new information allows us to quantify a hitter's mechanics in a way that we previously could not (beyond screengrabs & video for the keener eyes). While there is still some additional nuance to it, given how unique the profile of each individual hitter throughout the sport is, it at least gives us a picture as to who is using their mechanics in the most effective fashion possible.
Without going too far into explanation (Petriello's above write-up does a stellar job at communicating the particulars), the average swing speed in Major League Baseball is 72 MPH. A "fast" swing is classified as one over 75 MPH. Squared-up contact represents the intersection of the max exit velocity of a swing speed and the hitter maintaining at least 80 percent of that max. The data set also provides factors such as "blast", serving as the nexus of "fast" & "squared-up", and "sword" which are the silly whiffs you've seen from Pitching Ninja.
Much of the information provided is not surprising, in terms of the picture it paints. Nor are the outcomes provided by that picture. Faster and/or squared-up swings provide better results. Blasted swings provide the best results. Etc.
Most important for our purposes, however, is where the Los Angeles Dodgers land within all of this.
The most unsurprising element is where Shohei Ohtani lives within this picture. His 75.4 MPH bat speed sits in the league's top 20 qualified hitters & his blast rate, occurring on 20.4 percent of swings, trails only William Contreras & Juan Soto, respectively. He's doing that with one of the longer swings too, at 7.5 ft. Defying logic is sort of Ohtani's thing, though.
Standing in a bit of contrast in the speed game is Mookie Betts. His bat speed is actually the second slowest among Dodger regulars, but he's also demonstrating a deliberateness within that given that he's squaring up on 39 percent of his swings (the benefit of a shorter swing path). That latter figure stands as the fifth-best in baseball. If we're looking for surprise, though, it's that Betts' six swords lead the team. An interesting component given that he features the league's 12th-best overall contact rate.
With the fastest & most intentional of the LA hitters established, the shortest swing of the bunch goes to Freddie Freeman. At 6.8 ft, it's actually one of the 10 shortest swings among qualified hitters. What's interesting about Freeman's standing here, though, is that he hasn't parlayed that into as much squared-up contact as those with similarly short swings. Not that it's hurting his numbers too much in the larger context.
In a quick snapshot, it's Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández (73.9 MPH), and Andy Pages (73.8) as the team's fastest-swinging hitters. Betts, Ohtani (29.6 percent), and Will Smith (27.9) are squaring up pitches at the highest frequency.
Overall, the numbers aren't necessarily showing us something we don't know within a Dodgers context. Ohtani is mashing. Betts is hitting. And the collective figures provided illustrate the quality of the LA lineup at large. But it's a new angle at which we can evaluate hitters and, perhaps more importantly, evaluate their mechanics over the long-term.
How can you not be romantic about baseball information?