On May 13, 2024, MLB released new bat tracking data through Statcast, available on Baseball Savant.

This data includes metrics such as average bat speed, swing length, and the frequency of squaring up a ball on the bat's sweet spot.

Since different parts of a bat can move at different speeds, an individual swing’s speed is measured at the point six inches from the head of the bat, what is popularly called “the sweet-spot.”

• A player’s average bat speed is the average of his top 90% of swings. A “fast swing” is 75 MPH+. Learn more here.
• A swing’s squared-up rate compares how much exit velocity was attained to how much potential exit velocity was possible based on bat speed and pitch speed. Learn more here.
• A “blast” is a swing that squares up the ball and does so with a fast swing. Learn more here.
• Swing length tracks the sum distance traveled by the head of the bat in XYZ space from the start of data until the contact point. Learn more here.
• A “sword,” popularized by Pitching Ninja, expresses the art of forcing a batter to take an uncomfortable, awkward swing. Learn more here.

The Nats Report will be using this data throughout our reporting moving forward.

The new bat-tracking leaderboards are available at Baseball Savant and are updated daily.

Check out the tool here.

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