Exit velocity & launch angle: measuring the swing itself
Same swing, same contact — a single in April, a lineout in May. What was actually real?
Since 2015, radar and cameras track every batted ball: how fast it left the bat (exit velocity) and at what angle (launch angle). This flips analysis from outcomes to process — the ball off the bat is what the hitter did; where it landed involves fielders and fate.
Reading the two numbers
EV: 88–89 mph average, 95+ is 'hard-hit', 110+ is elite raw power. It stabilizes absurdly fast — 40 batted balls tell you more about true power than three months of AVG. LA sorts contact into grounders (<10°), liners (10–25°, the money zone), flies (25–50°), and popups (50°+). Statcast now also measures bat speed directly (~71 mph average).
Max EV is the fun one: one swing at 117 mph proves strength no pitcher can take away. Scouts' 'raw power' grade became a measurement. On the spray chart on any player page, hover dots to see each ball's EV.
How this stat lies to you
- Average EV blends everything — a hitter mixing 110-mph rockets with weak popups can average the same as a steady 90-mph guy (that's why hard-hit% and barrels exist).
- More launch angle isn't always better — 28° with a 92-mph EV is a routine flyout.
- One 117-mph swing proves strength, not that the hitter gets to it often.
Check yourself
1. Why do analysts trust EV after ~40 batted balls but not AVG after 40 hits' worth of ABs?
2. A ball at 105 mph / 22° is most likely a…