The biggest story in Major League Baseball this season has been the revolution of the “torpedo bats”. These specialized bats have been a hot topic due to their unique build, which seemingly produces a boost in power. As opposed to a traditional bat, these torpedo bats place more wood in the sweet spot of the bat, which, if hit well, strikes the ball with more force. While these bats may look a bit funky, they are legal as they comply with the MLB rulebook on bat dimensions.
Not new for the Cubs
Turns out these Torpedo bats are not new information to some Chicago Cubs players. They may have been one of the first teams to utilize them in the game, dating back to last season.
Cubs players Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner have taken a swing at the new trend in Major League Baseball and have been using torpedo bats of their own to increase their offensive production.
That’s a good early return for Dansby Swanson
Swanson has seen good results thus far. For a hitter who notoriously gets off to a slow start, Swanson has hit well in the Cubs’ first eight games this season. So far, he is slashing .258/.324/.548 for a .872 OPS. Swanson’s career high mark of an .809 OPS came in the 2020 shortened COVID season, where he played in all sixty games.
While a five-game sample size is hardly enough to be taken seriously, one positive note is his increased home run rate. Last season, Swanson homered in one out of every 33.375 at-bats. His current rate is at 15.5, which puts him on pace to slug over thirty homers if he stays healthy for a full season.
Swanson has never been a massive power threat, with his most home runs in a single season being 27. Swanson is known as a defensive weapon who is an average MLB hitter. Maybe now, with the torpedo bats, he can add that element to his game as well.
When asked about his stance on the new torpedo bats by the Chicago Tribune, Swanson said, “There’s nothing that anyone’s doing that’s against bat regulations.” He also said, “It’s just a different way of creating something. I think it’s a cool thing that ideology has been challenged a little bit.”
Despite starting slow, Hoerner has bounced back to also enjoy a nice start to this season as well. In five games, Hoerner is hitting .350/.409/.350 for a .759 OPS. Hoerner has been making his return to play after having offseason arm surgery. His numbers thus far indicate that he is feeling fine and that the bat is helping him with some more pop.
Expect more Torpedo bats to pop up soon
It’s a near certainty that we will see more and more players begin to experiment with the torpedo bats. There will inevitably be some drawbacks to the new design, and it will be interesting to see if MLB addresses the increased offense. The Yankees recently clobbered 15 homers in their first three games, which tied a major league record.
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