My son recently went to a college showcase where they measured his bat speed. This is the first time we have encountered this. It was reported that his best tee exit velocity was 79mph. The coach that did the evaluation stated that this was very good. My question is, is 79mph good for a 16yo High School Junior. (Yes he has a late birthday. Early July.) What speed should he be targeting? Thank you.
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Exit speed is an interesting topic. Some coaches base their whole hitting evaluation of a player on it and it's quite ridiculous. Obviously, it's somewhat important because bat speed will allow a hitter to wait longer before starting his swing, thus giving him more time to recognize the pitch and decide to swing or not.
However, bat speed will never compensate for sound pitch recognition, a good approach, and an understanding of what the pitcher and defense is trying to do to you.
In short, I guess what I'm trying to say is high baseball IQ will beat incredible bat speed at a higher level. (provided that the hitter has a minimum of athletic ability; i.e a good enough bat speed to catch up with a fastball)
Per the Demarini Top 96 Evaluation sheet: Based on hitting a line drive off of a tee with a BBCOR bat.
High School - 63-78 mph with 69 considered average.
College - 82-93 with low level at 82-86, mid level at 87 - 89, and high level at 90-93
Pro Level - 102
With added strength and maturity, he will probably get his bat speed up to the low 80's and if he focuses on practice with the tee for the exit speed test, maybe another 1-2 mph. So, with strength, maturity and practice, 84-85 should be attainable in time.
To avoid confusion in this thread.
Bat speed is the speed of the bat itself. (This is problematic since you don't know where in the swing plane you achieved the speed - ex after contact, etc.)
Exit speed is the speed of the ball after it hits the bat. (Tee is best for consistency, or use same pitch speed, and bat weight/type)
Exit speed is a great indicator for scouting (if same pitch speed and bat type/weight). Great MLB (wood bat, and 90 mph pitches) exit speeds are 100+. Stanton hit 119.9 this year.
What speed should he be targeting?
Just get faster each time. Try different things and see if they are faster.
I don't think the focus on one particular number is all that helpful. It is an easy number to measure, but what does it really tell you. All things being equal, the higher exit speed should equate to a longer ball. But in the real world, rarely are all things equal. IMO, hitting the moving pitch is a better indicator of future performance.
Young man from Colorado by the name of Greg Pickett is playing in the PG 17u World Series this week in Arizona. He hit a home run off a mid 80s pitch that TrackMan got at 106.8 with an estimated distance of 449'. Not unusual for that kid.
Sigh, bat speed means nothing. It could be a long loopy swing open gate swing. Are you in control when you swing 100%? Amateur hitters proly swing only 80% in a game. This can be applied to hitting off a tee since the ball is stationary and can sing 100%. Also since ball is stationary less force is needed to move the balls inertia. in regards to force, it's not the acceleration that's the defineing variable, it's the ability of the batter to put his mass behind the bat
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LABall,
With respect I would have to disagree that bat speed means "nothing". It may not be the most important thing, but if everything else were equal (ability to square, strength/weight/mass, pitch recognition, etc.) then bat speed becomes a big separator.
There is out of control bat speed and there is under control bat speed. I agree that "control" is most important. There have been successful MLB hitters with below average bat speed.
Saw big kid at showcase with bat speed listed at 90.
Went 0-5 in game.
Saw big kid at showcase with bat speed listed at 90.
Went 0-5 in game.
90 bat speed would be better than most MLB hitters. I'll take him.
90 bat speed would be better than most MLB hitters. I'll take him.
In 2006 Pujols had his bat speed measured at 87mph. 0 for 5 or not, that kid is better then Pujols. 
Bat speed alone doesn't get the job done. However, take Pujols or anyone else and subtract a good amount of bat speed from their norm and the results will not be as good.
Even though I disagreed with LABall when he stated bat speed means nothing. What he mentioned at the end of his post is the most important thing. And it is possible to have 100mph bat speed and still be a bad hitter. Similar to a pitcher having a 100mph fastball yet not being a good pitcher. However, having a 100 mph fastball tends to create a lot more opportunities than having 100mph bat speed.
Saw big kid at showcase with bat speed listed at 90.
Went 0-5 in game.
90 bat speed would be better than most MLB hitters. I'll take him.
Go ahead, he's gotten no interest from anyone I know of. They look at him because of his size but he doesn't produce in real games. Some players showcase better than they play. Bet I could find a large bodybuilder who can hit 90 off a tee, doesn't mean he's a baseball player.
90 bat speed would be better than most MLB hitters. I'll take him.
In 2006 Pujols had his bat speed measured at 87mph. 0 for 5 or not, that kid is better then Pujols.
Better at what? I've never seen anyone hit a HR off a tee
Saw big kid at showcase with bat speed listed at 90.
Went 0-5 in game.
I'm guessing here, but I imagine you are confusing exit speed with bat speed.
Anyone with a wood bat speed of 90 will be looked at. Even a body builder. I could teach them how to hit the ball.
Someone with an exit speed of 90 would not be so great.
My bad
yes he was 90 exit tee number hitting ball off tee
My 16u son was recorded at 96 a few weeks ago off a wood bat... was wondering how that compares to other players? Pros? Collegiate guys?
90 bat speed would be better than most MLB hitters. I'll take him.
In 2006 Pujols had his bat speed measured at 87mph. 0 for 5 or not, that kid is better then Pujols.
Better at what? I've never seen anyone hit a HR off a tee
I've seen Dante Bichette Sr. do it many, many times...
These are wood bats, and pitched balls.
These speeds would be comparable to posted MLB exit speeds.
These speeds could be roughly 8 mph higher if they used non-wood bats. Their exit speed would also be approximately 17 mph slower using a tee.
About a month ago my 14u son was measured at 85mph off a tee with a wood bat. He hasn't had it measured off a pitched ball as of yet. Maybe he'll get that info at the PG Mid-Atlantic Underclass in late August. Most of the kids at the PBR event that he did were below 85mph with BBCOR. Maybe 2 were higher (highest was 90mph), also with BBCOR. Why my son elected to be the only one swinging wood, I have no idea.
