There is no doubt possessing bat speed is a crucial trait for a professional hitter.
The math backs the core Driveline development tenet. Bat speed enjoys a strong correlation with on-field hitting performance. This is an empirical truth.
The idea that bat speed matters is hardly a new idea – Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron all had plus bat speed – but we can quantify it today thanks to modern tech.
And if we can measure something, we can train it. Training and improving bat speed is a core focus in what we do to help hitters.
But that is not the only thing our coaches do.
We also train bat paths, contact points, and hone approaches. If players need to add strength or mobility, we focus on that as well. Training is comprehensive and individualized.
Consider the case of St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, one of the season’s top breakouts and another Driveline success story.
When Walker arrived at our facility early last offseason to train with Andrew Aydt, now coaching with the Washington Nationals, he did not have a bat speed problem. Walker already owned elite underlying power as seen in his average 78 mph bat speed last season, which ranked at the 99th percentile.
Bat speed was not a focus with Walker, rather, it was his bat path – and how he was arriving to that suboptimal path.
At the beginning of the offseason, Walker visited our Launchpad and had a full analysis done of his swing. He wanted to understand why his underlying bat speed was resulting in below-average results including a second percentile expected batting average and 16th expected slugging last season in addition to poor traditional measures.
What Walker learned was that he suffered from a mechanical inefficiency. And once identified, he began fixing it at Driveline and, at Cressey Sports Performance where he also trains.
“It was really how forward I was coming when I was hitting and what we learned is that when I’m hitting off my backside, I’m driving the ball in the gaps way more consistently,” said Walker to reporters of what he discovered at Driveline. “(Now) I am not rolling over. I’m not getting that top spin on the ball. The focus is really how far back I’m onto my hip, and how I’m hitting on my backside rather than me focusing on launch angle.”
Interestingly, his previous focus on launch angle had led to poor results. It took an understanding of flaws to reach a better physical outcome, a better swing.
This season, Walker’s average bat speed is down a tick to 77 mph – though still very much elite – but his average attack angle changed significantly, increasing from 6 to 9 degrees. The percentage of time he is taking an optimal angle with a swing is up to 60% early this season compared to 48% last season. He’s dropped his ground ball rate by 15.5 percentage points to 32% this season, which is the eighth greatest decline among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances last year.
We want a hitter like Walker to get the ball in the air often.