Torpedo bats are not just for major leaguers. New York Yankees outfield prospect Spencer Jones will use a torpedo bat in Double-A this season, he revealed Tuesday. Jones said the organization introduced him to the new bat model near the end of spring training and he liked the way it felt, so he’s going to give it a try during the regular season.
“They showed me that my bat barrel was like 20th percentile in barrel size,” Jones said Tuesday. “Why am I using a bat with a tiny barrel when I can maximize that? It’s obvious for me to start using a bigger barrel.”
Jones, 23, was New York’s first-round draft pick in 2022. He played the entire season in Double-A a year ago and hit a respectable .259/.336/.452 with 17 home runs, though that slash line came with 200 strikeouts. Jones struck out in close to 40% of his plate appearances and became the first Yankees’ minor leaguer ever with a 200-strikeout season.
‘I think they’ll be banned’: What’s the future of MLB’s torpedo bats? Insiders weigh in on baseball’s new fad
R.J. Anderson
Jones is a massive human with long levers (listed at 6-foot-7 and 235 lbs.), and given his strikeout issues, it only makes sense to try a bat with more optimized barrel. Because of those 200 strikeouts, we did not rank Jones among New York’s top three prospects entering 2025. MLB Pipeline ranks him third in the system. Here’s part of their write-up:
Jones creates well-above-average power and upper-end exit velocities. But his naturally long left-handed swing makes him late on a lot of pitches and resulted in a 40 percent swing-and-miss rate in 2024, including even more alarming empty contact rates on all fastballs (36 percent) and in-zone heaters (33 percent). The Yankees are working with him on adjustments that would keep his bat on a more level plane and in the zone longer.
Several minor leaguers, not just those with the Yankees, have acknowledged trying torpedo bats in the Arizona Fall League last year. They have been in the game for over a year now, though they are not widely used, at least not until the Yankees broke them out during their weekend sweep of the Brewers.
Yankees star Aaron Judge said he will not use the torpedo bats because his track record “speaks for itself.” One front office person who spoke to CBS Sports believes they will be banned.
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