Exit velocity increased, good results?

A few weeks ago, I read an article on a well-known sports media website. In the article, the baseball writer indicated that a former MVP’s exit velocity dropped in the 2023 season but another former MVP’s exit velocity increased last season.

 

High exit velocity is one of hitters’ goals. A hard-hit ball would make the defense have less time to react. After reading the article, I began to think about a question.

 

In the 2023 season, which player’s exit velocity did increase significantly?

 

Exit Velocity Changes (2022~2023, min PA: Qualified)
Player	2022 (MPH)	2023 (MPH)	+
Jonathan India	85.1	89.5	4.4
J.D. Martinez	89.1	93.4	4.3
Connor Joe	85.3	88.9	3.6
Ronald Acuna Jr.	91.2	94.7	3.5
J.P. Crawford	85.1	88.3	3.2
Max Kepler	89.1	91.9	2.8
Sean Murphy	88.7	91.5	2.8

 

Back in 2022, Jonathan India played 103 games for the Reds and finished the season with a .249/.327/.378 slash line. Additionally, his hard-hit rate was 28.8% and his average exit velocity was 85.1 mph. Last year, India’s exit velocity increased to 89.5 mph, which is the highest by far in his career. His hard-hit rate went up to 38.6%. He slashed .244/.338/.407 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI over 119 games. India’s OPS increased from .705 to .745.

 

J.D. Martinez played for the Red Sox and was selected to the 2022 All-Star game. However, he finished the 2022 season with an OPS below .800. In 2022, Martinez’s average exit velocity was 89.1 mph and his hard-hit rate was 41.7%. In 2023, J.D. Martinez played 113 games for the Dodgers, slashing .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs and 103 RBI. His OPS rose to .893. The main reason might be clear. His hard-hit rate increased to 55.1% and his average exit velocity was over 93 mph.

 

In addition, Connor Joe was traded to the Pirates in December 2022. In 2022, he was playing for the Rockies, hitting .238/.338/.359 with 7 home runs and 28 RBI. His hard-hit rate was 33.8% and his average exit velocity was 85.3 mph. Last year, his hard-hit rate was over 40% and his exit velocity was 88.9 mph. And his OPS was .760.

 

Well, Ronald Acuna Jr. finished the 2022 season with a .266/.351/.413 slash line. He played 119 games in 2022 and crushed 15 home runs. Back then, his hard-hit rate was 49.7%, which wasn’t bad, and his exit velocity was 91.2 mph. Nonetheless, in 2023, he was unstoppable. His average exit velocity increased to 94.7 mph and his hard-hit rate was over 55%. Acuna Jr. had a fantastic 2023 season, hitting .337/.416/.596 with 41 home runs and 106 RBI.

 

Finally, J.P. Crawford’s exit velocity increased from 85.1 mph to 88.3 mph and his hard-hit rate rose from 29.7% to 36.2%. Moreover, his OPS was .675 in 2022 and last season, it’s the first time that he finished the season with an OPS over .800. Furthermore, Max Kepler’s average exit velocity reached a career-high 91.9 mph. Sean Murphy’s exit velocity increased from 88.7 mph to 91.5 mph and it’s the first time that he crushed at least 20 home runs in a single season.

Without doubt, exit velocity can tell us something about the batter. Normally, with an increase in exit velocity, good results might come. Among those players whose exit velocity increased to at least 3 mph, they each had a higher OPS than they did in the previous year. In particular, Ronald Acuna Jr. had an MVP season. Furthermore, J.D. Martinez, who’s still a free agent now, should be on some teams’ radar because of his ability to make solid contact.