Bat Speed vs Exit Velocity: What’s the Difference for Hitters?

Intro

Bat speed and exit velocity are two of the most talked-about metrics in modern hitting. They’re often mentioned together, but they describe very different things — and misunderstanding the difference can lead hitters to train the wrong variable.

If you’re new to Bat Speed University, start with our first lesson, The Science of Bat Speed: Why It's the #1 Competitive Edge You Can Train, where we define the fundamentals that this lesson builds on. This post expands on that foundation by explaining how bat speed and exit velocity are connected — and how they’re not.

Bat Speed vs Exit Velocity — A Simple Definition

Bat speed measures how fast the bat is moving at contact, while exit velocity measures how fast the ball leaves the bat after contact.

Bat speed describes the swing itself. Exit velocity describes the result of that swing.

Understanding this distinction is critical for effective training.

What Is Bat Speed?

Bat speed is the speed at which the barrel of the bat is moving at the moment it makes contact with the ball.

Bat speed reflects how efficiently a hitter accelerates the bat through the hitting zone. It is influenced by sequencing, timing, and how freely the barrel moves — not simply how hard a player swings.

Bat speed exists before the ball is ever hit. It is a characteristic of the swing.

What Is Exit Velocity?

Exit velocity is the speed of the ball as it leaves the bat after contact. Exit velocity depends on multiple factors:

• Bat speed

• Quality of contact

• Barrel accuracy

• Timing

Exit velocity is an outcome. It tells you what happened after the swing was completed.

How Bat Speed and Exit Velocity Are Connected

Bat speed is one of the biggest contributors to exit velocity. All else being equal, a faster-moving bat will produce a faster-moving ball.

However, exit velocity is not a perfect proxy for bat speed. A hitter can produce high exit velocity with:

• Excellent timing

• Perfect barrel contact

• A hittable pitch

That same hitter may still struggle against higher velocity or better pitching if underlying bat speed is limited.

Bat speed represents a hitter’s capacity. Exit velocity represents a specific result.

Why Exit Velocity Alone Can Be Misleading

Exit velocity is easy to measure and easy to celebrate, which is why it often gets more attention than bat speed. But focusing on exit velocity alone can hide important limitations.

For example:

• A hitter may show high exit velocity on mistakes but struggle consistently

• A hitter may plateau because bat speed is not improving

• A hitter may chase contact quality instead of swing efficiency

Exit velocity tells you what happened on a single swing. Bat speed helps explain why it happened — and whether it will repeat.

Why Bat Speed Is the Better Training Focus

Bat speed is more controllable and more trainable than exit velocity.

Hitters can train:

• Earlier acceleration of the bat

• More efficient energy transfer

• Freer barrel movement through the zone

Exit velocity improves when the inputs improve. Bat speed is the most important of those inputs.

When bat speed increases, exit velocity tends to follow — more consistently, against more pitching types, and under game conditions.

A Simple Way to Think About It

Bat speed is the engine. Exit velocity is the speedometer.

The speedometer tells you how fast you went.

The engine determines how fast you can go.

Training the engine raises the ceiling.

What Hitters Should Measure and Monitor

Both bat speed and exit velocity have value when used correctly.

Bat speed is best used to:

• Track swing efficiency

• Measure development over time

• Identify plateaus early

Exit velocity is best used to:

• Evaluate contact quality

• Confirm that bat speed gains are transferring to the ball

The mistake is choosing one metric instead of understanding how they work together.

Key Takeaways

• Bat speed and exit velocity are not the same thing.

• Bat speed describes how fast the bat moves.

• Exit velocity describes how fast the ball leaves the bat.

• Bat speed is a major contributor to exit velocity, but not the only one.

• Training bat speed raises a hitter’s long-term performance ceiling.

There are many metrics used to evaluate hitting performance, but bat speed is the most trainable and most predictive of long-term success. One of the tools we consistently recommend for developing bat speed is the ProVelocity Bat, an advanced baseball and softball training system designed to improve bat speed, swing efficiency, and reinforce proper sequencing and bat pathways. For a detailed breakdown of how it works, see the product review linked here.

If you want a deeper, big-picture explanation of why bat speed is the most trainable competitive advantage in hitting, we break down the science in our previous post, What Is Bat Speed? Why It Matters More Than Strength in Baseball & Softball.