Baseball Savant has just unveiled a three‑year public dataset that tracks the exact position of a batter’s bat relative to the baseball at the moment of contact, offering a granular view of swing timing and placement.
The new metrics capture whether a swing is early or late, high or low, inside or outside the ball, and how the bat’s barrel aligns with the sweet spot, giving analysts a clearer picture of hitter precision.
Swing Metrics Revolution
Among the standout findings, Payton Tolle’s fastball shows a sharp rise in swings that finish underneath the ball, climbing from 45% last season to 62% this year, suggesting a more downward plane that can generate more ground balls.
Conversely, Brayan Bello’s sinker has lost effectiveness, dropping from a 36% success rate to just 22%, indicating that hitters are better timing its descent.
Garrett Whitlock’s slider continues to be a trouble‑maker, inducing flawed swings on 30% of pitches, while his cutter has proven especially potent against left‑handed hitters, generating a 22.1% swinging‑strike rate.
Ranger Suarez’s cutter ties up right‑handed batters 21% of the time, and Sonny Gray’s four‑seam fastball leverages cut action to tie up lefties effectively, underscoring the strategic value of pitch movement.
On the offensive side, Masataka Yoshida leads the team with a 38% perfect‑contact rate, while Wilyer Abreu endures a 25% whiff rate and a .219 average against fastballs, highlighting the mixed results for Boston’s lineup.
The data, now accessible via Baseball Savant’s platform, is already being dissected by teams and analysts alike, promising to reshape how pitchers refine their arsenals and how hitters prepare for upcoming seasons.