How the Torpedo Bat Saved Cal Raleigh's Season

The torpedo bat frenzy that took over the MLB world early on may have subsided, but that doesn't mean the effects aren't being seen throughout the league to varying degrees.

One player who made the switch two weeks into the season may be the best case for adding the specialized bat to a hitter's arsenal - Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

"Big Dumper" as he's affectionately known by fans, is suddenly putting out some of the best numbers of his career after an early-season struggle.

He’s currently on pace for 56 home runs, tied with Eugenio Suarez of the Diamondbacks for the lead in MLB. His .893 OPS would be a career mark by a substantial margin - previous high of .773 in 2022.

Raleigh started the season hitting just .184 with two home runs through the Mariners’ first 13 games. Then, he picked up the Torpedo bat for their series vs. the Rangers and proceeded to hit a home run on his first hit with the new bat, and followed it up to make it  a homer in three straight games. He proceeded to tally six home runs in his first six games with a torpedo bat.

A switch hitter, Raleigh notably began only using the torpedo style bat from the left side, and while he bats lefty more often, five of those six home runs came from the left off the torpedo bat.

On The Cal Raleigh Show, he said himself that the bat doesn’t feel any different - “it honestly feels pretty similar to the bat that I’ve been swinging.”

The Numbers Behind Cal Raleigh's Ascension

Barrel, Hard Hit, Sweet Spot and Exit Velocity courtesy of baseball savant.

The underlying numbers strongly support the bat giving Raleigh a boost. He’s making higher quality and harder contact. His Exit Velocity, Sweet Spot and Barrel % are all at career highs, trending up over a three-year period, yet with the biggest jump between 2024 and 2025. His current HR pace, which is likely to taper down, would blow past his previous career best. A more modest projection of 35-40 home runs would still set a career-high mark.

When comparing just his numbers this year from before and after the torpedo bat switch, it’s just as telling. Entering the Rangers series with a .633 OPS and .347 SLG, he came out on the other side of his 6 HR in 6 games with a .916 OPS and .595 SLG.

The Dimers model has taken his improved form into consideration, with his average home run probability rising from a 19-20% average through the first two weeks to over a 23% average. This is also up from last year’s average projection from the Dimers model by an increase of 2.3%. His power display launched him into the Top 5 of our most recent Home Run Power Rankings.

Considering his first 13 games saw him trending in the opposite direction, the case for the improvements being related to, if not dependent upon the torpedo bat seems clear, though it’s a fairly small sample size and will need to be measured as a full season against his previous campaigns to see the long-term effects.

As the season unfolds and more data becomes available, we may see the numbers regress to the mean or build the case for why some players should absolutely be giving the torpedo bat a swing.

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