CSCS | Hitting Guy | @DrivelineBB Hitting Trainer
Joined October 2014
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Why does bat path need to be more vertical on inside pitches?
Simple, the barrel's sweet spot. Flatter paths push it farther away; vertical paths bring it closer, letting you get behind the ball and work uphill.
That's why flat paths get jammed inside, cast, and pop up more.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Some pretty ridiculous pitch locations turned into hits this postseason.
These are fun to watch, but they also make me think about how we're preparing hitters. How can we help them find the barrel when things get weird?
Jorge Arrate retweeted
A few swings from the Indy Ball group this morning in FL🌴featuring the new cage cameras courtesy of @drivelinekyle.
Exit velocities over 95 mph moved them to the next bat. First to get through every bat was the winner. @_lybrookV_ took it home!
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Excited to announce that I have taken a minor league hitting coach position with the Washington Nationals. I wanted to thank everyone @DrivelineBB for giving me an opportunity to grow in baseball. On to the next chapter.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Today's game: Bat Speed Wheel
The Cage Hub now features live @blastmotion bat tracking data, which allows us to score and track things like bat speed, launch angle, and smash factor in all of our games.
Here are some highlights from today's pro groups:
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Why⬆️EV?
Even the lowest-output qualified hitters in MLB this year (⬇️) peaked at 102+ mph.
Raising a hitter's ceiling brings the floor along with it & creates margin for error.
High outputs are a prerequisite at the highest levels & hitters should train accordingly.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
The Brewers have high bat speed (about +1 SD over league average as a team) and great squared up percentage per swing.
Milwaukee hitters swing the bat fast and have good barrel precision. CLE is the polar opposite, while BAL has elite-elite bat speed but poor barrel precision.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Frelick's bat speed on his Game 2 HR was 7 MPH faster than his season AVG.
A good reminder that sometimes moving the bat fast isn't a can't do, but a won't do. Encourage hitters to swing fast often.
⬇️are the top 4 largest outlier bat speeds on HRs in 2026.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
These two swings from Yandy Díaz last night are great examples of how Attack Direction does not always dictate where the ball is hit.
Both of these swings had opposite field attack directions and were hit to the left of center field.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Another very good example from World Series Game 2 about how bat speed affords you room for error.
Frelick was able to hit this ball harder than Hicks, without squaring it up as well, by swinging the bat 10mph faster.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
A slider hit Diego Castillo in the leg and the ump still called it a strike.
Next pitch, he hit his first big league home run the other way.
Four years later, he's working his way back to the show.
Full story on our YouTube.
🤖 Made with AI
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Today's Environment: Miz Monday
iPitch set to Misiorowskis' FB and avg release height using leather smashballs
s/o @Stevie_T12 for the game tracker
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Some hitters take a pitch to start their round, particularly with new drill or new pitch type from the machine. Missing out on super valuable reps from a motor learning perspective (task is most novel, hitting requires rapid adjustments, etc). Auto-takes in training...ngmi
Two hitters can have the same attack angle at contact and get there in completely different ways. Full signal attack angle shows us how the path enters the zone and how it travels to contact, so we can see what’s actually driving the number.
Art of Acquiescence - “to accept rather than fight every little thing.”
It can be a liberating feeling when you stop “caring” about the result, but I think it’s more about “accepting” whatever happens/the result.
Control what you can. You cannot fully control results.
NLCS MVP Jake Bauers shares how letting go of results helped him find a different level of freedom as a competitor.
"I think what changed for me this year was I stopped caring about results. I started caring about competing. I started caring about being in the moment and getting out of my own way."
Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to performing at your best isn't a lack of preparation or ability.
It's the pressure you place on yourself to produce a particular outcome.
You become so concerned with what you want to happen that you lose touch with what the moment actually requires.
Any performer can unlock a new level when they learn how to be fully invested in the competition without becoming imprisoned by the outcome.
🎥: Fox Sports
Jorge Arrate retweeted
More of our machine games tool, we've now added the ability to track swing decisions. This allows us to get very creative with some of our environments.
Here's @jlivingston45 absolutely dominating Banger+ off of a Fastball/ Curveball mix.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
This is a great drill for hitters with swing depth/direction issues that forces them to “create space” with the lower body and maintain their posture throughout their swing.
Jorge Arrate retweeted
While this trend is universal, there are many variables that alter the specifics — one of which is pitch location
For a typical hitter, deep➡️on time➡️out front might be:
Outside pitch — hard GB oppo➡️LD oppo gap➡️FB CF
Inside pitch — low LD to CF➡️LD pull-gap➡️HR pull-side
Jorge Arrate retweeted
Trea Turner went from one of the best shortstops in baseball to a below-average hitter in one year. What changed?
2025 → 2026:
📉 fWAR: 6.5 → 1.1
💥 wOBA: .352 → .298
🏆 2025: NL batting title (.304)
Turner’s avg and max exit velo were both down this year, despite a slight increase in bat speed from 2025. His hard hit rate and LA Sweet-Spot% also decreased, while his K% increased.
Contact quality 2025 → 2026:
⚡️ Bat speed: 71.2 → 71.7 mph
💥 Avg exit velo: 89.3 → 88.4 mph
🚀 Max exit velo: 111.7 → 110.1 mph
🔨 HardHit%: 42.1% → 39.3%
🎯 LA Sweet-Spot%: 36.8% → 32.7%
❌ K%: 16.7% → 21.0%
Turner’s batted balls were much less productive in 2026 than 2025. His oppo% went from 25.8% to 30.3%, and his air% increased by 3 points while his pull air% decreased. He also popped up nearly twice as often (4.3% → 8.0%).
But despite him going opposite field more often, his attack direction and point of contact both moved more pull-side.
While his barrel moved more pull-side in 2026, it’s likely that he struggled to release the barrel to match his direction. This would explain why he was going oppo more despite catching the ball further out in front. This was likely causing him to sidespin balls to the right side of the field and limiting his ability to flush balls in the air to the pull side, which could explain this change in ball flight.
In addition to this, his path moving further out in front coincided with his whiff rate and chase rate both increasing. He particularly struggled with pitches at the bottom of the zone.
Swing and miss 2025 → 2026:
🌀 Whiff%: 24.8% → 27.7%
⬇️ Low in-zone Whiff%: 14.9% → 20.0%
🔥 Low in-zone FB Whiff%: 6.2% → 12.6%
🪃 Low in-zone offspeed Whiff%: 16.7% → 28.6%
🔄 Offspeed Whiff%: 27.6% → 36.8%
These changes likely stem from a small mechanical change. While his bat speed improved from 2025 to 2026, his path made it harder for him to consistently square the ball up. He may benefit from a return to his 2025 bat path.
—@Stevie_T12