See the Ball, Hit it Hard

FanGraphs looks at the relationship between batter exit velocity (the speed of the ball off the bat) and offensive production:

To look at the data in a more optimistic light, it’s notable that exit velocity is so close to batting average. Batting average, like on-base percentage and slugging percentage, is a results-based stats that has a direct component-link to the overall production represented in wOBA. Exit velocity, on the other hand, represents nothing other than how hard the ball was hit. With batting average, we know that a ball dropped in and that the corresponding change in wOBA will move in the same direction. Despite lacking the result for exit velocity, the correlation is similar to batting average.

While the relationship might not be as strong as one would hope from this new technology, it is possible that improvements might provide a stronger relationship in the future. Even with the information that we have now, it is fair to say that there is a relationship with batted ball velocity and offensive production for hitters, allowing us to move forward to try to answer the next question: is exit velocity a repeatable skill?

So exit velocity by itself doesn’t tell us as much as we like. Hitting the ball hard is important, but other skills (like launch angle and ball direction) may be just as important.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1PUkuah