MLB Exec Says 'Torpedo' Bats 'Weren't a Secret' Before Yankees Used Them vs. Brewers

The New York Yankees reportedly aren't the only MLB club attempting to increase players' hitting power with custom "Torpedo" bats.

One NL executive told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand the custom bats, designed to be densest in the spots where the hitter is most likely to connect with the ball, have "kind of been a thing over the past year or so."

“I think some guys might like them, but I’ve also spoken with players who just don’t like them at all," the NL executive told Feinsand. "The Yankees are bringing a lot of publicity to them with their performance thus far, but they weren’t a secret in the industry prior to this weekend.”

An AL executive meanwhile told Feinsand they believe the Yankees tying an MLB record with 15 home runs in their first three games of the 2025 season will help bring more publicity to the bats.

"It seems like they could provide a small but meaningful advantage,” the AL executive told Feinsand. “People have been using them for a while, and nobody said boo until this home run barrage.

"Great marketing. I expect more players will start to try them.”

The "Torpedo" bat was invented by Aaron Leanhardt, who formerly served a Yankees analyst before joining the Miami Marlins as field coordinator this season, per MLB.com's Christina De Nicola.

Leanhardt, a former University of Michigan professor who has a doctorate in physics from MIT, began developing the bat while working with Yankees' minor league affiliates in 2022, per The Athletic's Brendan Kuty.

Former infielder Kevin Smith, who played with the Yankees organization in 2024, also credited Leanhardt with the invention of the bat.

Leanhardt said some Yankees players were using the Torpedo bats during the 2024 season, per Kuty, but that “the entire industry kind of caught wind of it” before “it exploded in the offseason.”

Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells have all been using Torpedo bats during the Yankees' 3-0 start to the 2025 season, according to Feinsand.

Players outside the Bronx who have tried out the bats this season include the Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz and Jose Trevino, Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman, New York Mets' Francisco Lindor, Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson, Toronto Blue Jays' Davis Schneider and Tampa Bay Rays' Junior Caminero, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Cwik.

De La Cruz used the bat for the first time in batting practice Monday, and then he went 4-for-5 with two home runs in the Reds' 14-3 win over the Texas Rangers. When asked if he tried out the bat because of the Yankees' early-season success, De La Cruz told reporters "he just wanted to feel" what the new bats were like.

ESPN's Buster Olney additionally reported the Atlanta Braves "placed an order" for Torpedo bats after watching the Yankees hit nine runs in a 20-9 Saturday blowout of the Milwaukee Brewers.

MLB confirmed Sunday that the bats do not violate league regulations, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. The 2025 rulebook specifies a maximum length and diameter for bats in rule 3.02, but requires no maximum weight or specific barrel placement.