What Is Exit Velocity in Baseball? Averages, Hard Hit Balls and Barrels

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Exit velocity is how fast the ball leaves the bat, measured in miles per hour by Statcast on every batted ball in the majors. It is the simplest measure of how hard a hitter makes contact. Any ball hit 95 mph or harder is officially a hard hit ball, and the league average exit velocity usually sits around 88 to 89 mph.

Statcast explained
Exit velocity at a glance
Speed of the ball off the bat
League average
About 88 to 89 mphOn all batted balls
Hard hit ball
95 mph or harderStatcast’s official threshold
Barrel minimum
98 mphPaired with the right launch angle
Elite average
92 mph and upThe top sluggers in the game
Elite max
115 mph and upA handful of hitters each season reach this
Why it matters
Harder contact produces more hits and more extra base hitsBatting average jumps on balls hit 95 mph or more
Measured by
Hawk Eye camera trackingIn every MLB ballpark
League averages shift slightly each season.

Exit Velocity Tiers

Exit velocity Typical result
Under 80 mph Weak contact: soft grounders, pop ups, bloops
80 to 94 mph Medium contact: mostly outs, some singles
95 to 104 mph Hard hit: line drives, doubles and many home runs
105 mph and up Scorched: rarely caught when hit on a line

Exit Velocity Needs a Partner

A 110 mph grounder into the dirt is still usually an out, which is why exit velocity is paired with launch angle. Statcast combines the two into a barrel, the most dangerous kind of contact, which requires at least 98 mph at the right angle. Pitchers are judged on the other side of the same number: the lower the average exit velocity they allow, the weaker the contact against them.

Related

Launch angle · Spin rate · What is a sweeper · What is BABIP

Definitions from Baseball Savant.