Torpedo bats: Will Phillies start using them? How do they work?

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - Major League Baseball is back and torpedo bats have become a major talking point across the sports world. 

They landed on everyone’s radar over the weekend when the New York Yankees put on a nine home run performance against the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Victus Sports, located in King of Prussia, has been tasked with making them. So, will the Phillies be using them in the near future? 

The backstory:

The Yankees experienced an offensive explosion on Saturday as Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisolm Jr. and Oswald Peraza all hit one or more home runs, powering them to a 20-9 win. Judge was responsible for three home runs on his own. 

During the broadcast, Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay noted that the team, or some of the team, were using different bats. He pointed to Chisolm’s bat in particular, noting its unique shape with a big barrel and skinnier handle. 

"The Yankee front office, the analytics department, did a study on Anthony Volpe and every single ball he seemed like he hit on the label. He didn’t hit any on the barrel," Kay explained. "So, they had bats made up where they moved a lot of the wood into the label so the harder part of the bat is actually going to strike the ball."

The bats are legal, according to a league spokesman who spoke with The Athletic. 

Kevin Smith, a former Yankees infielder, took to X to explain more about the bats. 

"Yes, the Yankees have a literal genius MIT Physicist, Lenny (who is the man), on payroll," he wrote on X. "He invented the ‘Torpedo’ barrel. It brings more wood – and mass – to where you most often make contact as a hitter. The idea is to increase the number of ‘barrels’ and decrease misses.

What they're saying:

FOX 29’s Jenn Frederick spent the morning at Victus Sports learning all there is to know about the torpedo bats. 

They, too, mentioned Volpe and his role in bringing the bats to the Yankees lineup.  

"Anthony Volpe, who is one of our pros, he just started to use the torpedo barrel, and I think it just caught on with the rest of the team and a bunch of Yankees used it over the weekend," said Doug Trimble, Victus Sports’ Marketing Director. 

Trimble says the Yankees didn’t use the bats during spring training, but that about five players in the Yankees lineup used them over the weekend. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 29: Austin Wells #28 of the New York Yankees hits a home run on a torpedo bat in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium on March 29, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Victus says they have been in contact with the Yankee’s physicists, collaborating on the bats. 

Are the Phillies using torpedo bats? 

What we know:

Now that the word is out on the torpedo bats, Major League Baseball fans can probably expect to see them pop up in their favorite teams lineups.

Jenn took the opportunity Monday morning to ask Trimble if any Phillies had reached out about possibly having their own torpedo bats made.

"Some Phillies have called, you may see some torpedoes at Citizen’s Bank Park this week," Trimble said. 

Trimble says Phillies star Bryce Harper had already requested some extra bats for the Phillies home opener, along with his standard order. Then, a few Phillies inquired about the torpedo bats. 

Trimble says they have made some of the bats in the past, but they obviously made a name for themselves over the weekend.

Phillies second basemen Bryson Stott also spoke about the bats ahead of Monday's home opener. He says he has reached out to Victus about the bats. 

"They've been around, it's not a new thing. It's been around and it's not a thing you can just go and order," Stott said. "Marucci and Victus have a hit lab, they call it, and connect all these wires to you, you swing a thousand bats and theykind of tell you where you're hitting that ball mostly and things like that." 

He also explained that the bats aren't necessarily new, and that they may not work for everyone. 

"If you're a guy who uses the whole bat, if you get jammed and hit it on the end and hit the barrel it's not for you. You're taking wood off the end of the bat and shrinking that part. There's a lot of stuff that goes into it," Stott added.