MLB's Hardest Hitters: Who has the Highest Exit Velocity in the MLB?

In last night's MLB postseason action, Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber hit a home run in Game 1 of the NLCS against the San Diego Padres. The ball was clocked at 120 miles per hour as it came off the bat. This led fans to wonder about exit velocity and what it means.

"488 feet! 120 mph! Kyle Schwarber, oh my goodness." - @ MLB

The league has some heavy hitters. Just this season, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees broke the single-season record for home runs, treating fans to something truly special.

The previous record was 61 home runs, set by Roger Maris in 1961. Judge shattered the record against the Texas Rangers in the final series of the season for the Yankees.

But how hard do players hit the ball these days?

Exit velocity is the speed of the ball as it pops off of the hitters bat. With MLB pitchers throwing harder and harder, the exit velocities are sky-high as well.

Last season, catcher Mike Zunino of the Tampa Bay Rays hit the highest exit velocity in the MLB, topping off at 117.3 mph. Pitches normally come at or around 100 mph, so you can only imagine the heat coming off of that ball!

However, the highest average exit velocity in 2021 went to none other than Aaron Judge. On average, the baseball traveled at 95.8 mph as it burst off of Judge's bat last season. The Yankee averaged 0.7 mph faster than that of Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero - who led the MLB in home runs last season.

"96.2 exit velocity" - @ Jacob Drake

What about the 2022 season? Do we see similar statistics? The bar was raised again for the fastest exit velocity. This time, Pittsburgh Pirates star Oneil Cruz was the man with the lightning bat. Cruz reached a maximum exit velocity of 122.4 this season, the highest in 2022.

However, Aaron Judge is once again the king of exit velocity when it comes to average. In 2022, the ball popped off of Aaron Judge's bat at an average speed of 95.9 mph - beating his 2021 season number by just 0.1 miles per hour.

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Why is exit velocity important as an MLB stat?

You have to remember that the fastest ever recorded pitch in the Majors is 105.1 mph. The fastball came from the hand of Aroldis Chapman in 2010. If players like Judge and Cruz are hitting the ball at a faster speed than it gets pitched at, it proves how they have some serious power, and it shows.