Max vs Average Exit Velocity
Also known as: max vs average exit velo, max or average exit velocity, max exit velocity, max exit velo, peak exit velocity, average vs max exit velocity
Care about both, for different reasons. Max exit velocity shows your top-end power, the hardest you can hit a ball. Average exit velocity shows how often you make solid contact, but every weak ball drags it down. Statcast's EV50, the average of your hardest half of batted balls, is a common middle ground.
Max exit velocity comes from your best swing. It shows what your body and bat can do. It does not tell you how often you can do it.
Statcast figures average exit velocity by adding up all exit velocities and dividing by the number of batted ball events. Mis-hits, check-swing dribblers and jam shots all count. That makes the average lower than most hitters expect.
EV50 drops the weakest half of a batter's batted balls and averages the rest. It shows how hard you hit the ball when you make good contact. Whichever number you track, compare it only with readings from the same device and drill.
Tips by skill level
Track your average off the tee each week. It shows progress in solid contact, not just power.
If your max is high but your average is low, work on contact quality. If both are low, work on strength and bat speed.
Example
A hitter's max is 92 mph, but his average is 74. Most of the gap comes from weak contact. He works on squaring the ball up, and his average climbs.
Why it matters
Each number answers a different question. Max shows potential, and average shows consistency. Using both gives a fuller picture.
Common mistakes
- Judging a hitter only by one best swing
- Comparing an average from games with a max from a tee
- Forgetting that weak contact pulls the average down
Frequently asked questions
Should I care about max or average exit velo?
Both. Max shows your power ceiling, and average shows how often you hit it solid. A big gap between them points to uneven contact.
What is EV50?
It is a Statcast stat. For a batter, it is the average exit velocity of his hardest 50 percent of batted balls.
Why is my average exit velocity so much lower than my max?
Every weak ball counts in the average. Mis-hits and jam shots pull it down, so the average sits well below your best swing.
Sources
Related terms
- Exit Velocity (EV)Exit velocity is how fast the ball comes off the bat, in mph. It is a ceiling metric — the harder you hit it, the farther it can go.
- Exit Velocity by AgeThere is no official exit-velocity standard by age, and charts online disagree widely for any given age. Compare a reading only with ones taken under matching conditions: drill, device and bat type. As a top-level reference, MLB's Statcast counts a ball hit 95 mph or harder as hard-hit.
- Hard-Hit RateHard-hit rate is the percentage of batted balls struck above a set exit-velocity threshold — usually 95 mph in MLB, scaled lower for amateur levels. It measures contact quality independent of luck.
- Squared-Up RateSquared-up rate measures how close exit velocity comes to the theoretical max for that swing and pitch. It tracks contact precision, not raw bat speed.
- Batted Ball Event (BBE)A batted ball event is any batted ball that produces a result: a hit, an out or an error. Every fair ball counts, and so does a foul ball caught for an out. Other foul balls do not count. Statcast uses batted ball events to figure average exit velocity, launch angle, hard-hit rate and barrel rate.
Related guides & benchmarks
Work on the cause
Video shows how you move, not the ball itself. Film one swing to find the movement behind this result — free to start.
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