The start of the 2025 MLB season has been shrouded in one specific topic: Torpedo bats. This new type of bat became a hot topic of debate after the New York Yankees’ YES broadcast pointed out that some Yankee players were using it on the second day of the season. Shortly after the broadcast made this knowledge public, the Yankees hit a franchise record 15 home runs over the course of two games. Now, everyone is talking about torpedo bats, whether they’re illegal or not, and why more players haven’t started to use them.
This includes MLB The Show 25 players, who are anxious to know if they’ll get the chance to use the bats in a virtual setting. Every player wants to know if the torpedo bats are all they’re cracked up to be or if the Yankees coincidentally started mashing home runs as soon as the bats came into the public eye.
Below, we’ll go over everything we know about the torpedo bats and whether there are any plans to bring them to MLB The Show 25.
What Are Torpedo Bats In The MLB?
Torpedo bats essentially move more wood from the bat into the center label area on the bat’s barrel. Since the barrel is where players tend to make a majority of solid contact, having more wood on the barrel means, in theory, the ball will carry farther and faster when solid contact is made. The more surface area and depth the ball makes contact with on the bat, the better the results.
When the torpedo bats initially started to get debated in baseball circles, many fans asked why this idea hadn’t been implemented sooner. After all, it seems like an easy idea that every team should have come up with if they’re looking to gain an advantage in the batter’s box. More wood on the ball means better contact, who knew?
Well, as we quickly came to learn, the torpedo bats aren’t a brand new revelation. A Yankees staffer, who now works for the Marlins, came up with the idea in 2023, and some players — including Yankee slugger Giancarlo Stanton — used the bats during the 2024 season and in 2025 spring training. However, it seems the bats didn’t appeal to a wide majority of players for one reason or another.
However, as the MLB explained, the torpedo bats do fall within the guidelines of the rules for bat width and length. According to Rule 3.02 in the MLB rulebook, the torpedo bats don’t break any regulations:
The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.
Apparently, the torpedo bats don’t exceed the defined 2.61 inches in diameter along the barrel. So, it seems for now, the torpedo bats are here to stay.
Of course, with how the Yankees are excelling using the bats, the MLB could step in and further clarify the rule to exclude the use of torpedo bats. If the league feels the bats offer too much of an advantage, it could amend the rule to specifically restrict the bats and force the Yankees and all other torpedo bat users to return to the normal bats used pre-2025.
Are Torpedo Bats Coming To MLB The Show 25?
With torpedo bats seemingly sticking around in the MLB, can we expect them to arrive in MLB The Show 25 anytime soon? After all, the new college schools mechanic in Road to the Show allows players to use metal bats, so why not throw the new batting craze in the game as well?
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Sony has not made any announcement regarding the addition of torpedo bats in MLB The Show 25. This is largely unsurprising, as no one expected torpedo bats to make the impact they have in such a short amount of time. Opening Day wasn’t even a week ago, and the league is already dealing with perhaps its biggest controversy of the season.
So while Sony hasn’t made an announcement yet, that doesn’t mean one isn’t coming. If the developers were to add torpedo bats, they would likely need a couple of weeks or more to get them fully added to MLB The Show 25.
Of course, if the MLB is working to ban the bats, then Sony would likely prefer to stay as far away from the controversy as possible. As of right now, things could seemingly go either way, so we’ll have to wait and see whether or not torpedo bats could make it into the virtual MLB world or not.
All Confirmed Torpedo Bat Users In The MLB
If MLB The Show 25 decides to add torpedo bats into the mix, there’s a list of players that would likely start using the bats immediately since their real-life counterparts already do in 2025. The list is growing by the day as the bats continue to yield good results, but here’s the current list of players using torpedo bats:
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., NYY
- Anthony Volpe, NYY
- Austin Wells, NYY
- Cody Bellinger, NYY
- Paul Goldschmidt, NYY
- Elly De La Cruz, CIN
- Jose Trevino, CIN
- Adley Rutschman, BAL
- Dansby Swanson, CHC
- Nico Hoerner, CHC
- Francisco Lindor, NYM
- Junior Caminero, TB
- Davis Schneider, TOR
- Ryan Jeffers, MIN
- Oneil Cruz, PIT
- Alec Bohm, PHI
Most notably, there are five current Yankee starters using the bats, all of whom went yard during the Opening Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. After the Yankees began to make the torpedo bats famous, other stars started to test the waters as well.
Just recently, Reds star Elly De La Cruz switched to the bat and immediately hit two homers in a game against the Rangers. This was the first time De La Cruz used the bat in a real game. Orioles All-Star Adley Rutschman also made the switch and has been on fire to start the season, batting to a near .300 average through five games.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for the torpedo bat in the MLB or MLB The Show 25, but one thing is making itself clear: The bat does have an impact.
Published: Apr 1, 2025 01:34 pm