Phillies to meet with the company that makes torpedo bats

The torpedo is coming to Citizens Bank Park.

Rather than risk falling behind in the craze that’s sweeping baseball, the Phillies are scheduled to meet next week with the company that manufactures the torpedo bat, hitting coach Kevin Long said Wednesday.

“Everybody’s going to be involved,” Long told Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball show, in an interview that drops Friday morning. “We’ll get a better understanding of the whole science behind it and see if it’s something that we can exploit and use to our benefit and help some of our players.”

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Bryson Stott says torpedo bats aren’t for him, but teammate Alec Bohm is already trying them

Hitters across the sport are intrigued by the newfangled bats, in which the densest part that tends to produce the hardest contact is shifted closer to the label in an attempt to optimize certain swings. With the barrel in a lower spot than normal, the bats are shaped like a bowling pin — or, as the nickname suggests, a torpedo.

But the Phillies want more information. So, officials from various departments, including the front office, coaching staff, and strategic initiatives, will be on a Zoom call next week with representatives from King of Prussia-based Victus Sports and its parent company, Marucci Sports, which supply more than half of major league hitters with their bats.

“It’s going to be something that we look into deeply as far as where they consistently hit the ball according to their bat,” Long said. “And then we’ll just take it from there. It’s interesting that there’s maybe a tool out there that could help some of these guys.”

Although several players used the torpedo bat last season, the Yankees brought it into the mainstream last weekend by hitting 15 homers — nine with the torpedoes — in a season-opening three-game series against the Brewers.

The Phillies received a rushed shipment of torpedo bats from Victus before the home opener Monday. Alec Bohm used one in the game, going 1-for-4 with a strikeout in a 6-1 victory over the Rockies.

“Why wouldn’t you try it?” Bohm said afterward.

His initial impression: “It felt pretty normal to me. It doesn’t feel different. That’s why I wasn’t worried about using it. Because it feels like a normal bat.”

Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh swung torpedo bats before Wednesday night’s game against the Rockies. None other than Charlie Manuel, who might as well have a doctorate in hitting, checked out Bohm’s bat.

Other players, such as Trea Turner, shrugged off the new bats.

“I don’t really care,” Turner said. “I feel like everyone’s blowing this out of proportion. Still got to hit the ball.”

Asked if he would test out the torpedo bats, Turner said, “I mean, sure.”

“But I’m a big believer in consistency and knowing where your barrel is, and sometimes tinkering isn’t necessarily the best answer,” Turner continued. “That being said, I do think for some guys it could be a great adjustment.”

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Stott offered a similar assessment. He swung a torpedo bat in an offseason trip to Marucci’s headquarters in Baton Rouge, La., and, out of curiosity, texted Victus cofounder Jared Smith on Monday to get additional information.

“If you’re a guy who uses the whole bat — if [sometimes] you get jammed or hit it on the end, and [other times] hit the barrel — it’s not for you,” Stott said. “You’re taking wood off the end of the bat and shrinking that part. If you hit it off the end with that torpedo bat, you’re in trouble.”

Taijuan Walker is scheduled to make his first start of the season Thursday against the Rockies.

Walker posted a 7.10 ERA last season, the worst mark by a Phillies pitcher (minimum 80 innings) since 1930, and got booed by the sellout crowd during pregame introductions at the home opener Monday. After an intensive offseason program designed to regain velocity, he pitched well early in spring training before struggling in his last two starts.

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But when lefty Ranger Suárez began the season on the injured list with a stiff lower back, the Phillies didn’t consider anyone other than Walker to take his place in the rotation.

“I know that the last couple of [spring training] starts weren’t as good as the first couple of starts, but he was also working on a few things,” manager Rob Thomson said. “The stuff is a lot better than it was last year. I have a lot of confidence in him. I really do.”

Suárez threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday at the Phillies’ complex in Clearwater, Fla. He may progress to facing hitters in live batting practice Friday. ... Top prospect Andrew Painter is scheduled to throw live batting practice, with a simulated between-innings break, Friday in Clearwater. ... Walker will be opposed by Rockies righty Antonio Senzatela in the 1:05 p.m. series finale.