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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
We’d recommend the 2016 Easton Z-Core Hybrid (Price Check*) to players who not only prefer a performance aluminum barrel for it’s hot out of the wrapper peak power but also appreciate the lack of hand sting a two piece hybrid delivers.
We’d recommend the bat to those looking for a slightly heavier swinging bat with a monster aluminum barrel from a brand name they can trust.
Like the 2015 S2z, the Easton Z-Core Hybrid will use a spiraled designed carbon fiber handle to decrease sting on mishits and add to a buttery swing.
The swing weight of the bat measures 10% heavier than the very light swinging 2016 Mako, but about 15% lighter than the Z-Core XL version.
The most comparable bat on the market, when compared to the 2016 Easton MAKO Z-Core, is the 2015 S2z. The S2z is also from Easton. Such similarity exists because the MAKO Z-Core is the new generation of the s2z and, hence, takes the place of the S2z in the BBCOR lineup for 2016.
Outside the Easton brand, a light swinging two-piece hybrid bat can be found in the DeMarini Vexxum and TRIO. But neither of those have the enlarged barrel the Easton Z-Core does.
The 2016 Easton Z-Core Hybrid bat is a two-piece bat built with a composite handle and aluminum barrel. The aluminum barrel has a composite sleeve inside which gives it the strength and durably to be severely oversized. This is a good thing. As a result, the Easton Z-Core Hybrid is one of the largest swinging hybrid bats on the market.
The overall rating uses seven different weighted metrics to determine our overall score. Half of total rating comes from the player and our exit speed tests (Player Rating: 25%, Performance: 25%).The other categories are Relevance (20%), Demand (10%), Durability (10%), Resell Score (5%), and Tech Specs (5%).
*: When a bat is denoted by a star (*) it is a preliminary rating. Expect it to be updated as we learn more about the bat and gather more data.
(PlaRa) Player Rating: We measure player rating from user reviews. Those users include our own hitters that we test at the lab as well as reviews we find online.
(ExVe) Performance: Performance measures the exit speeds and distances we capture in our hitting lab with HitTrax using these bats.
(Relv) Relevance: We measure the number of sizes and the MOI of the bat. Bats with a wider range of options get a better score.
(Dmnd) Demand: Demand is measured by consumer sentiment and the buzz around the bat.
(Drb) Durability: A bat’s durability is measured by user reviews as well as feedback from manufacturers.
(ReSl) Resell Score: Based on the price the bats go for used. Higher prices mean greater user demand which means, generally, a better bat. A resell value closer to its original price means a higher score.
(Tech) Tech Specs: We rate the bat on its technological advancements from previous years and compared to the industry at large. This is our chance to reward companies who are trying to innovate.
MOI
MOI or Mass Moment of Inertia is a measurement of bat swing weight. This quantifies how difficult it is to swing a bat. The industry often refers to this as things like End Load or Balanced but those words have been overused to the point of meaninglessness. We measure the actual swing weights of each bat we test using the industry-standard pendulum period, balance point, and scale weight. You can read more about that here.
Price
The price is the original MSRP price of the bat.
Type
The types of bats are single-piece alloy (SPA), two-piece composite (TPC), single-piece composite (SPC), hybrid (Hyb.), and wood (Wood). Hybrid bats are made of composite handles and alloy barrles.
Date
The estimated date the bat began distribution.
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