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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
Rawlings looks to improve upon the durability of their flagship bat with the 2019 Rawlings Quatro Pro. The BBCOR version of the bat was our favorite bbcor bat in 2018.
Our hitters found the feel on the Quatro, especially the BBCOR, to be perfect. The swing weight was lighter than most bats and the barrel size bigger than most bats. The price point compares to other bats of its type (two piece composite). Generally, exit speeds were above average with the BBCOR outshining everything.
We think the 2019 Rawlings Quatro is a great combination of the 2017/18 version and the newer 2020/21 versions. That is, it has the same kind of feel as the 2017 but has more durability than the 2020/21 version. That might be more perception than reality. But, in fact, the 2019 Rawlings Quatro is our favorite Quatro of the bunch.
1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
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3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
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2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
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2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
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2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
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There are several high end two piece composite bats. These bats tend to be the flagship bat of major vendors. They include the ones you heard of like the CF Zen from DeMarini, the Easton Ghost X and Louisville Slugger’s 919 Prime. In terms of price, performance and feel the four bats are remarkably close.
We do find the 919’s swing weight closer to the Rawlings Quatro while the Ghost X and CF Zen swung a bit lighter.
They changed a few things on the 2019 Quatro. Enough so that buying last year’s model will likely yeild a different experience. Here are some of the changes:
The 2019 change also improved the durability. Early reports show the bat is holding up a bit better. The 2018 version was notorious for cracking early. But, before you get the impression we think that is a bad thing, the bat was crazy hot. BBCOR and USA exit speeds showed top of the class.
As such, we’d recommend the 2019 version over the 2018 version—although the price gap may be tempting. Of course at some price the 2018 version is a fantastic get—especially in the BBCOR space. But, in terms of a used 2018 USA bat on ebay, we would avoid this time around.
As we mention above, the Rawlings Quatro is a two piece composite bat. Two piece composite bats are generally built with the idea of a light swing and a big barrel. Of course there are notable exceptions to this.
Unique to Rawlings’ two piece design is a synthetic collar that surrounds the connection point. For 2019 this has been upgraded to reduce more sting from mishits.
As well, Rawling’s uses a floating inner barrel towards the end of the bat. This extra barrel allows for better trampoline effect at slower impact speeds as well as a sort of governor to keep it from overdoing the restriction limits. In 2019, the inner barrel was moved more towards the knob of the bat to reduce swing weight and, hopefully, improve durability.
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.