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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
2020 Louisville Slugger Solo Review: Light, Value, Good Performance. After hitting each 2020 Solo with several different hitters, it rates out as well as the 2019 version did. That is, a very durable bat that perfectly serves the need of a budget conscience buyer who needs a light swing. The BBCOR Solo has many fans and the 29-inch is a hit for those who needs it ultra-light. The USA is our favorite Solo. The drop 11 creates as good as exit speeds as any. USSSA Solo’s aren’t as popular as composite barrels do better there. Our Score 9/10 (BBCOR); 9.8/10 (USA); 8.5/10 (USSSA).
Our hitters praised the bat’s light swing in the BBCOR and USA version.
The USSSA swings as light as a few other bats in the drop 10/11 space–but still plenty light enough. Do note, however, the 2020 Prime in USSSA drop 10 swings lighter than the Solo (close to 5% lighter). Even though the Solo is marketed as an “ultra-light” USSSA bat it doesn’t swing as light as the 2020 Prime which is marketed as just balanced.
In BBCOR and USA it didn’t matter what type of hitter picked it up they immediately notice how light the swing feels. That’s because it is. According to our swing weight measurements the USSSA and USA Solo swings weights are in the bottom 20% of every size and weight class category.
Three things are appealing about the 2020 Solo and make it a very popular bat.
The light swing attracts a lot of players who need as much help as possible with bat speed and finding the pitch. The majority of growing baseball players are in this category.
The bat’s price point is more attractive than the ridiculousness of two piece composite bats on the market today. Parents looking for a value purchase, but not terribly interested in spending top dollar, gravitate towards the name brand and good reviews of the more reasonably priced 2020 Solo.
The Solo comes in a lot of sizes for each league. A short 28-inch drop 11 USA bat up to a 34-inch BBCOR.
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Single piece aluminum bats with an extended composite end cap were once reserved only to the Rawlings Velo’s and 5150’s of the world. But, since, others, like Slugger’s Solo has come along nicely.
The most comparable bat to the 2020 Slugger Solo is the Rawling’s 2020 Velo ACP. They are built similarly in the sense of a single piece aluminum with an extended composite end cap and a focus on an ultra light swing.
The only serious change in the lineup, save the colorway change, is the BBCOR version ads a new end cap that helps with a lower and more controlled swing weight. Our hitters could tell no difference by holding them, but do know Slugger is committed to the Solo being a light swinging BBCOR bat.
The USA and USSSA are 2020 Solo are the same as the 2019 Solo 619.
Like all companies, Slugger has some marketing jargon to explain different parts of the bat. We discuss those in bold below.
The Solo uses an ultra light alloy with very thin walls. They refer to this as Premium Hyper Superlight Alloy. Each company has their own spin on an aluminum alloy to make it their own. But, in reality, not many break through tech in aluminum alloys has been achieved in dozens of years. Expect the Solo to have decent durability and a light swing—a lot like other premium single piece bats in the baseball bat space.
The Solo uses an end cap built for speed and durability with the emphasis on speed. They refer to this as the Speed Ballistic Composite End Cap (or SBC) and is what separates it from a bat like the Omaha. The end cap extends into the barrel to help reduce end cap weight while keeping the bat durable.
Slugger’s 2020 Solo comes with a Premium LS Pro Comfort Grip which replaces the Lizard Skin they had on previous models. It’s a decent grip.
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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