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Updated August 4, 2022
By Bat Digest
We’ve curated this best aluminum bat list from our other best bat lists.
We’ve taken, roughly, the winning aluminum bat from our best BBCOR, best USSSA, and best USA bat lists and put them in this list. We think The Goods in BBCOR, the CAT 9 in USSSA, and the Slugger Select series are the best aluminum baseball bats around.
We updated the list in late July 2022.
Certification: Fastpitch
Sizes: 31, 32, 33, 34
Barrel Size: 2 1/4
Drop: 9
Swing Weight: Mid+
Serial Number: ARTFP2022
Original Price: $270
Release Month: January 2022
There is nothing quite like the 2022 Anderson Rocketech. It’s a dual-walled ally bat in the fastpitch space that performs well. It’s a fantastic cold weather bat, and although it swings heavily really can generate the power of the other fastpitch bats if it is swung hard and well. Smaller kids with lower impact speeds will not like this bat. But big hitters who play in cold weather should have the Anderson Rocketech in their bat.
Certification: USSSA
Sizes: 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
Barrel Size: 2 3/4
Drop: 8
Swing Weight: Mid+
Serial Number: MSBC98
Original Price: $280
Release Month: October 2020
Certification: BBCOR
Sizes: 31, 32, 33, 34
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
Drop: 3
Swing Weight: Mid+
Serial Number: WTDXGIC22
Original Price: $400
Release Month: October 2021
Certification: USA
Sizes: 30, 31, 32, 33
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
Drop: 5
Swing Weight: Mid+
Serial Number: WTLUBS7B520
Original Price: $300
Release Month: September 2019
$300
Original Price
Why We Love the 2021 CAT 9
Certification: USSSA
Barrel Size: 2 3/4
Sizes: 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
Drop: 8
Serial Number: MSBC98
Release Month: October 2020
Related: Best USSSA Bats
Why We Love the 2022 Rocketech
There is nothing quite like the 2022 Anderson Rocketech. It’s a dual-walled ally bat in the fastpitch space that performs well. It’s a fantastic cold weather bat, and although it swings heavily really can generate the power of the other fastpitch bats if it is swung hard and well. Smaller kids with lower impact speeds will not like this bat. But big hitters who play in cold weather should have the Anderson Rocketech in their bat.
Certification: Fastpitch
Barrel Size: 2 1/4
Sizes: 31, 32, 33, 34
Drop: 9
Serial Number: ARTFP2022
Release Month: January 2022
Related: Best Fastpitch Bats
Why We Love the 2022 The Goods
Certification: BBCOR
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
Sizes: 31, 32, 33, 34
Drop: 3
Serial Number: WTDXGIC22
Release Month: October 2021
Related: Best BBCOR Bats
Why We Love the 2020 Select
Certification: USA
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
Sizes: 30, 31, 32, 33
Drop: 5
Serial Number: WTLUBS7B520
Release Month: September 2019
Related: Best USA Bats
Pros most likely don’t use metal bats because (1) that’s the rule in professional baseball; (2) although BBCOR standards keep the bat from performing better than a ‘wood’ bat, the swing weight and sweet spot size give a big advantage to a metal bat; (3) it has long been tradition to swing a wood bat in the pros and if baseball is anything, it is about tradition.
Yes. The vast majority of metal bats are legal. Some governing bodies from BBCOR and USSSA have banned some bats. But, in recent memory, metal bats are perfectly legal in baseball, fastpitch and slowpitch. Be sure, though, to make sure the bat’s approval type is in your league.
In short, there is no difference between bats referred to as aluminum or metal. In today’s market, every metal bat on the market is made of aluminum. This aluminum is manipulated to perform better by additional chemicals. The addition of these elements within the aluminum, like scandium, is why many officially call aluminum bats aluminum alloy bats. But, at its core, aluminum bats are simply metal bats just like composite bats are simply plastic bats.
There are a number of general benefits to aluminum metal bats when compared to composite and wood bats. We discuss that here. Also, you might find it helpful how some vendors make their bats sortable by aluminum metal only.
Aluminum metal bats provide the distinct advantage of a hot out-of-the-wrapper performance—meaning, there is no work in period like composite requires. That hot out of the wrapper performance provides confidence from swing one that you are getting the most out of your bat. As well, aluminum bats almost always cost less than their composite counterparts.
On the other hand, alloy bats (another name for aluminum bats) struggle to swing light–especially when used for younger age groups. It follows that manufactuers need to keep the barrel profiles smaller than composite bats so growing kids can swing them as well.
We have tested every performance bat since the genesis of this blog in late 2014. Those tests involve both simple approaches and more complicated ones. Measuring the swing weight, comparing it to previous models and seeing where the bat fits in the grander scheme of things, and discussing the aesthetics of the bat constitute more of our superficial approaches. We also use the bat in games and practices, as well as have multiple player feedback on each bat.
More recently, we have driven ball exit speeds and barrel size testings on our bats too. This more quantifiable data gives added insight to which bats really do perform best. Add that information to conversations with real players, an obsession for reading real reviews on a bat’s performance and dialog with major vendors and manufacturers, and we start to formulate data on what the best aluminum metal bats actually are.
As always, the best bat is the one that fits the best, not a particular model. So, pay particular attention to the right bat size. You can see more details on getting the right size bat here.