PEARL, Miss. (AP) — College baseball’s new metal bats have been praised by fans, coaches and pitchers. Game times are quicker and there are dramatically lower run totals.
But some of the biggest fans of the new bats are Major League Baseball scouts.
For these talent evaluators, the college variation of the game resembles real baseball for the first time in years, making their job a little easier as MLB’s draft approaches in June.
It’s not just power hitters who are easier to evaluate. The new bats have changed every facet of college baseball.
Smaller players steal more bases, execute hit-and-runs and bunt while pitchers go after hitters and use fastballs instead of nibbling at the corners with breaking balls.
