Launch Angle (LA)
Definition
Launch Angle measures the vertical angle, in degrees, at which the ball leaves a player's bat after being hit.
A launch angle of zero degrees would represent a ball hit straight back off the bat, parallel to the ground, while positive launch angles represent batted balls hit higher into the air and negative launch angles represent batted balls hit down toward the ground.
As a general guideline, here are the launch angles that correspond to different types of contact:
- Ground ball: Lower than 10 degrees
- Line drive: 10-25 degrees
- Fly ball: 25-50 degrees
- Pop up: Higher than 50 degrees
Average launch angle is calculated for both hitters and pitchers, and is available for every MLB player on Baseball Savant. For hitters, average launch angle is based on the launch angles of all his Batted Ball Events, excluding bunts. For pitchers, average launch angle is based on his batted balls allowed.
Launch angle can help tell us what type of player a hitter or pitcher is. Is a hitter a fly-ball hitter (high launch angle) or a ground-ball hitter (low launch angle)? Is a pitcher a fly-ball pitcher (high launch angle allowed) or ground-ball pitcher (low launch angle allowed)?
Examples of hitters with high average launch angles in the Statcast era include Joey Gallo, Rhys Hoskins and Mike Trout. Examples of hitters with low average launch angles include Eric Hosmer, DJ LeMahieu and Christian Yelich.
Examples of pitchers in the Statcast era with high average launch angles allowed include Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Kenley Jansen. Examples of pitchers with low average launch angles allowed include Dallas Keuchel, Logan Webb and Framber Valdez.
Related terms
The launch angle "sweet spot" is defined as 8-32 degrees, which encompasses the launch angle ranges for both the line drives that are likely to yield base hits, and the fly balls that are likely to produce extra-base hits and home runs.
A batted ball hit with both optimal launch angle and optimal exit velocity is defined as a "barrel," Statcast's top level of contact quality.
In a call
"The ball left his bat at a X degree angle"