How Levi thinks about hitting, with the numbers behind it. Five ideas, in the order he builds them.
Statcast calls any ball hit 95 mph or harder a hard-hit ball. That's roughly where exit velocity starts to change outcomes. Below it, a 70 mph ball and an 85 mph ball mostly end the same way.
"Power you can't access doesn't help you."
Two balls can leave the bat at the same speed and end completely differently. A ball driven into the ground is a chance for the defense. The same swing on a line drive is a hit most of the time, and fly balls are where extra-base hits and home runs come from.
That's why Levi doesn't chase a number on the screen.
"Don't train launch angle. Train the ability to create the right ball flight."
Hitters who can only pull the ball are easy to defend. A barrel that shows up on pitches all over the zone gives a hitter options, and options create damage.
Different pitch, different location, different solution.
Barrel accuracy → productive trajectory → damage
Every hitter has a part of the strike zone where they do real damage, and it's different for everyone. Some live up in the zone. Some do their best work down. A strike isn't automatically a good pitch to swing at. Your pitch is.
So the job isn't to swing at strikes. It's to know your zone, hunt it, and let the rest go. HitTrax shows where in the zone a hitter makes their hardest contact, and that's where the plan starts.
"The most dangerous swing can be the one you don't take."
The proof: Garrett Mitchell, Brewers, 2026
Mitchell, one of the pros who has trained at BLP, hit .385 and slugged .723 on pitches over the heart of the plate this season. Up and away, the same hitter hit .130. Same swing, same season, completely different results, all depending on where the pitch was.
That's what knowing your zone buys you: a pitch to hunt and a pitch to let go. Mitchell finished the regular season at .262 with 11 home runs, then hit the go-ahead homer that sent the Brewers to the World Series.
A 95 mph fastball gets from the pitcher's hand to the plate in about four-tenths of a second. A big-league swing uses about 0.15 of that just getting the barrel to the ball. That leaves roughly a quarter of a second to see the pitch, read it, and decide.
That's why timing comes first. A hitter who's quicker to the ball can wait longer, see more, and still be on time. A hitter who's late has already lost, no matter how hard they swing.
"Don't just train to hit it harder. Train to hit it hard, on time."
Aaron Judge and Mike Trout are two of the best hitters of their generation, and they move almost nothing alike. This is how Levi reads their swings through Motor Preferences, the framework he uses with every hitter at BLP.
Both do damage at the highest level. Neither swing would work for the other. Don't copy the swing. Find the cause. Train the solution.
Motor Preferences reads are Levi's analysis, not official statistics.
The other half of hitting happens between the ears. Levi's message to players at every level is the same.
The young hitter compares himself to the kid who developed earlier. The college player wonders why he isn't at a bigger school. The pro wonders why he hasn't moved up. Where you are starts changing how you prepare.
Injuries, playing time, coaches, and tough breaks are real. Your effort, attitude, preparation, and response are always yours. That's where growth happens.
On a good day, appreciate it and get back to work. On a bad day, learn from it without questioning your entire future.
Prepare with purpose where you are. Bring professional habits to your current team. Answer an 0-for-4 with honesty and composure. Take your development seriously before anyone else does.
"Stop waiting to get there to start acting like you belong there. Where you are is a starting point."
Further reading: H.A. Dorfman and Karl Kuehl, The Mental Game of Baseball. Oyserman, Bybee and Terry (2006), "Possible selves and academic outcomes," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Every plan at BLP starts with a short hands-on assessment of how a hitter naturally moves and times the ball.
Sources: MLB.com Statcast glossary, Hard-hit rate · MLB.com Statcast glossary, Launch angle · FanGraphs Library, Batted ball · University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering · Blast Motion · Baseball Savant, Garrett Mitchell