A Baseball Player Reviews the Marucci USA Professional Cut Bat

I’ve been playing baseball for over 30 years and I’ve used every type of baseball bat you can imagine. The baseball league I’m currently playing in is a wood-bat-only league and I’ve been trying different types of wood bats to find which one I like the best. While there are many good options out there, the bat I default to the most is the USA Professional Cut wood bat by Marucci. So I wanted to put this review together for anyone who might be wondering, is the Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat worth it?

Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat is worth it for players who want a fairly durable bat at a reasonable price. While the USA Professional Cut wood bat does break, it doesn’t break as often as lower-priced bats so players tend to spend less money over the long run.

I’m definitely not a power-hitter, but I’ve hit a few home runs with my Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat. So I might be slightly biased because I’ve hit some home runs, but in the rest of this article, I’ll cover everything you would ever want to know about the USA Professional Cut Wood bat by Marucci.

My Overall Impression of My Marucci USA Professional Cut Wood Bat

Overall, I give the Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat 3.9 stars out of 5. This is the bat I tend to default to whenever I’m purchasing a bat. Plus, it’s made by Marucci and I’m a fan of that brand when it comes to baseball gear.

My favorite aspect of the Marucci USA Pro-Cut bat is how it feels when I’m holding it. There are some other bats I’ve used that just don’t feel right because they have bulkier handles or the weight is distributed toward the end of the bat.

The Marucci USA Pro Cut is neither of those things, which is a big reason why I default to using this bat. The weight of the bat is very balanced, which makes me feel like I have more control over my swings.

A brand new Marucci USA Pro-Cut also comes with a bit of a shine to it. While that brand-new shine looks cool, it will eventually go away the more you use it.

In fact, I think whatever they use to make these new bats shine also makes the handle slippery. So I prefer to use some type of bat grip on the handle of the bat, like pine tar or this Lizard Skin Bat grip you can get on Amazon.

And while I think there are plenty of other great bats on the market, I have hit a few home runs while using a Marucci USA Pro-Cut wood bat so I’ve developed a bias toward liking this bat. I’m not considered a power-hitter so any bat I can hit a home run with is a great choice for me.

These bats will eventually break so they will need to be replaced at some point. The good news is they last a long longer than some cheap ash bats that are out there so you will get your money’s worth from it (on average). After all, it is a wood bat and wood bats can break during any swing.

But if you’re simply looking for a good wood bat that lasts a long time then I’d recommend getting something like this Baum Bat, which is a practically indestructible wood bat. The USA Professional Cut wood bat will need to be replaced every ten to fifteen games (roughly).

The Marucci USA Professional Cut bat is made from maple wood while Baum Bats are composite wood bats, which makes them a lot more durable than traditional wood bats.

Pros and Cons of the Marucci USA Professional Cut Bat

Pro #1 – USA Pro-Cut is a Durable Wood Bat

Overall, the Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat is a fairly durable bat. I wouldn’t say it’s the most durable, but it usually lasts me about 15 games before it breaks. And when it does break, it’s because I got jammed on a pitch and hit the ball off the handle.

The USA Pro-Cut is made with maple, which is a denser type of wood than those cheaper ash bats. When compared to ash bats, the Marucci USA Pro-Cut bat is the clear winner.

Sure, I might be able to purchase an ash bat for around $30, but those will last me anywhere from one at-bat to a maximum of three games. Then they break and I need to purchase an additional bat.

Knowing that I’ll have to replace my bat at some point, I’m quite happy with how long all of my Marucci USA Pro-Cut wood bats have lasted me.

Pro #2 – The Weight of the Bat is Very Balanced

One thing about wood bats that I hate is when the bat is end-loaded with weight. I prefer my bats to be balanced, which is why I prefer the USA Pro-Cut.

When the weight of my bat is balanced, I feel like I have more control over my swing.

If you’re a player who prefers an end-loaded bat, then you’ll probably want to look online for another type of bat. But if you’re like me and you prefer the weight of your bats to be balanced, then the USA Pro-Cut is worth a try.

Pro #3 – The USA Pro-Cut Has Good Pop

I’ve never had any issues with hitting the ball hard with my USA Pro-Cut bats. When you hit the ball off the barrel of the bat, it just feels like you crushed it. It also makes a great sound too.

Pro #4 – Makes a Great Sound When a Pitch Hits the Barrel

There’s nothing better than the crack you hear from perfectly hitting a pitch on the barrel of a wood bat and I get to hear that when I’m hitting with my USA Pro-Cut.

I don’t really hear that same crack of the bat when I’m using wood composite bats. A lot of the wood composite bats I’ve used are extremely durable, but they almost sound like they are dead when the ball hits the bat.

When the ball hits off my USA Pro-Cut, it simply sounds better. There’s probably not much difference in the performance of a wood composite bat and the USA Pro-Cut, but I just like the way it sounds off of my USA Pro-Cut.

Pro #5 – Handle is Not Too Bulky

When it comes to how the bat feels, the bat handle plays a huge role.

There are some wood bat handles I’ve tried using that are very thick, almost to the point where it feels like I can barely wrap my hands around the handle. In my opinion, those types of bat handles are not comfortable.

I’ve never had an issue gripping the USA Pro-Cut. I even use a bat grip around the handle and the handle feels just right.

Pro #6 – USA Pro Cut is Made By Marucci

Brand plays a big part in how people look at purchasing products and I’ve come to love the brand of Marucci when looking at baseball gear.

I’m not a sponsor of Marucci, I simply love their products. I’ve used Marucci baseball gear for years and I’m always happy with the quality of their baseball products. 

Sure, Marucci baseball gear is never the least expensive product, but I’ve learned that paying a little extra to get Marucci gear is worth it because the quality of what they sell is substantially better than the cheapest stuff out there.

So purchasing a bat made by Marucci gives me confidence that the quality of the bat will also be good.

Pro #7 – I’ve Hit Home Runs With the Marucci USA Professional Cut Wood Bat

One thing that makes me biased toward the USA Pro-Cut wood bat is the fact that I’ve hit a few home runs while using this bat.

I’m not a power hitter, but I still managed to hit the ball over the fence with this bat. And in my opinion, any bat that allows me to hit a home run is a great bat.

Hitting home runs is the goal of any hitter and if I can do it with this bat, anyone can.

Con #1 – Will Be Expensive if You Tend to Break Bats

At the time of this article, each Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat costs a bit over $100 per bat.

If you’re someone who tends to break bats easily, then replacing these bats will get pretty expensive.

While these are great bats and they have a nice pop when the ball is hit on the barrel, you wouldn’t want to be spending $100 every few games just to replace it. If durability is your primary concern then you would be better off purchasing a wood composite bat, like one from Baum Bat.

Con #2 – Bad Idea to Use With Pitching Machines

I use my USA Professional Cut bat for batting practice all the time, but I’ll never use it when I’m hitting off a pitching machine at the cages.

Pitching machine balls tend to ruin my wood bats and I’m always worried that I’ll end up breaking my bat. Those pitching machine balls are basically indestructible.

While the Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat is not the most expensive bat out there, it also isn’t cheap. So I’d like to get the most use out of it during actual games.

I’ll use my USA Pro-Cut for drills and batting practice, but never with pitching machines. When it comes to pitching machines, I’ll either use a wood composite bat or use a crappy aluminum bat if I have nothing else.

Con #3 – Bat Handle is Slippery

When the bat is brand new, the handle is slippery. Even when wearing batting gloves I’ll need to add something to the handle of the bat just to keep it from slipping when swinging.

I’ll either use pine tar on the handle or I’ll use a bat grip, like this Lizard Skin bat grip. Sometimes, I even use both at the same time.

Con #4 – Sticker on the Barrel of the Bat is Frustratingly Difficult to Remove

Each USA Professional Cut wood bat has a sticker on the barrel and it’s absolutely annoying to remove that sticker. I don’t think I’ve ever successfully removed the entire sticker from any of the USA Pro-Cut bats I’ve used.

I typically forget that sticker even exists until it’s time for me to swing the bat. Then I’ll quickly try to peel it off and only get about 75% of it off before finally giving up.

Seriously, it’s really annoying.

How Long Does the Marucci USA Professional Cut Bat Last?

It’s difficult to say how long any Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat will last because it depends on factors such as how often you use the bat, how often you’re making contact with a pitch, and where the ball is making contact with the bat.

On average, a Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat will last between 10 to 20 games. Players tend to get more life from their bat when they hit the pitch on the barrel of the bat. However, the USA Pro-Cut is made from maple and it has the potential of breaking during any at-bat.

On average, I probably get around 15 games out of my USA Pro-Cut bat. That also includes all the times I’ve practiced with my bat.

Wood bats can’t last forever so I’m happy with how long these bats last. However, any wood bat has the potential to break on the first swing, which is a very frustrating experience when it happens.

What Size Marucci USA Professional Cut Bat Should I Get?

The truth is that you won’t know the exact size of bat you need until you start swinging with it. However, there are some ways to make recommendations based on a player’s height and weight.

For example, if you check out this wood bat size chart from Annex Baseball, you’ll be able to see what is recommended based on a player’s height and weight.

But you’ll always want to use your best judgment when selecting your bat size. If I were to look at that chart from Annex Baseball then I would be purchasing a 33-inch wood bat. However, I know from experience that I do best with a 32-inch wood bat.

Where Can I Buy a USA Professional Cut Wood Bat From Marucci?

The easiest way to purchase this bat is by navigating to Amazon. I find Amazon typically has the lowest price (even if just by a little bit).

However, I also encourage you to shop around to see if there are better prices. So you can also check out Marucci’s website, Just Bats, Closeout Bats, and Scheels.

Marucci’s USA Professional Cut wood bat is sold at a lot of different stores so you could also try searching online for another store offering a better deal.

What Are Some Alternatives to Marucci’s USA Professional Cut Wood Bat?

The Marucci AP5 maple baseball bat is a great alternative to the USA Professional Cut. I’ve used the AP5 before and I liked it a lot. It lasted me about 10 games before I accidentally left it behind after one of my games.

But if you’re wanting to get away from Marucci then I think Rawlings has some good maple bats. For example, this Rawlings Adirondack 271 maple wood bat can be purchased on Amazon for less than the Marucci USA Professional Cut wood bat.

What is a “Pro Cut” Baseball Bat?

According to Marucci, a “Professional Cut” baseball bat is a bat that was handcrafted for a professional player, but that bat didn’t meet the player’s exact specifications.

In other words, there was something off about the bat that the professional player didn’t like. So the bat is now sold as a “Pro Cut” bat to the general market.

I would imagine the things wrong with the bat are very minor, like the weight of the bat being slightly off or the knob not being shaped exactly the way the player likes. So while the professional player wants his bat to be precise, the everyday baseball player wouldn’t mind using it.