TORONTO — In the Orioles clubhouse at Rogers Centre, there were yells as the ball leaped off Aaron Judge’s bat into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. It played out on the televisions and, as the Baltimore players prepared for their own game, talk revolved around the start in New York on Saturday, with three straight pitches leaving the yard.

Soon, the talk turned to what many players saw on social media after the game. The torpedo bat, with its thicker barrel around the label and skinnier end, swirled around the web and became a topic of conversation within the visiting clubhouse in Toronto, too.

The bat looks unusual. But the Yankees aren’t alone in employing it, although they appear to have a higher rate of converts in their lineup. On the Orioles, catcher Adley Rutschman has adopted the new torpedo bat during spring training and early this season, although he doesn’t think his bat is as thick in the middle as some of the New York ones.

Perhaps there’s something to this bowling pin-esque bat. The Yankees, after all, hit nine homers Saturday.

“I think it’s pretty good business right there, right? Where you hit the ball, put some more mass in the sweet spot,” Orioles hitting coach Cody Asche said. “I think that’s not something that’s unique to the Yankees. I think a lot of teams are doing that around the league. They may have some more players who have adopted it at a higher rate, but I think if you’re around clubhouses, all 30 teams, you would see a guy or two who’s adopting a bat that is fashioned maybe more specifically for their swing. I think that’s probably the next progression in hitting. Finding out where you hit the ball in the sweet spot and putting more mass there without changing too many things.”

Outfielder Cedric Mullins has held Rutschman’s torpedo bat but hasn’t swung one of his own. He said the concept was introduced to the Orioles clubhouse this spring by Sig Mejdal, the assistant general manager, and his analytics team.

Mullins said the modification is “very legal,” and a Major League Baseball spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic he is correct. Rule 3.02 states: “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.”

These bats, while a jarring shape, fit within those limits.

“When you think of a traditional bat, you don’t think of it being fatter in the middle and thinner at the end. If anything, it would kind of taper up to the end of the bat,” outfielder Tyler O’Neill said. “But it’s definitely something new. We’re starting to see it this year. I’m not too sure what to think about it, honestly. Maybe I’ll give it a try.”

The torpedo trend is far from the first time there have been bat modifications. O’Neill swings an ax-style bat, with a handle that curves slightly at the end. Mullins pointed out there are hockey puck-style bat knobs. And infielder Jackson Holliday uses a bat that is similar to the torpedo but doesn’t have the mass isolated as obviously at the label.

His bat manufacturer made a larger cup at the end of his bat — digging out wood at the end — so it could apply that weight forward.

“It’s closer to the logo, so if I get jammed, it’ll add a little bit more mass,” Holliday said. “But it doesn’t look crazy like the torpedo. Kind of in between.”

Rutschman uses a similar design, with a larger cup cut out to remove mass in one area and add it to the barrel. The specifications of weight and length match Rutschman’s standard model from last year, but his bat provider, Marucci, sent him three variations this winter.

He swung all three during the offseason, and he chose the torpedo-esque model based on how it felt.

“I have to be able to barrel up the ball, but everything felt good and I liked it,” Rutschman said. “I swung it during spring training and then I was swinging good during lives, and took it into games, and I was like, ‘OK, I’ll go with this.‘”

The production has reinforced his decision. Rutschman has five hits in his first four games, and three of those have gone for extra bases.

Not everyone is onboard. Ramón Urías thinks the torpedo style looks weird, for instance — and even if it didn’t, he’s comfortable with his standard model. Whatever it looks like, though, it doesn’t seem as if it’s going away.

“Trying to give hitters any kind of edge, because pitching is only getting better and it’s getting harder to hit,” Mullins said. “It’s an interesting concept. When it was first introduced to us, I didn’t know how widespread this thought process was, but it’s getting around pretty quick.”

This story has been updated.