Honestly, just get whatever is cheap, legal, and a good deal considering his age. I didn't buy my son a good bat until he was a sophomore. Proper technique, bat speed, squaring up the ball makes more of an impact. It is very apparent who good hitters are when playing with wood. Save your money for down the road and just get whatever at this stage as there's not a major difference in brands at this age. DeMarini and marucci are popular, but they also seem to have some issues with durability. If you want to protect from hamate injury consider knob/handle shape when shopping for a bat.