Boston Red Sox rookie first baseman Triston Casas launched his first career big-league home run on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays (GameTracker), just days after making his debut on Sunday. Casas had begun his big-league career with a 1-for-8 stretch that included no extra-base hits and a pair of strikeouts in two games.
Here's that home run in all its beautiful moving picture glory:
Casas' blast, hit against Rays right-handed reliever J.T. Chargois, left his bat with a 96.7 mph exit velocity and carried 371 feet, according to Statcast.
The 22-year-old Casas, the 26th pick in the 2018 draft by way of American Heritage High School (Florida), was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Red Sox system entering the spring by CBS Sports. Here's what we wrote at the time:
"It's hard for a first baseman to rank highly these days because of the offensive demands of the position. Casas is the exception based on his pleasant combination of hit, discipline, and power; he's a triple threat in the batter's box, in so many words. He homered 14 times in 86 games between Double- and Triple-A, and did so while striking out in fewer than 20 percent of his plate appearances despite being only 21 years old. Casas has a frame and swing path that might remind people of Freddie Freeman.
The Red Sox figure to give Casas, ostensibly their first baseman of the future, a long look down the stretch. They entered Tuesday with a 67-69 record on the season, putting them in last place in the American League East and nine games out of the wild card picture. Boston has tried out a few other first-base options throughout the year, including Bobby Dalbec, Franchy Cordero, and Eric Hosmer. None have performed particularly well, however, leaving the door open for Casas to take the job as his own.
