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It took Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Ryan Waldschmidt 39 major league games and 142 plate appearances, but on Wednesday afternoon against the Athletics, he finally collected his first major league home run.
The Diamondbacks were locked into a 2-2 tie with the Athletics in their game three rubber match at Chase Field heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs, the home run party began.
It started with a Gabriel Moreno solo homer. James McCann followed with a two-run shot.
And then Waldschmidt, with Tim Tawa at first base, got a 95.8 MPH four-seam fastball on the inside edge of the zone and turned on it for his first major league blast. The two-run shot put Arizona ahead, 9-2 after seven two-out runs came across home plate.
Diamondbacks Ryan Waldschmidt hits first MLB homer
Waldschmidt is no longer the top prospect in the D-backs' system; that spot now belongs to shortstop Kayson Cunningham. Waldschmidt has surpassed that prospect threshold. He's a major-leaguer, and despite some early success, had been in a bit of a rut of late, hitting just .211 in June.
It seemed as if major league pitching had begun to adjust to him, and he had yet to display much of the power output that had helped him rocket through the D-backs' minor league system in the first place.
With the homer, Waldschmidt raised his season slash to .254/.305/.369 and his OPS to .674, and he's now hit safely in four straight games. He's beginning to look more confident at the plate, as well.
Though the rookie still has work to do, it's an extremely encouraging sign to see him leave the yard with authority and remind the Diamondbacks that there is still raw power in his bat.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi as Ryan Waldschmidt's First Career Homer Is A Massive Step Forward.
