Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart added his name to a wild little corner of baseball history on Thursday afternoon, launching a home run off Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski on a pitch that barely seemed possible to touch.
The fastball came in at 102.3 miles per hour, and Stewart sent it back at 102.7 miles per hour. It was the first first-inning home run ever hit off a pitch that hard in the Statcast era.
Rob Friedman noted in a follow-up post that it was only the 10th home run of its kind since 2008 in any inning. He also pointed out just how brutal those pitches usually are for hitters, who have combined to bat .138 with a .186 slugging percentage against fastballs that reach 102-plus miles per hour.
For Stewart, it was another loud entry in what’s becoming one of the best rookie seasons the Reds have seen at the plate. The right-handed hitter has also reached double-digit steals this season and is now closing in on 20 homers.
None of that is meant to downplay what Misiorowski brings to the mound. Stewart may be putting together something special, but the Brewers right-hander’s arsenal is the kind of stuff that can overwhelm just about anyone, and he’s the sort of pitcher who will get his share of answers against even the best young bats.
Still, Stewart’s blast was a reminder that he’s not just holding his own - he’s doing things that almost nobody else does. And with Misiorowski in the division, this matchup has the feel of one that could stay fun for a long time.
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Instead, the trade has quickly tilted the wrong way for Cincinnatis side of it. Lux did not give the Reds the lift they needed, and his time in the field and at the plate never really delivered the payoff the front office was chasing before he was later flipped again for Brock Burke. Meanwhile, the loss of Sirota keeps looking more painful, which is why this deal keeps coming up as a cautionary tale every time the Reds are reminded how thin the margin can be on deadline-style roster moves. [Read more 🡒]