Samuel Basallo, the Baltimore Orioles' 21-year-old prospect, smashed two home runs in his first two plate appearances during Thursday night's exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. The blasts had exit velocities of 106.3 mph and 110.6 mph. He also added a hard single later in the game.
In the first inning, Basallo faced Pittsburgh right-hander Cam Sanders. After a 2-2 count, he capitalized on the seventh pitch—a 97.1 mph four-seam fastball—sending it beyond the right-field fence with a 106.3 mph exit velocity, per Statcast data from the game at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, on Thursday night. His second homer came in the third inning against righty Mike Clevinger, who left a first-pitch changeup over the heart of the plate. That shot marked Basallo's highest exit velocity of the spring at 110.6 mph. Basallo also lined a 104.7 mph single off a left-hander in the sixth inning, left on base. This performance follows a strong showing less than a week earlier, when he hit his first Grapefruit League home run and drove in five runs against the Phillies in Clearwater. Of his first 12 spring training hits, 10 have exited the bat at 104.3 mph or harder, with seven going for extra bases. MLB Pipeline ranks Basallo as the No. 8 overall prospect. Last season, the Santo Domingo native batted .165 with six doubles, four home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .559 OPS over 31 big-league games. The Orioles demonstrated faith in his future by signing him to an eight-year, $67 million contract extension on August 22. He enters the season as a front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year.
