Apr 8, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox catcher Yermin Mercedes (73) gestures as he rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
MLBBy Matt Clapp on

The Chicago White Sox lost excellent young hitter Eloy Jiménez to a torn pectoral that is expected to sideline him for 5-6 months, and potentially the entire season. So, the White Sox — who hope to contend for a title this season — needed somebody to step up in Jiménez’s absence, and they have gotten that production in shocking fashion.

28-year-old rookie Yermín Mercedes — who entered the season with one career plate appearance — has been absolutely crushing the baseball. The 5’11”, 245-pounder started the season 8-for-8, becoming the first MLB player since 1900 to start the season with eight consecutive hits. He was rewarded for his efforts by being named AL Player of the Week.

Now, Mercedes is 15-for-28 on the season (a .556 batting average), and he hit a ridiculous home run in the team’s home opener against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.

In the bottom of the first inning, Mercedes hit a 485-foot homer with an exit velocity of 113.3 mph. It’s the second-longest White Sox home run tracked by Statcast, behind only a 487-foot dinger Luis Robert hit last postseason. It’s also the third-longest home run ever hit at Guaranteed Rate Field, behind only Joe Borchard (504 feet in 2004) and Frank Thomas (495 feet in 202). And this is his first career game in the stadium!

Amazing. It’s obviously going to be quite difficult to keep hitting anything like *this*, but it’s an unbelievable start and story. And at the very least, it’s clear that Mercedes has some big-time power.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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