Earlier this week, Rece Hinds made history with the Cincinnati Reds by hitting five extra-base hits in his first two MLB games.
On Friday night, he continued his impressive debut by smashing his first grand slam against the Miami Marlins.
Take a look:
“The rookie continues to rake!”
Rece Hinds tees off on first big league grand slam for the @Reds
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline)
Hinds’ grand slam came during the third inning off Yonny Chirinos. His homer had a 105 mph exit velocity and traveled 397 feet. It would have been out of the park in 16 out of 30 stadiums. But what counts is that it was a home run where it mattered that night!
Hinds, who is just 23 years old and was picked in the second round in 2019, had already shown promise before joining the majors. In Triple-A, he hit .216/.290/.409 with 13 homers and stole 12 bases over 77 games. By Friday, he had six extra-base hits from an amazing start of going 8-for-16.
Fans are likely thrilled about Hinds’ explosive start!
Main Topic: Hinds’ Power and Potential
CBS Sports noted earlier this week that Hinds has immense power potential. This season alone, he’s hit balls over 115 mph twice! One of those was a scorching line drive at an incredible speed of 116 mph back in May. This puts him alongside names like Bobby Witt Jr., Yordan Alvarez, and Fernando Tatis Jr.
However, there’s a catch: strikeouts! He’s struck out more than anyone would like to see – over 38% of his plate appearances in Triple-A and even more since joining MLB. While teams are more forgiving about strikeouts nowadays, these numbers are still concerning.
The Reds were three games behind in the National League wild-card race as they played on Friday.
What do you think about Hinds’ performance so far?
