BALTIMORE -- The ball exploded off Jonathan Aranda’s bat, bound for the Boog’s BBQ stand on Eutaw Street. Aranda finished his smooth swing, stood in the batter’s box for only a moment, then softly dropped his bat to the dirt before beginning his trot around the bases.
Aranda’s breakout season has not necessarily been defined by moments like this. Coaches and teammates rave more about the consistency that has allowed the 27-year-old first baseman to emerge as one of the Majors’ most complete hitters. Aranda can hit any pitch to any part of the field, and he has seemingly developed an allergy to any sort of extended slump.
But Saturday afternoon brought a long, loud reminder that Aranda is a dangerous hitter -- one who has earned a trip to his first All-Star Game next month.
“Can we get him to Atlanta, please? Like, please?” Rays outfielder Jake Mangum said afterward. “Golly, he's so good.”
Aranda blasted a full-count fastball from Zach Eflin a Statcast-projected 467 feet to right-center field, part of the Rays’ four-run first inning in an 11-3 rout of the Orioles at Camden Yards that pulled Tampa Bay (47-36) back within a half-game of the American League East-leading Yankees (47-35). It was the third-longest homer by a Rays player since Statcast began tracking in 2015, and the third-longest blast at Oriole Park during that time.
Aranda’s two-run shot was the 134th home run to reach Eutaw Street and the 70th hit by an opposing player in Baltimore. It was Tampa Bay’s longest homer of the season by nearly 30 feet.
“I said when it landed, I hadn't seen many go that far,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Jonny got every bit of that one.”
What does it even feel like to hit a ball that way?
“It feels very good,” Aranda said with a smile through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “Sometimes you don't know what you have in storage there, so I was surprised.”
Statcast has tracked only two longer home runs by a Ray since the 2015 season: Avisaíl García’s 485-foot shot on May 14, 2019; and Mike Zunino’s 472-foot blast on May 11, 2021. The only homers to surpass Aranda’s moonshot at Camden Yards were hit by Carlos Correa (474 feet on Aug. 10, 2019) and Ryan Mountcastle (472 feet on Aug. 8, 2023).
“It looked like just a flick of the wrist, and he hit it 470 feet. It was crazy,” starter Zack Littell said. “The guy obviously deserves to be an All-Star.”
Aranda didn’t advance to Phase 2 in the All-Star voting, finishing third among AL first basemen behind the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Yankees’ Paul Goldschmidt. He said he appreciated everyone who cast a ballot for him, but he acknowledged before Saturday’s game he would use the results as “huge motivation.”
“I understand the system. I know that the other two guys, they are stars also,” Aranda said. “I'm concentrating on what I can control, and that's all I’m doing.”
What Aranda has done to this point is perform like one of the best hitters in baseball. He is slashing .330/.411/.504 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles and 44 RBIs. His batting average trails only the Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Athletics' Jacob Wilson in the Majors, and his .915 OPS ranks eighth among all hitters.
“It is fun to watch that dude swing a baseball bat,” Mangum said. “I don't know how you would pitch him. … One of the most just pure hitters I've seen in the game, and he's got pop.”
Aranda gave the Rays an early jolt, but everyone played a part as they completely bounced back from Friday night’s 22-8 defeat. They scored multiple runs in three innings, and everyone in the starting lineup either drove in or scored a run.
“I've been on teams in the past where you get your teeth pushed in a little bit like we did yesterday and you kind of fold up for a few games,” Littell said. “So to come out there and just immediately jump on the other guys is incredibly impressive and super cool to watch.”
Meanwhile, as the Rays kept tacking on runs, Littell gave them exactly what they needed after a busy night for the bullpen. Littell breezed through seven innings on 93 pitches (62 strikes), and left-hander Joe Rock (the Rays’ No. 21 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) handled the final two innings after being called up from Triple-A Durham on Saturday morning.
With his wife and a handful of family and friends in attendance, Rock allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four in his MLB debut.
“It was awesome,” Rock said. “I just remembered out there, like, when I was 14, sitting there, wishing that was me, and it was me finally.”