Eric Jagielo was traded to the Reds in the winter of 2015 along with Rookie Davis, Tony Renda and Caleb Cotham. Only Tony Renda hasn’t dealt with health problems since then, with Cotham actually retiring from him. Prior to being injured, Jagielo was known for hig time power, and he had shown it in the past. In 2015 he hit .284 and slugged .495 at the Double-A level with the Yankees. That came in half of a season though. He missed the second half after having surgery to remove bone chips in his knee. Last season, in 172 more plate appearances than in 2015, Eric Jagielo had four fewer extra-base hits and saw his offensive output decline dramatically.
Well, last night was only the first game of the season, but maybe it’s a sign that his knee is feeling better and he’s healthy once again. He absolutely CRUSHED a home run in Pensacola last night. I’ve written about it many times, but Pensacola sits on Pensacola Bay and the wind comes off of the bay and pushes everything from right field to left field. The ballpark really suppresses power to right field. In one season that led to nine total home runs hit to right field in 70 games (this number is home runs hit by both teams in those 70 games). Here’s video of the home run, courtesy of local TV station WEARTV’s Dan Shugart on twitter, who shared it after I noted that I estimated it at 426 feet based on a poor replay via the Wahoos MiLB.tv feed and google maps:
@dougdirt24 maybe a better look at Jagielo’s HR in Pensacola, in Thursday’s opener, from WEAR-TV. 426′ is close. pic.twitter.com/woJzpOkqcL
— Dan Shugart (@WEARDanShugart) April 7, 2017
With a better look thanks to Dan, I went back to re-measure on Google Maps. To the point where it landed, it was roughly 405 feet. But, it didn’t hit the ground. It bounced off of the top of the railing, then out of the stadium. The railing is elevated from the ground, and the ground it sits on is also elevated. Had it traveled to a place that was level with the plate before landing, it probably would have picked up another 10-15 feet.
We’ve also got another video highlight to talk about. As I noted on twitter, and in the Patreon notes for those of you who support the site, Alfredo Rodriguez drew praise from several sources last night about defensive plays that he made. Well, we’ve got video of one of them from Braves Prospects on twitter.
Alex Jackson robbed of a base hit on a great play by @daytonatortugas SS Alfredo Rodriguez @ZachENQ pic.twitter.com/LZjBHcGQYJ
— Braves Prospects (@ProspectsBraves) April 7, 2017
The guy can go get it in the field.
I’ll be heading to Dayton this evening. They will be completing the game from Thursday and then the regularly schedule (7-inning) game. It should be a good chance to see as many guys as possible in one night. TJ Friedl, who didn’t start on Thursday, is expected to play this evening. He’s dealing with a hip flexor issue that popped up late in the spring.