Alonso homers off 103-mph heat in Fall Stars Game

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Peter Alonso is no stranger to mashing homers, which is exactly what he did to start the scoring in the Arizona Fall League's 13th Annual Fall Stars Game on Saturday night.
:: 2018 Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game ::
The 2018 Minor League home run co-champ took the second pitch -- a 103-mph fastball from Blue Jays No. 4 prospect Nate Pearson -- deep to straightaway center with an exit velocity of 110 mph, per Trackman. Alonso also walked twice in the game and scored three times, but his East squad fell to the West, which walked off with a 7-6 win.
"That first one was coming in pretty good … he was throwing some noise up there," Alonso said. "The first one I swung too hard. With a guy like that, you pretty much need to swing as soft as you can and let the pitcher supply the power. Thankfully I got a fastball to hit up in the zone and I capitalized on it."
Surprise Stadium doesn't have Statcast™, but to put Alonso's blast into perspective, the fastest pitch hit for a home run since Statcast™ began recording data in 2015 was a 102.8 mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman that Rafael Devers took deep in August 2017.
"I knew he could hit, I was going to challenge him," Pearson said. "I got one fastball by him, tried to get another, but he was ready for it. He's a great hitter."
Alonso finished the 2018 regular season with 36 homers, tied for the Minor League lead. The Mets' No. 2 prospect (No. 56 overall) is tied for second in the Arizona Fall League with four homers through 19 games, so going deep on the AFL's biggest stage only seemed natural.
Not only are massive homers becoming a habit for Alonso, but so is setting Statcast™ records.
Just last week, Alonso hit a double that had an exit velocity of 116.3 mph-- harder than any ball a Mets player had hit since 2015. Later in that game, he homered at 113.6 mph.
Need more evidence that Alonso is a dream-come-true for Statcast™ lovers?
During the Futures Game, Alonso hit a two-run homer with an exit velocity of 113.6 mph and a launch angle of 46 degrees, which was the only ball Statcast™ has ever tracked with an exit velocity over 113 mph and a launch angle over 40 degrees.

Alonso also impressed defensively with a nice stop in the fifth, diving to his left and robbing Blue Jays prospect Cavan Biggio of an RBI and an extra-base hit.

"I'm really enjoying myself defensively out here," Alonso said. "There's been a bunch of plays like that. I'm just looking to get better and better and continue to elevate my game."