SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Abimelec Ortiz arrived in the Arizona Fall League with a reputation for huge raw power. He lived up to his billing on Friday night.

The No. 14 Rangers prospect crushed one of the longest homers of the early Fall League season, driving a 90-mph sinker from right-hander Inohan Paniagua (Cardinals) 444 feet in the sixth inning of the Surprise Saguaros’ 9-6 victory over the Scottsdale Scorpions. The two-run shot had an exit velocity of 107 mph and nearly cleared the Charro Lodge behind the right-field bullpen at Scottsdale Stadium.

Ortiz said that it was probably his second-farthest blast of 2023. The Rangers first baseman ranked fourth in the Minors with 33 homers and topped the High-A South Atlantic League with 26 long balls in just 80 games.

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The 6-foot, 230-pound Ortiz said he patterns his game after Aaron Judge, who starred in the AFL in 2014 before going on to set rookie and American League home run records.

“I like to look at Aaron Judge and his swing and what he does with his hips,” Ortiz said via Surprise manager Carlos Cardoza, who translated for him. “And also the effort level that he takes with his swing. I’m trying to emulate those things and apply them to my work and my game.”

Ortiz attended high school and trained at the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in his native Puerto Rico, a program that has sent several players to Florida SouthWestern State JC. When he slashed .349/.429/.596 there in 2021, Texas signed him for $20,000 as a nondrafted free agent.

After doing little in the lower levels of the Rangers system in his first two years as a pro, Ortiz broke out in 2023. He batted .294/.371/.619 across two levels, leading the Minors in slugging while placing fourth in homers and OPS (.990).

Ortiz attributes his surge to a number of reasons. He trained with fellow Puerto Rican and former All-Star Carlos Delgado, he shortened his left-handed stroke and he started wearing contact lenses in games.

“The year I’ve had came from the hard work I put in during the offseason,” Ortiz said. “I worked with Carlos Delgado maybe once a week. I made some adjustments. My swing was a little bit too long in previous seasons. I understand that I’ve been blessed with natural strength and power, so I’ve just been cutting down my swing a little bit and looking to make contact, let the ball do what it does off the bat.”

Ortiz is still aggressive at the plate, which resulted in a 28 percent strikeout rate this season. He’s doing a better job of not selling out for power, however, and maintaining that focus is one of his goals in the AFL. He’s also trying to improve his defense at first base.

“I’ve been primarily working on staying toward the middle of the field in my cage work and during batting practice,” Ortiz said. “I’m trying to stay toward the big part of the field as consistently as possible. Defensively, I’m working on moving my feet, being in good position and turning outs into outs.”

Ortiz went 2-for-3, with two runs, three RBI and two walks, with his first free pass contributing to a six-run top of the first inning. Catcher Michael Trautwein (Reds) followed Ortiz’s sixth-inning homer with a 395-foot blast of his own that was clocked at 103 mph.

Left fielder Carter Howell (Giants) went deep for Scottsdale, which lost for the first time this fall.