WASHINGTON -- Power in, power out.
And White Sox prospect Luis Alexander Basabe showed he has a power arm to boot.
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:: 2018 Futures Game coverage ::
Basabe was the early star of Sunday's SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park, turning on a 102.3-mph fastball from Reds top pitching prospect Hunter Greene for a tiebreaking, two-run home run in the third inning of the World team's 10-6 loss to the U.S. The homer left Basabe's bat at 104.8 mph, according to Statcast™, and traveled a projected 404 feet.
"I saw a guy hit a 102-mph fastball like it was nothing," said World manager David Ortiz. "That's fun to watch."
Had it been a Major League game, and not an exhibition pitting top prospects from the U.S. against another team comprised of players from the rest of the world, Greene's fastball would have been the firmest MLB pitch turned around for a home run since Rafael Devers took Albertin Chapman deep last season on a 102.8-mph heater.
According to Statcast™, there has been only one other Major League homer off a pitch in excess of 102.3 mph since 2008: A Kurt Suzuki smash off a 102.6 mph Chapman fastball in 2016.
"I was nervous, but I exhaled and got it all out," Basabe said. "They told me the pitch was 102 [mph], but I just put the bat on the ball. I'm not surprised. I know I can hit it, but you have to do everything perfect."
Basabe knew he was going to see heat from Greene, the hard-throwing right-hander who is No. 18 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects list. Fourteen of Greene's 27 pitches topped 100 mph.
"I just think, 'Be early and get the barrel on the ball,'" Basabe said.
"Tip my cap to that guy. He's a great ballplayer," Greene said. "That was pretty impressive."
The home run gave the World a 3-1 lead, two innings after Basabe showed he can throw hard himself. He scooped up Nathaniel Lowe's RBI single in the first inning and fired a 90.1 mph throw, per Statcast™, to second base to deny Lowe a double. Basabe's assist ended the inning.
A 21-year-old from Venezuela currently playing at Double-A Birmingham, Basabe came to the White Sox from the Red Sox as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Chris Sale to Boston. Other prospects in the deal, most notably Chicago second baseman Yoan Moncada, got higher billing, but that's just fine to Basabe.
"I like it," he said, "because they don't think too much of me, and then when I go to do my thing, they're going to be surprised."
Asked what he wants White Sox fans to know about him, Basabe smiled widely and said, "That I'm a good baseball player, and I like to be on the camera. That's all."