Colorado Rockies' Nolan Jones Rivals Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso in MLB Rookie History
Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones continued his impressive rookie campaign with an absolute moonshot on Wednesday.
Jones stepped up to the plate with a man on and one down in the bottom of the fifth as his Rockies trailed the Chicago Cubs 3-1. Facing a full count, Jones cranked a 95 mile-per-hour fastball deep to left to tie the game with one swing of the bat.
The two-run home run had an exit velocity of 106 miles per hour with a 30 degree launch angle, traveling 452 feet before bouncing off the outfield bleachers. It was Jones' fifth home run of 450-plus feet this season.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Jones now ranks No. 3 on the list of most 450-foot homers in a rookie season since Statcast began in 2015. He was previously tied with Joc Pederson, who hit four such home runs with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015.
The record for most 450-foot home runs by a rookie is shared between Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso, who did so in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Jones is now batting .275 with 16 home runs, 52 RBI, 13 stolen bases, an .867 OPS and a 2.5 WAR in 89 games.
In addition to his success at the plate, Jones ranks second in all of baseball with 15 outfield assists this season.
Jones' home run Wednesday opened the floodgates for the Rockies, who went on to win 7-3. That marked back-to-back wins for Colorado for the first time since Aug. 19, as well as their first series victory in over three weeks.
San Francisco Giants are next up on the docket for the Rockies. First pitch for Thursday's series opener is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET.
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