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Athletics Rookie Goes Yard For 1st Home Run of MLB Career

It took Colby Thomas a while to get going, but the Athletics' No. 4 prospect finally came through Thursday against the Washington Nationals.
Sam Connon|
St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Athletics left fielder Colby Thomas (32) doubles for his first career hit during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Athletics left fielder Colby Thomas (32) doubles for his first career hit during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Oakland Athletics

Colby Thomas hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire since making his big league debut on June 30.

But the 24-year-old outfielder finally broke out Thursday, doing his best to anchor the Athletics' offense in their rubber match against the Washington Nationals.

Thomas was facing a 3-1 count against Mitchell Parker when he took a hack at a fastball up and away. The rookie sent the ball 406 feet to center field, clearing the fence for his first career MLB home run.

The two-run shot opened the scoring in the second inning. Thomas came through with a sacrifice fly in the fourth that made it a 4-0 ballgame.

Thomas came off the bench in eight of his first 15 major league games. He was batting .129 with two singles, two doubles, three walks, an RBI, a stolen base, a .422 OPS and -0.3 WAR entering action Thursday.

The former third round pick is currently ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Athletics' farm system, which already churned out a pair of elite rookies in Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz earlier this year. Before the A's acquired shortstop Leo De Vries from the San Diego Padres at last week's deadline, Thomas was the organization's top-ranked position player who had yet to exhaust his rookie eligibility.

In his minor league career, Thomas hit .284 with an .880 OPS, racking up 67 home runs, 104 doubles, 13 triples and 47 stolen bases in 340 games.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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