Dodgers News: Former LA Prospect Sets Insane Statcast Record

Baseball traditionalists bemoan all of the new statistics used in the modern era of baseball. The war over the use of analytics is never ending, but the fact is, all of the new data helps measure outcomes and events previously only enumerated by sight and sound. On Tuesday, former Dodgers prospect Oneil Cruz nearly broke the Richter scale with a thunderous hit.

Against the Braves, Cruz absolutely hammered a single to right field. Statcast measured the exit velocity (the ball leaving Cruz's bat) at a preposterous 122.4 miles per hour. It's the hardest hit ball of the Statcast Era which began in 2015 and the loudest single fans might ever see.

ESPN stats expert Sarah Langs noted how Giancarlo Stanton previously owned the record for the hardest hit ball.

Cruz originally signed with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in the summer of 2015. LA then shipped him to Pittsburgh at the 2017 trade deadline in exchange for Tony Watson. Cruz has a bright future, and Watson performed well for the Dodgers in his three months with the team, but that trade is probably one team president Andrew Friedman would like to have back.

Before this season began, Cruz was ranked as the 14th best prospect by Baseball America. MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus had him ranked 26th and 12th respectively.

Cruz, a 6'7" shortstop, has struggled to make consistent contact this year (.198 batting average), but there's no questioning his ability to hit for power.

The 23-year-old is slashing .198/.249/.401 this year after being called up in mid-June.