Rookies are starting with a bang like never before
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Nerves can be overwhelming for hitters making their Major League debut, but this season’s crop of rookies sure hasn’t made it feel that way.
The Mariners’ Lazaro Montes and the Nationals’ Yohandy Morales both went yard in their MLB debuts on Tuesday, running the total of rookies to homer in their first career games to 15 in 2026. That’s the most in a single season, surpassing the previous high of 13 in 2022.
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Montes, MLB Pipeline’s No. 56 overall prospect, went 2-for-4 with a walk in Seattle’s 9-6 win at Fenway Park, launching a homer to dead center in the fifth inning. Morales went 3-for-5 and came a triple short of the cycle in the Nats’ 9-5 victory over the Braves, socking a solo dinger in the third.
The two are the first players since Joshua Báez’s historic three-homer debut for the Cardinals on Aug. 15 to homer in their first Major League games.
Four players -- JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals, Carson Benge of the Mets, Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox and Chase DeLauter of the Guardians -- marked their debuts on Opening Day (March 26) with home runs. DeLauter actually debuted in the 2025 postseason, but he homered twice in his first regular-season game. He, Báez and Arizona’s Jose Fernandez (March 31) are the only players this season with multiple homers in their debuts.