Is there something in the Tarpons' water? Yankees prospect tallies third 3-HR game for Single-A affiliate this year
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Three players have tallied three-homer games in the bigs this season.
In the Minors? One squad has reached that mark all by itself.
On Tuesday, Luis Puello became the third Tampa player to mash three roundtrippers in the same contest this year, powering the Yankees’ Single-A affiliate to a 15-9 victory over Fort Myers at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The big fly barrage was the 20-year-old's first multihomer game of his career and brought his 2026 total to eight, doubling his previous season high.
Puello finished the contest with single-game professional bests in hits (four), RBIs (seven), runs (five) and, of course, home runs (three).
The Venezuela native wasted no time putting the Tarpons on the board in the first inning. Stepping to the dish with the bases loaded, the right-handed hitter belted a cutter from right-hander Hendry Chivilli (Twins) 396 feet to left-center field for his second grand slam as a pro. The clout left Puello’s bat at 101.2 mph.
After walking in the fourth, he teed off again in the fifth, turning on a changeup by righty Merit Jones and depositing it beyond the left-field wall. The two-run wallop traveled 394 feet with an exit velocity of 100.5 mph.
Rounding out Puello’s trio of tanks was his loudest mash of the night. After sending his first to right and his second to left, the versatile catching prospect completed the trifecta with a 104 mph, 409-foot moonshot to center off Jones.
With most of the damage done, Puello tacked on a single in the eighth to complete his first four-hit night as a pro.
Signed internationally in February 2023, this year marks Puello’s first foray into full-season ball. He slashed .292/.346/.583 with two homers in seven games in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League before earning a promotion to Single-A.
With the Tarpons, Puello has split time between his primary position of catcher and left field -- which he was playing Tuesday. Through 25 games, he has slashed .275/.333/.529.
Standing just 5-foot-9, Puello has proven he can pack a punch in his shorter frame. He is one of just three Yankees prospects 20 years old or younger with at least eight homers this year.
2025 16th-rounder Jackson Lovich and second baseman Hans Montero have also delivered three-homer performances for the Tarpons this season. Interestingly, though, both came in losses last month.