PEORIA, Ariz. -- Alex McCoy has brought the thunder to the Valley of the Sun.
The Padres’ No. 26 prospect connected on a 118.2 mph, 435-foot homer in the fourth inning of Peoria’s 8-5 loss to Scottsdale at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday.
That made it the fourth-hardest-hit ball in play measured by Statcast since such data was first used in the Arizona Fall League in 2015. Only Tony Blanco Jr. (120.4 mph, 2025), Kemp Alderman (119.5, 2024) and Eloy Jiménez (119.4, 2016) connected on balls with higher EVs in the prospect showcase’s Statcast era.
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“My teammates told me immediately,” McCoy said. “It was awesome. They were saying it's crazy, and I agree it is pretty crazy.”
The blast came on a first-pitch sinker by Rays right-hander Marcus Johnson, and the right-handed slugger pounced on the 89.3 mph heater as it ran over the heart of the plate.
“I've been late on a lot of fastballs lately,” McCoy said. “I was thinking, 'Be early, be early.' I happened to be very early and put a swing on it.”
McCoy has this type of loud contact in the tank. He recorded an exit velocity as high as 119.5 mph on a groundout for High-A Fort Wayne on April 12 and maxed out at 118 for Single-A Lake Elsinore in 2025. Needless to say, there’s considerable strength in the outfielder’s 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame, and when he squares up balls, he can rival anyone in the Majors for pure raw power. In fact, only Oneil Cruz (119.0 mph) and Yordan Alvarez (118.5, twice) hit a ball harder in The Show this year than McCoy’s 118.2 mph blast on Thursday.
San Diego signed McCoy in July 2024 as an undrafted free agent out of Hofstra, where he played under former big leaguer Frank Catalanotto. Playing in his second full season this summer, the 24-year-old hit .278/.355/.467 with 19 homers (tied for most in the San Diego system) and 24 steals across 123 games between High-A and Double-A.
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McCoy's AFL assignment isn't about making up for lost time due to an injury or trying to get some extra at-bats to turn around a lost season. His trip to Peoria was more about getting additional exposure to top-end talent with the hopes of unlocking even more prodigious power. There is still some work to do toward that end; McCoy struck out in all three of his other at-bats Thursday and was 6-for-25 (.240) with two homers and 11 K’s to start his time with the Javelinas.
But there’s also four weeks of the season still remaining in the desert. Could we see an exit velocity even above Thursday’s 118.2 mph from McCoy before his campaign ends? It certainly seems possible.
“We’ll see,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”