NEW YORK -- A.J. Ewing hit the first leadoff home run of his career on Wednesday. If the Mets have their way, it will be the first of many.
That’s not to say Ewing is or ever will be a classic power hitter. He’s not, and probably won’t be. But Ewing’s skillset clearly isn't limited just to speed or on-base acumen, the two primary reasons why the Mets recently installed him as their regular leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching. He is, in the eyes of team officials, a far more well-rounded player than that.
In his latest attempt to prove it, Ewing launched Royals opener Steven Cruz’s third pitch 420 feet and over the right-center-field fence to give the Mets an early lead over the Royals in a game they eventually won, 6-2, with a five-run rally in the eighth. Not only was that blast Ewing’s seventh home run in 53 big league games, but it put him alongside Gregg Jefferies as the only Mets to hit a leadoff homer at age 21 or younger.
So while this power thing might not be Ewing’s identity, it’s at least becoming a trend. Since coming to the Majors in May, Ewing has averaged a long ball every 29.3 plate appearances, compared to one every 73.3 plate appearances in the Minors.
“I think it’s just being comfortable in the box,” he said Tuesday, after his first career four-hit performance also included a homer. “That’s not really something I’m pushing for. It’s more just line-drive stuff. But the fact that I'm getting the ball in the air to the pull side, it’s cool.”
Or, as teammate Brett Baty put it: "This kid’s different."
Seven innings after Ewing’s homer, the Mets loaded the bases after there were two outs on two singles and a walk before Royals reliever Alex Lange hit Jared Young with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. Baty followed with a two-run single to add some cushion for the Mets, who wound up sending 11 batters to the plate -- including Ewing, who extended the two-out rally with a double to finish 2-for-5 -- while winning for the third time in four games.
“That’s good momentum,” Baty said.
Though Ewing did demonstrate plenty of power in the Minors, it was mostly gap power, resulting in doubles and triples. In the Majors, that has turned into more over-the-fence pop than expected, as well as an expected slugging percentage that puts him near the top third of MLB hitters.
When asked about it, Ewing tends to give some version of the answer above: Hitting home runs is not something he’s ever really trying to do. But when he squares up baseballs and lifts them to his pull side, Ewing clearly has enough power to rocket them out of Major League ballparks.
Consider it a side hustle for Ewing and a luxury for the Mets, who recently made Ewing their leadoff hitter because they were enamored with how quickly he’s translated his on-base skills to the highest level. Through the first 53 games of his career, Ewing owns a .360 OBP, which would rank 22nd in the National League if he had enough at-bats to qualify.
“We’re talking about a guy that played 12 Triple-A baseball games,” interim manager Andy Green said. “Finding comfort in the big leagues within 200 at-bats says a lot about him. It takes a lot of guys a lot longer to find that.”
Green defined Ewing as a player who relishes challenges. He likes to tell the story of last season, when the Mets started a 20-year-old Ewing back at Single-A St. Lucie rather than promoting him to High-A Brooklyn to open the year. When Green -- then the Mets’ head of player development -- informed him of the decision, Ewing responded that he didn’t plan to stay at the level for long.
“And he went out and proved that he didn’t belong there,” Green said. “Those things speak a lot to who he is, and I just want him to continue to rise up and meet the challenge every single day. I think he’s wired to do that.”
While that challenge may not specifically require him to hit homers, the Mets will happily take each one of them as they come.
“For most guys, home runs come in bunches,” Green said. “We don’t see this as what he has to be to be really, really good. If you throw up a .380, .400 on-base in front of Juan Soto, you’re going to be a dynamic player for us.”