This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Jose Siri finished his swing, dropped his bat and watched. He couldn’t help but watch, really.

The ball came in at 82.4 mph, a slider from Twins right-hander Louie Varland that was in the lower third of the strike zone but very much over the plate. It soared off Siri’s bat at 110.8 mph, bound for the standing-room area behind Section 149 at Tropicana Field. There are home runs, there are no-doubters, and then there was the rocket Siri launched to left-center field on Tuesday night.

“I hit it well, and it felt excellent,” Siri said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “All I can say is that it felt excellent. ... Yeah, I watched it a little bit. Once I knew it was gone, I tried to run with the head down. You don't want to cause too much disrespect out there.”

So Siri dropped his bat, casually swung his left arm and took a slow step from one batter’s box to the other. He nodded toward the Rays dugout, looked in a little longer then trotted around the bases. Siri said he didn’t see where it landed at the time, but he went back to check on video.

The answer: a Statcast-projected 457 feet away, the longest home run of Siri’s career and his 11th this season. It was just the latest remarkable display of power from the 27-year-old center fielder who:

• Had 11 homers in 125 big league games entering this season
• Is still best known for his outstanding defense, which remains elite
• Has been used most frequently as the Rays’ No. 9 hitter, making 21 of his 34 starts there
• Owns a 134 wRC+ that ranks 16th among MLB outfielders with at least 130 plate appearances this season, right there with Mike Trout (136) and tied with Kevin Kiermaier and Cedric Mullins.

This is pretty much exactly what the Rays were hoping for when manager Kevin Cash offered Siri assurances during an offseason meeting that he would be Tampa Bay’s starting center fielder. He’s playing with comfort and confidence, and he’s letting his natural ability shine through.

“That’s been the part that has been so impressive, is the talent's coming out,” hitting coach Chad Mottola said. “He's done it in the Minor Leagues for a while now, so it's comfort. There’s a lot of layers to it, but it's very impressive.”

Siri still has his flaws as a hitter. He’s hitting .235 with a .285 on-base percentage, numbers currently offset by a .571 slugging percentage that ranks second on the team behind only Luke Raley. He’s struck out in nearly a third of his plate appearances and walked in about 7 percent of them. All the quick-twitch athleticism and adrenaline that make him such a joy to watch in the outfield can make him a little too jumpy at the plate.

But clearly, he has the strength and bat speed to hit balls like the one he crushed Tuesday night. Combine that power from the bottom of the order with his game-changing speed when he gets on base and his elite defense at a key position, and you’ve got a valuable player who’s clearly thrilled to make the most of this chance he’s been given.

“It's a good opportunity,” Siri said through Navarro. “Especially in this game, where you know if you can’t make an adjustment today, you can come back tomorrow and make a different adjustment to have better results.”