Orioles' Cunningham quickly shows off power potential in Fall League

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Jake Cunningham offered one of the best power/speed combinations in the 2023 college class. Nevertheless, he lasted 154 picks in the Draft because a right ankle injury hampered him throughout his junior year at UNC Charlotte and there were some concerns about his ability to make consistent contact.

The Orioles right fielder faced similar issues in his first full season. A quadriceps injury cost Cunningham most of the first month at Single-A Delmarva, and he batted just .175/.301/.265 with 62 strikeouts in 52 games before the All-Star break. He made some adjustments, enjoyed his best month of the year in August and earned a promotion to High-A.

Cunningham has maintained his roll in the Arizona Fall League. He launched the longest home run in the first week of the developmental league's season on Thursday, a grand slam as part of a 4-for-5 day to lead the Surprise Saguaros to a 12-5 rout of the Scottsdale Scorpions. He didn't have a four-hit game during the Minor League season.

The 22-year-old slammed a second-inning pitch from CJ Weins (Tigers) 461 feet with an exit velocity of 115 mph, according to Trackman data. To put that blast in context, just eight homers in the Majors this year matched or exceeded both those metrics: three by Aaron Judge, two each by Oneil Cruz and Shohei Ohtani and one by Jesús Sánchez.

"That might be the longest home run I've ever hit," Cunningham said. "I thought I put a good swing on it and I guess the Arizona heat makes the ball fly a little bit."

Cunningham doesn't need help to drive the ball great distances. His combination of strength, bat speed, loft in his right-handed swing and leverage produce well-above-average raw power. He also has speed to match.

After getting fully healthy and making some adjustments, he again looks like the player who intrigued scouts in college. While his season line -- .220/.312/.308 with four homers and 29 steals in 92 games -- wasn’t what he wanted, he learned from it and feels confident he'll be better going forward.

"I think I'm in a better spot to hit now than what I was before and doing damage on pitches out front," he said. "I just worked on some things with my load and my forward move, so my timing is a little bit better.

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"There were some dog days in July where you look up at the scoreboard and you don't see the numbers you want. But I think with pro ball because you're playing every night, you just got to wake up every day and take a new day as its own opportunity."