OAKLAND — It’s rare to see a ball reach the second deck of the Coliseum. The spot is usually reserved for the game’s most prodigious sluggers. But majestic power is one of many tantalizing qualities Shea Langeliers brings to the table, so Thursday’s feat shouldn’t come as a surprise.
A three-hit day for Langeliers in the A’s 13-4 loss to the Yankees was highlighted by his first career home run at the Coliseum. Oakland’s No. 1 prospect jumped on a 1-1 slider from Jameson Taillon with two outs in the sixth for a towering 419-foot solo blast that bounced off the scoreboard in front of the second deck of seats high above the left-field wall.
To that point in the game, Taillon had been cruising, holding the A’s to just four hits through 5 2/3 innings. One inning later, Langeliers drove in another run on a single, continuing to thrive in what has been an impressive first week in the big leagues for baseball’s No. 36 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
“He’s hunting his pitches, getting them and doing damage,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Langeliers. “He’s taking good at-bats. The success of those at-bats are showing with the results right now.”
Since his highly anticipated callup to the Majors on Aug. 16, Langeliers has lived up to the hype. The 24-year-old catcher is batting .294 with two homers, four doubles and seven RBIs through his first nine games with the A’s.
To those on the A’s who were teammates of his in the Minor Leagues, like infielder Sheldon Neuse, this is all just a continuation of the tear Langeliers was on with Triple-A Las Vegas, where he crushed 19 homers in 92 games and earned MVP honors in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game last month.
“He’s got super explosive hands,” Neuse said. “As long as he’s staying within himself and in the zone, he’s super dangerous. It’s been fun to watch him play. I got to play with him [in the Minors] a lot and work out with the guy in the offseason. Seeing him come out and do what he’s doing, it’s fun to watch.”
From the spacious foul ground and lack of carry on fly balls due to the heavy Bay Area marine layer, the Coliseum can be an intimidating place for young hitters. Langeliers, however, is showing no signs of worry, as Thursday marked his second three-hit effort in five games, both of which have come at home.
“I like it,” Langeliers said of the Coliseum. “The weather here is obviously perfect. Not a whole lot of sweating, so you don’t deal with wet batting gloves or anything like that. It’s pretty easy to be comfortable. Just going into the game, I’m trying to be comfortable and on time for a pitch in the zone and put a good swing on it.”
Langeliers’ offensive upswing was a bright spot in an otherwise rough night for the A’s that began with James Kaprielian lasting just 2 2/3 innings as he allowed eight runs on seven hits and a career-high six walks. Kaprielian’s short outing led to the A’s eventually having to preserve their bullpen by pitching Neuse with one out in the eighth following a comebacker that struck left-hander Joel Payamps in the left calf and forced him to leave the game with help from a trainer.
Neuse retired all five batters he faced, becoming the first A’s position player to pitch more than one inning since Mark Wagner, who also tossed 1 2/3 innings on Aug. 20, 1984.
“I failed tonight, and I take full responsibility for this loss tonight,” said Kaprielian, who has now issued at least four walks six times this season. “I’m not throwing enough strikes. Too many walks. I’m fighting myself a little bit. I didn’t get the job done, and it’s disappointing. I put the team in a bad position from the start and put the bullpen in a bad position, not only tonight but for the rest of the series.”
.