The Cuban baseball player Víctor Mesa Jr. is on a roll. The Cuban outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays hit his 14th home run of the season this Sunday by launching a homer to right-center field during the fourth inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field.
The ball left the bat at 103.9 mph and traveled 403 feet after facing a 94.9 mph fastball from lefty Patrick Sandoval, according to a report from Pelota Cubana USA.
The home run extended Tampa Bay's lead to 5-0 at that moment, and the Rays went on to win 5-1, improving their record to 95-60 as they compete for postseason positions in the American League.
In historical terms, it was the 15th home run of Mesa Jr.'s entire Major League career, the third against left-handed pitchers in 2026, and also the third against Boston, the team he has hit the most home runs against. With that performance, the player from Havana reached 31 runs batted in for the season.
The emergence of the Cuban player in Tampa Bay has been one of the big surprises in MLB in 2026. Just in February, the Miami Marlins designated him for assignment before the Rays claimed him in exchange for pitcher Ángel Brachi. What seemed like a minor move turned out to be one of the most profitable trades of the year for Tampa Bay.
The highest point of his season so far came during the week of September 8 to 13, when he was named American League Player of the Week by MLB after hitting .556 with an OBP of .636, a slugging of 1.278, and an OPS of 1.914, accumulating three home runs and six RBIs during that streak.
Mesa Jr., born in Havana on August 9, 2001, is the son of the legendary baseball player Víctor Mesa, who played 19 seasons in the Cuban National Series and won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona in 1992. He left Cuba along with his older brother Víctor Víctor Mesa in May 2018 and signed with the Marlins in October of that year for a bonus of one million dollars.
After years in the minors in Miami without managing to secure a spot on the Major League roster, the trade to Tampa Bay opened the door he needed, and the Cuban has made the most of it in what is shaping up to be a rookie season to remember.
With 14 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a team competing for a postseason spot, Mesa Jr. still has several games ahead to continue writing his story in the Major Leagues.
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