HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 31: Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros is congratulated by Jose Altuve #27 after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park on August 31, 2015 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
American League Rookie of the Year frontrunner Carlos Correa didn't waste any time making his mark upon returning to the Houston Astros' lineup on Monday night.
Having missed the past four games with left hamstring soreness, Correa jumped on a Vidal Nuno offering in the fifth inning, launching a 396-foot two-run homer that put the Astros up 5-1.
The shot was pretty impressive, so much so in fact that Statcast broke down its elevation and trajectory in a slick video:
As the 20-year-old Correa told MLB.com's Chandler Rome after the game, he may have been out a few days but he had no doubt that he got all of that pitch once he made contact: "[I knew it was a home run]. I was out for six days, but I still know what it feels like to hit a homer."
Needless to say, Correa was anxious about getting back on the field and helping Houston maintain its division lead now that there's essentially a month remaining in the regular season. As he said to Rome in that regard, "We're in a playoff run, and we want to make the playoffs, so I want to be able to be out there playing for the team. We've got an important month coming up, and we're going to play a lot of games against our division, so we're going to go out there and try to perform and win ballgames."
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