This former Marlins prospect is the hottest hitter in professional baseball

Jerar Encarnación played parts of eight seasons in the Miami Marlins minor league system. There were stretches where the Dominican slugger looked like one of their most promising young position players. Encarnación had an unforgettable MLB debut on June 19, 2022, blasting a go-ahead grand slam. He received semi-regular playing time for the Marlins later that season.

Eventually, though, it became clear that he could not catch up with high-end fastballs. Even at the Triple-A level, his strikeouts piled up. Midway through 2023, Encarnacíon was squeezed off of Miami's 40-man roster. He went unclaimed and elected minor league free agency at the end of the year.

In January, Encarnación started a new chapter of his career when signing with Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League. He had some awesome hot streaks as an affiliated player, but nothing like this.

Encarnación already has 10 home runs—entering Monday, that is more than any big leaguer and tied with the leading minor leaguers.

But here's the kicker: his team has played only nine games. The Mexican League season just started on April 12. The 26-year-old outfielder has gone yard in every contest with the exception of April 17. He's earning style points along the way with estimated distances of 441 feet and 468 feet.

Although this is an offensive-friendly environment, what Encarnación has done so far is still incomparable to anybody else in pro ball. He has single-handedly out-homered 10 of the Mexican League's 20 teams and matched the totals of three others. He's drawing plenty of walks as well, resulting in a mind-blowing .500/.590/1.469 slash line. His 2.059 OPS is nearly 500 points clear of the league's next-best qualified hitter.

Somehow, Oaxaca's record is only 5-4! That doesn't bode well for their competitive chances once he cools off.

It is premature to say what this could mean for Encarnación's career trajectory, but fun to see his power fully unleashed.