Watch: Mariners rookie Tyler Locklear slugs first career HR

SEATTLE – Before Thursday night’s game, Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais had some positive things to say about what he’s seen from rookie Tyler Locklear in his first few games. The 23-year-old first baseman backed up his coach’s words just a few hours later.

Seattle Mariners rookie Tyler Locklear making good early impressions

Locklear belted his first career major league home run in the bottom of the fifth inning off Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet. Locklear’s homer was a solo shot and came off an 0-1 changeup from the flame-throwing Crochet. The ball traveled 366 feet and exited the bat at 99.2 mph with a towering 38-degree launch angle, per Statcast.

The home run was the fourth hit of Locklear’s young MLB career, which started Sunday when he debuted against the Kansas City Royals. He’s now had a hit in all four of his starts and four of five games since his promotion.

Here’s what Servais said about what he’s seen so far in Locklear during his pregame press conference: “I like what I’ve seen from Tyler. I think he’s handled things really well. … I think he’s done a really nice job at first base, and that was an area of focus for him when he left spring training. He wanted to get better defensively, be more comfortable around the bag and the different plays and whatnot. He’s looked good over there. I think everybody in the organization always felt he was going to hit, and I think he’s learning a lot getting some exposure at the Major League level. They pitch a little bit different here. You’re going to see more strikes with the breaking ball maybe and the velocity picks up, but he’s handled it really well. I think the one thing I’ve noticed about him, he’s not afraid to make quick adjustments, which is a really good sign for a young player.”

As you can see below, Locklear showed off a bit of the glovework Servais mentioned during Thursday’s game, too.

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