Cerda just smashing for Greeneville

Speed has always been an integral part of Allan Cerda's game and it was a big reason why the Reds signed the undrafted free agent on July 18, 2017. But he showed off another part of his arsenal Thursday.
The Cincinnati outfield prospect homered twice during a four-hit night and established career highs with seven RBIs and three runs scored as Rookie Advanced Greeneville crushed Johnson City, 10-0, at Pioneer Park.

Cerda has hit safely in three straight games and notched 10 RBIs over that span. His four hits matched a personal best set last July 24 in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League.
Gameday box score
The 19-year-old's speed was something Greeneville hitting coach Luis Terrero noticed may have factored into his approach at the plate and the two spent the past week working on slowing things down. The concept Terrero tried to instill was patience on every pitch. Waiting for the ball to travel longer and into a better zone, rather than try to attack it immediately.
"He tends to swing under the ball because his body goes forward to meet the ball, so we've been working really hard on letting the ball travel and creating a shorter path to it," the coach said. "That was really the difference for him tonight. Early in the season, he was missing those pitches to hit because his body was out in front, but tonight he stayed behind the ball and that allowed him to drive everything.
"The extra time gives him space to recognize what's coming and do whatever he wants to do with the pitch."
The Bronx, New York native got the scoring started against the Cardinals with a two-out single to center field off right-hander Julio Puello (0-1) that plated Ivan Johnson. Cerda promptly swiped his first bag of the year, but was stranded in scoring position after Cristian Olivo flied out to left. In the third, he stepped in against Puello and launched the first pitch of the at-bat over the center-field fence for a two-run dinger that plated Danielito Remy.
It was deja vu two frames later as the 6-foot-3, 170-pound outfielder disposed another first-pitch heater from Puello into the seats, a three-run shot into the deepest part of the park in left-center following singles by Tyler Callihan and Remy. A leadoff double from Remy got things started in the seventh and Cerda cashed in, tagging a 1-0 off-speed pitch from Wilberto Rivera into center for an RBI single. He came around to score three batters later when the righty committed a throwing error on a comebacker by Danny Lantigua.
"He's a very mature kid at the plate, and he's been working very hard to improve his swing," Terrero said. "He never just goes up there without an idea. He prepares every single day and that allows him to draw from his natural ability. I think this is just the beginning of what we'll see from him."
Cerda sports a .345/.375/.759 slash line with a 1.134 OPS through eight Appalachian League games, including three multi-hit efforts in his last six contests.

"He has a natural swing to drive the ball and just has so much natural strength to go with it," the coach said. "Even the way he behaves at the plate, his maturity, the way he always keeps his cool, he's advanced for a 19-year-old kid. If there's a bad pitch that gets called a strike, he never gets upset about it or loses focus. He's just a competitor out there."
Callihan finished 3-for-5 and Raul Juarez added two hits for the Reds -- including a two-run tater in the seventh.
Greeneville starter Graham Ashcraft (1-1) earned his first victory after yielding a pair of hits and whiffing five over five frames. Andy Fisher and Tanner Cooper completed the shutout with two innings of hitless relief apiece. The duo combined to strike out seven of the 13 batters they faced.