ST. LOUIS — When it comes to pure power, other than Tyler O'Neill I don't think there's a player on the Cardinals roster who can hit the ball further and harder than Marcell Ozuna.
The "big bear" proved that Monday night when he launched a screaming 115.3 MPH home run off Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Ozuna's blast was the hardest hit home run in baseball this season, and the fourth hardest hit ball overall.
"I'm getting better and better every day," Ozuna said when asked if the homer might be a sign he's starting to heat up.
We've seen the offense come around a bit for Ozuna lately, but it's the throwing arm and defense that continues to raise some eyebrows, and not in a good way.
The defense remains a mystery.
The guy was a gold glove outfielder in 2017, and we have yet to see anything close to that in St. Louis.
When it comes to throwing, Ozuna said he's probably at 55% when it comes to getting back to where his shoulder and arm used to be. He said he's not in any pain, and he's working it out every day and practicing with Willie McGee to get it back to where he wants it to be.
When he does get back to 100%, Ozuna has a message for all those runners trying to take an extra base on him.
"They [opposing teams] knew I had a bad arm before, but they're going to pay for that," Ozuna said.
Speaking of "heating up" earlier in this article, the temperature might have a bit to do with Ozuna's productivity.
"When you're cold, you feel tight," Ozuna said. "And when it's cold you don't want to have crazy movement where you could get hurt."
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt knows Ozuna is doing everything he can to get back to full strength.
"I can't ask for anything more for what this guy's doing," Shildt said. "He's showing up early, he's getting his treatment, he's out working with Willie and working on his throwing. It's something he's taken ownership of."