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Photo: John Shea / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Image 2 of 9 Photo: John Shea / The Chronicle Image 3 of 9 Cespedes leaving the dugout. Cespedes leaving the dugout. Photo: John Shea / The Chronicle Image 4 of 9 Photo: John Shea / The Chronicle Image 5 of 9 Image 6 of 9 Cespedes takes a big hack in a simulated game. Cespedes takes a big hack in a simulated game. Photo: John Shea / The Chronicle Image 7 of 9 Awaiting an at-bat in simulated game Awaiting an at-bat in simulated game Photo: John Shea / The Chronicle Image 8 of 9 Photo: John Shea / The Chronicle Image 9 of 9 Wow! What a day for A's newcomer Yoenis Cespedes 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

John Shea reporting from Camp Cespedes . . .

Nothing like a walk-off home run in your first at-bat in your first simulated game.

It was a walk-off homer because Yoenis Cespedes hit a ball way over the left-field fence and simply walked off to the dugout. No need to run the bases in simulated games, after all.

Cespedes’ first swing was a thing of beauty. He turned on a pitch from minor-leaguer T.J. Walz, a 15th-round pick in last year’s draft, and sent it high in to the desert air and past some cactus beyond the fence at the A’s minor-league facility at Papago Park.

A “really?” and a “you gotta be kiddin’ me” were heard among A’s minor-league coaches after the mighty swing, and a few team officials couldn’t help but feeling proud with their $36 million investment.

As for Cespedes, he showed no emotion, as if making an immediate splash was expected.

“This is really important for me to be ready to play in these games,” Cespedes said through an interpreter, Ariel Prieto, the pitching coach at Class A Vermont. “I want to prove it to the team and show everything I can do.”

Cespedes hit a sharp single to left in his next at-bat, off Jonathan Joseph, a Dominican who pitched at A-ball Burlington last year. The third at-bat was a strikeout (looking) by Walz, after which Cespedes was seen in front of the dugout frustrated at himself.

He grounded a single through the 3-4 hole off Joseph in his fourth at-bat and fouled up with a major-league popup off Justin Souza that dropped for a single, thanks to a botched defensive play.

Cespedes began walking to the dugout with a 4-for-5 to his name but was summoned back to the batter’s box for another try. With his final swing of the day, he popped out foul.

Nice start for the Cuban defector who could play his first Cactus League game as early as the weekend, manager Bob Melvin said.

“I feel good,” Cespedes said. “I’m reading the pitches. I’ll be happy to play a big-league game. I think I’m ready.”

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