Elly De La Cruz is already showing MLB why he’s the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospect, and he’s doing it with some brilliance.
De La Cruz, ranked as the fourth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, had his first career major league hit Tuesday night at 112 mph early on against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he wanted to get another accolade out of the way Wednesday night at the Great American Ballpark in the second game of his career.
Facing Dodgers starter Noah Syndergaard, the 6-foot-5 switch-hitter batting from the left side quickly turned into a 92 mph fastball at the top of the zone and sent it flying into the New York sky. Cincinnati to right field.
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Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds hits a home run in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on June 7, 2023, in Cincinnati. It was the first home run of his career. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
De La Cruz knew he had it all when he flicked his bat and looked toward his dugout. John Sadak, who is in his third season as a play-by-play announcer for the Reds Television Network, had the perfect reaction when he saw how far De La Cruz hit the ball.
«That baseball had a family!» Sadak yelled as De La Cruz started running around the bases.
Great American Ballpark went wild when De La Cruz, who they’ve been waiting for at the bigs for quite some time, made contact with the ball which traveled approximately 458 feet.
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It was also a significant home run, as he tied the ball game in the bottom of the first inning, 2-2.
But De La Cruz wasn’t done showing off his five tools on the diamond.
In his next at-bat, De La Cruz hit another pitch against Syndergaard, but this time it stayed within the confines of the stadium. However, he got past Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts and rolled to the wall.
Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds walks around the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on June 7, 2023 in Cincinnati. It was the first home run of his career. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
That’s when De La Cruz fired up the jets, running around the basepaths in record fashion.
He ended up sliding headfirst into third base, and it posted the second fastest time from home to third in the past four seasons at 10.83 seconds. It was the fastest time in the majors this year.
De La Cruz signed for $65,000 with the Reds in July 2018 as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic. He had to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic before he could come to the United States to acclimate to the minor league Reds, but he quickly became comfortable.
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Last season, De La Cruz moved from High-A Dayton to Double-A Chattanooga, where he hit a combined .304 average with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs in 121 games. That led the Reds to start this year at Triple-A, and there he, too, hit .298/.398/.633 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 38 games.
De La Cruz was ready for the big ones and is already making his mark. And in doing so, he’s showing what the future looks like in Cincy with his young prospects, including Spencer Steer, Hunter Greene and others, getting valuable time in the big leagues.
Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds throws her bat after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on June 7, 2023 in Cincinnati. It was the first home run of his career. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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The future is clearly bright for De La Cruz, and more tape measure shots, and wild calls from announcers, should be on the way.