Top prospect Elly De La Cruz hits 112 mph double in first big league appearance

CINCINNATI — Elly De La Cruz made a big first impression at Great American Ball Park after he was called up from AAA Louisville to face the Dodgers Tuesday night.

De La Cruz featured for the first time in the starting lineup for the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers night. He went 1-3, with a double, two walks and a run scored.

Elly De La Cruz's first big league hit came off the bat at 112 mph... Congrats, @ellylacocoa18‼️ pic.twitter.com/tSwaeRQe3V

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 7, 2023

Though the game was tight, Reds managed to squeak out a walk-off, 9-8 win against the Dodgers in De La Cruz's Big League debut.

When Elly De La Cruz spoke at his introductory press conference, he said through a translator that he was "excited to be here."

De La Cruz said he "always knew he was ready" for the big leagues but left it up to the Reds personnel to make the decision for him when he would be called up.

He called Reds fans a "great fan base" and said he was "ready to play for Cincinnati."

Reds manager David Bell said they would focus De La Cruz at third base and shortstop.

De La Cruz replaced Nick Senzel on the roster, who was placed on the 10-day injured list. Bell said that would be a "quick" stint on the IL for Senzel.

Here's how Elly found out about his call up:

According to ESPN, the 6-foot-5 infielder is the top prospect in all of baseball.

So what is it that that makes this 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic so special?

De La Cruz is a five tool player — meaning De La Cruz excels as a player who can hit for average, hit for power, field, throw, and run. He told WCPO when we traveled to Louisvile to speak with him that his favorite aspect of the game is setting the base paths on fire.

ESPN insider Kiley McDaniel's list of the best 100 prospects in baseball included De La Cruz in the No. 1 spot.

Nearly two months into the 2023 season, De La Cruz posted a .297 batting average and 1.031 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in Triple-A Louisville. He hit 12 home runs and recorded 36 RBI thru 38 games for the Bats.

One Reds scout told WCPO he has the speed of Billy Hamilton and the power of Giancarlo Stanton. Another said he is like a short stop, switch-hitting version of Ken Griffey Jr.

De La Cruz hit a home run over the scoreboard in left recently. He hit a walk-off shot to propel the Bats to a win last week, and did the griddy dance when he came into home plate. Earlier in May, he accomplished something no player has ever done, recording three hits over 116 mph. In that same game, he connected for the hardest-hit ball in all of professional baseball this season with an exit velocity of 118.8 mph, according to Statcast.

He also recorded one of the hardest throws from the field at 99.2 mph from shortstop to first base.

And on June 2, he recorded a 10.97-second time from home plate to third base, which ties him for the quickest trip tracked at the Major League level in 2023.

MLB.com's Sam Dykstra wrote that De La Cruz amazed teammates when he hit and triple and made it to third base in 11.19 seconds in April — the second-fastest home-to-third time in Triple-A.

"The Reds’ top prospect is the most electric player in the Minor Leagues right now," Dykstra wrote.

The last time the Reds had a No. 1 overall prospect called up to the big leagues was Jay Bruce in 2008.

The Reds found a gem in De La Cruz, signing him as an international free agent in 2018 when he was just 16 years old for a measly $65,000. One of the scouts that helped find him, Emmanuel Cartagena, director of Carribbean scouting for the Reds, said De La Cruz was actually underdeveloped at the time. But flash forward to 2020 during the height of the pandemic, De La Cruz grew from 6-feet to 6-foot-5 and started to become the breakout prospect he is today.

RELATED | How the Reds landed top prospect Elly De La Cruz

De La Cruz told WCPO sports reporter Marshall Kramsky that he's always smiling because baseball is fun.

You can watch the full interview with De La Cruz below.