Elly Antonio De La Cruz (born January 11, 2002) is a Dominican professional baseball player who is a shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Reds as an international free agent in 2018 and made his MLB debut in 2023.
De La Cruz grew up in Sabana Grande de Boyá, Dominican Republic. [1] He has eight brothers. [1]
Minor leagues[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
On July 2, 2018, De La Cruz signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an international free agent. [2] [3] He received a $65,000 signing bonus. [4] De La Cruz made his professional debut in 2019 with the Cincinnati Reds in the Dominican Summer League at age 17, posting a .285/.351/.382 batting average with one home run and three stolen bases in 43 games, playing primarily in the shortstop role. [5] [6] In 2020 he did not participate in any championships due to the cancellation of the minor leagues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [7]
In 2021, De La Cruz played for the Arizona Complex League Reds and in Single-A with the Daytona Tortugas at the rookie level. He played 61 games and batted a combined .296/.336/.539 with eight home runs, 42 runs batted in (RBIs) and 10 stolen bases (while striking out five times on steals), playing primarily as a third baseman. .[6][8] Baseball America magazine named him the best player in the Arizona Complex League, the fourth-best player in the Low-A Southeast League and the fastest runner in the Reds organization. [9]
De La Cruz with the Dayton Dragons in
In 2022, De La Cruz played in High-A with the Dayton Dragons and in Double-A with the Chattanooga Lookouts. He was chosen to represent the Reds in the All-Star Futures Game. [10] In 121 games, he hit .304/.359/.586 with career highs in home runs (28), RBI (86) and stolen bases (47; while striking out six times on the bases). [6][11] He was the first minor league player since George Springer in 2013 to bat a .300 batting average with at least 25 home runs and 40 stolen bases.[9] He was a MiLB organization All Star, a Midwest League postseason All Star, and the Midwest League Prospect of the Year. [12] He was also named the Reds’ Minor League Player of the Year, named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America magazine, and Minor League Baseball’s Best Prospect in the Midwest League.[9] Baseball America’s survey of Midwest League managers voted him the most exciting player in the Midwest League, with the best batting potential, best power potential, and fastest runner on the bases.[9] On November 15, 2022, the Reds added De La Cruz to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.[13]
De La Cruz was optioned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats to begin the 2023 season.[14] In 38 games with Louisville, De La Cruz hit .298/.398/.633 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI and 11 stolen bases (while striking out on the bases six times), playing primarily as a shortstop.[6]
Major League Baseball[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
2023[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
On June 6, 2023, De La Cruz was promoted to Major League Baseball for the first time following an injury to Cincinnati Reds player Nick Senzel; De La Cruz, at 21 years old, was the fifth youngest NL baseball player, one of the tallest shortstops in MLB history at 196 cm tall, and one of the fastest baseball players. [15] [16] [17] [18] Teammate Joey Votto said, “He’s the best runner I’ve ever seen, he’s got power I’ve ever seen. And he’s got the strongest arm I’ve ever seen.” June 7, 2023 [19]against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he hits his first major league home run, hitting a distance of 458 feet. [20] on June 23, during a game against the Atlanta Braves, he hit a run; he became the youngest player to do so since César Cedeño in 1972. [21]
On July 8, De La Cruz became the first Reds player since Greasy Neale in 1919 to steal second base, third base, and home plate in the same inning. [22] On July 16, he broke the Statcast record for fastest infield assist with a throw that reached 97.9 miles per hour. [23] Although he had played only 30 games before the All Star Game, his top exit velocity was in the 98th percentile in MLB, he was tied for the fastest player in the league (sprint speed of 30.4 feet per second) and he had the strongest arm of any infielder (average 95.6 mph). [24] On September 26, he had his first multi-home run game of his career. [25]
Statcast identified De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals as the fastest players in Major League Baseball in terms of sprint speed in 2023: both averaged 30.5 feet per second. [26]
2024-05-04 23:05:43
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