Reds' Elly De La Cruz has 112 mph double for first MLB hit in debut
Elly De La Cruz made a smashing entrance to the big leagues.
The fourth-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, earned his first call-up to the Reds on Tuesday and immediately made an impact with a third-inning double.
De La Cruz walked in his first plate appearance and then truly announced himself with an 112 mph extra-base hit.
The 21-year-old got an 0-2 pitch above the strike zone from Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin and smacked it into the right-center field.
He came around to score his first run on a Tyler Stephenson single, racing home at 30 feet per second, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.
De La Cruz batted cleanup and finished with a hit, two walks and a run scored in three at-bats in the Reds’ 9-8 come-from-behind win over the Dodgers in Cincinnati.
“I’m just every excited to be here,” he said after the win. “In just trying to give the team an opportunity to win, and sure enough, we did that today.”
Cincinnati Reds’ Elly De La Cruz gestures to the dugout after hitting a double against the Los Angeles Dodgers. AP
At the time of the double, it was just one of two hits across Major League Baseball above 110 mph on Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-5 shortstop with both prodigious power and speed had been promoted to the Reds when Nick Senzel went on the injured list with a knee injury.
De La Cruz was all set to travel with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate to Columbus to start a six-game series, but Louisville Bats manager Pat Kelly pulled the young player aside as the team waited for its bus to depart.
Kelly asked De La Cruz if he had all of his belongings before the road trip, but then pointed out that some bags were off to the side and not on the team bus.
“Your bags are here. You gotta go to Cincinnati,” Kelly said before De La Cruz was greeted with cheers and hugs from his teammates.
Hailing from the Dominican Republic, De La Cruz has flashed his elite skills at all levels of the minors since 2019.
This season, he hit 12 home runs and stole 11 bases all while maintaining a gaudy 1.031 OPS before his first call-up.
Source: New York Post
