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Elly De La Cruz

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Elly De La Cruz
De La Cruz with the Louisville Bats in 2023
Cincinnati Reds – No. 44
Shortstop
Born: (2002-01-11) January 11, 2002 (age 22)
Sabana Grande de Boyá, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 6, 2023, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.250
Home runs38
Runs batted in120
Stolen bases102
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Elly Antonio De La Cruz (born January 11, 2002) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Reds as an international free agent in 2018 and made his MLB debut in 2023. He was selected for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.

Early life

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De La Cruz grew up in Sabana Grande de Boyá, in the Dominican Republic.[1] He has eight older siblings.[1]

Career

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Minor leagues

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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 Dominican Summer League Reds at 17 years of age, hitting .285/.351/.382 with one home run and three steals (while being caught six times) in 43 games, playing primarily shortstop.[5][6] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

In 2021, De La Cruz played for the rookie–level Arizona Complex League Reds and Single–A Daytona Tortugas (with whom his seven triples were second in the Low-A Southeast). He played in 61 games and batting a cumulative .296/.336/.539 with eight home runs, 42 runs batted in (RBIs), and 10 stolen bases (while being caught five times), playing primarily third base.[6][8] Baseball America named him the best player in the Arizona Complex League, the fourth-best player in the Low-A Southeast League, and the best athlete and fastest baserunner in the Reds' organization.[9]

De La Cruz with the Dayton Dragons in 2022

In 2022, De La Cruz played for the High–A Dayton Dragons (where his three triples tied for fourth in the Midwest League) and Double–A Chattanooga Lookouts (where his six triples were eighth in the Southern League, his 20 home runs were second, and his 28 steals tied for fourth).[10] He was chosen to represent the Reds in the All-Star Futures Game.[11] In 121 games, he hit .304/.359/.586 with career–highs in home runs (28), RBIs (86), and stolen bases (47; while being caught six times).[6][12] He was the first minor league player since George Springer in 2013 to bat .300 with at least 25 home runs and 40 stolen bases.[9] He was a MiLB Organization All-Star, a Midwest League Post-Season All-Star, and the Midwest League Prospect of the Year.[13] He was also named the Reds' Minor League Player of the Year, Baseball America's Reds Minor League Player of the Year, and Minor League Baseball's Top Prospect in the Midwest League.[9] Baseball America polled managers who rated him the Midwest League's most exciting player, best batting prospect, best power prospect, and fastest base runner.[9] On November 15, 2022, the Reds added De La Cruz to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[14]

De La Cruz was optioned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats to begin the 2023 season.[15] In 38 games for Louisville, De La Cruz hit .298/.398/.633 with 12 home runs, 36 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases (while being caught six times), playing primarily shortstop.[6]

Major leagues

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On June 6, 2023, De La Cruz was promoted to the major leagues for the first time following an injury to Nick Senzel; De La Cruz was the fifth-youngest NL ballplayer at 21 years of age, one of the tallest shortstops in MLB history at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m), and one of the fastest ballplayers in baseball.[16][17][18][19] Teammate Joey Votto said: "He's the best runner I've ever seen, and he has the most power I've ever seen. And he has the strongest arm I've ever seen."[20] On June 7, against the Los Angeles Dodgers he hit his first major league home run, a 458-foot shot.[21] In a game against the Atlanta Braves on June 23, he hit for the cycle; he became the youngest player to do so since César Cedeño in 1972.[22]

On July 8, De La Cruz became the first Reds player since Greasy Neale in 1919 to steal second, third, and home in the same inning.[23] On July 16, he broke the Statcast record for fastest infield assist with a throw reaching 97.9 miles per hour (157.6 km/h).[24] While he played only 30 games prior to the All-Star Game, his maximum exit velocity was in the 98th percentile in MLB, he was tied for the fastest player in the league (30.4 feet per second (556 m/min) sprint speed), and he had the strongest arm of any infielder (average 95.6 miles per hour (153.9 km/h)).[25] On September 26, he had his first two-home run game of his career.[26]

Statcast tracked 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: they averaged 30.5 feet per second (558 m/min).[27]

Playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 16, 2024, De La Cruz became the first MLB player since Ichiro Suzuki in 2012 to record four hits and four stolen bases in a single game.[28] On July 8, De La Cruz stole his 44th and 45th stolen bases against the Colorado Rockies, thus setting a new record for most stolen bases by a Reds player prior to the All-Star break. The record was previously held by Billy Hamilton who stole 44 before the All-Star break back in 2015.[29]

On July 7, 2024, De La Cruz was named as a reserve player in the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[30] On August 21, 2024, De La Cruz became the fifth AL/NL player since 1900 and the first shortstop ever in Major League history to hit at least 20 home runs and steal 60 bases in a season when he stole his 60th base of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Waldstein, David (June 30, 2023). "The Most Exciting Show in Baseball". New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Nightengale, Bobby (December 11, 2021). "RedsXtra: Cincinnati Reds seeing returns from investments in international scouting". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Enquirer".
  4. ^ Passan, Jeff (June 28, 2023). "Inside Reds star Elly De La Cruz's hot start". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  5. ^ Sheldon, Mark (December 15, 2021). "Prospect de la Cruz could be 5-tool talent". MLB.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Elly De La Cruz Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Sheldon, Mark (February 18, 2022). "Reds great on SS prospect de la Cruz: 'He's a fast-track guy'". MLB.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d "Elly De La Cruz Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  10. ^ "2022 Southern League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ "Ready for Futures Game? De La Cruz leaves no doubt". MLB.com.
  12. ^ Rosecrans, C. Trent. "Reds prospect Elly De La Cruz offers something new, different and extraordinary every single day". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  13. ^ "Elly De La Cruz Stats, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com.
  14. ^ "Reds add Elly De La Cruz, 5 more prospects to roster; Aristides Aquino among cuts". cincinnati.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  15. ^ "Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Sent to minor-league camp". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  16. ^ "Fastest MLB players in 2023: Where Elly De La Cruz's speed ranks in baseball". www.sportingnews.com. June 12, 2023.
  17. ^ "'One of my favorites': How Luis Castillo impresses Reds teammates behind the scenes". The Enquirer.
  18. ^ "Elly De La Cruz Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Promoted to majors". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  20. ^ Wadleigh, Matt (June 20, 2023). "Joey Votto Gushes All Over Rookie Sensation Elly De La Cruz". ClutchPoints.
  21. ^ "De La Cruz annihilates his 1st MLB home run 458 feet". MLB.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "De La Cruz's cycle lifts Reds to 12th straight win". ESPN.com. June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  23. ^ "Reds' Elly De La Cruz steals 2nd, 3rd and home in same inning". ESPN.com. July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  24. ^ Sheldon, Mark (July 16, 2023). "Elly's newest feat? The fastest-tracked infield assist". MLB.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  25. ^ "These players are shaping up to be the stars of the second half".
  26. ^ "Elly De La Cruz clubs 2 HRs as Reds top Guardians". Reuters. September 27, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  27. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  28. ^ "Player Batting Game Stats Finder: For single games, from 2005 to 2024, in the regular season, requiring Hits >= 4 and Stolen Bases >= 4, sorted by descending Date". Stathead. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  29. ^ "Elly De La Cruz Sets Cincinnati Reds Record Ahead of All-Star Break". msn.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  30. ^ Nightengale, Bob (July 7, 2024). "MLB All-Star Game reserves, pitchers: Pirates' Paul Skenes makes history with selection". USA Today. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  31. ^ Sheldon, Mark (August 21, 2024). "De La Cruz joins exclusive 20/60 club with 60th steal of '24". MLB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hitting for the cycle
June 23, 2023 		Succeeded by
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