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Elly De La Cruz

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Elly De La Cruz
De La Cruz with the Cincinnati Reds in 2025
Cincinnati Reds – No. 44
Shortstop
Born: (2002-01-11) January 11, 2002 (age 24)
Sabana Grande de Boyá, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 6, 2023, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2025 season)
Batting average.255
Home runs60
Runs batted in206
Stolen bases139
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
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 and 2025 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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De La Cruz in 2023

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 Postseason 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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2023

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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] On June 23, he hit for the cycle; he became the first Reds player to do so since Eric Davis in 1989 and 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 since at least 2015 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 MLB in terms of sprint speed in 2023: they averaged 30.5 feet per second (558 m/min).[27]

In his rookie season, De La Cruz hit 13 home runs and seven triples in 388 at-bats, while also striking out 144 times towards a .235 batting average. He swiped 35 bases on 43 attempts.

2024

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Playing against the 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 one game.[28] On July 8, De La Cruz stole his 44th and 45th stolen bases, 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 in 2015.[29]

On July 7, De La Cruz was named as a reserve player in the MLB All-Star Game.[30] On August 21, he became the fifth AL/NL player since 1900 and the first shortstop in major league history to hit at least 20 home runs and steal 60 bases in a season, after stealing a base against the Toronto Blue Jays.[31] He was the third Red to reach the 20–50 club, joining David and Joe Morgan.[32]

In his sophomore season, De La Cruz nearly doubled his amount of home runs and stolen bases, with racking up 25 and 67, respectively, from 2023. His slash line statistics (batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage) increased across the board as he had 696 plate appearances in 160 games. He finished 8th in NL MVP voting.

2025

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On January 28, 2025, De La Cruz was announced as one of three cover athletes for MLB The Show 25 and became the first Reds player to be a cover athlete for the video game series.[33] On May 11, he became the first player in major league history with 115 extra base hits and 115 stolen bases through his first 300 games since 1900 when he hit a three-run home run against the Houston Astros.[34] On May 23 against the Chicago Cubs with his 300th career hit, De La Cruz reached 300 hits, 150 RBI, and 100 stolen bases in his career in fewer games than any other player since RBI became an official statistic in 1920. He accomplished this in 310 games, breaking the record of 328 games by Hanley Ramírez.[35][36] On June 1, De La Cruz chose to play against the Cubs after recently learning about the death of his older sister, Genelis De La Cruz Sanchez. He hit a home run in his third at bat and after going around the bases, pointed to the sky and made a heart gesture to pay tribute to his sister.[37] De La Cruz hit a home run in four straight games between June 11–15 for the first time in his career. He joined Eric Davis (1984), Johnny Bench (1970), and Frank Robinson (1959) as the only Reds aged 23 or younger to homer in four consecutive games.[38]

After a strong start to the season, De La Cruz struggled in August and September. After appearing in his second consecutive All-Star Game, he was hitting .285/.363/.489 at the end of July. However, he hit .221/.280/.341 to close out the season, the worst slugging percentage of any months of his career so far. After the season, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall revealed De La Cruz played through a strained left quad, which may have contributed to his poor offense and increased errors on defense. Krall said the Reds planned to keep De La Cruz at shortstop.[39][40][41]

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. ^ Goldsmith, Charlie (February 27, 2022). "Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds prospect, and his journey". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  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. ^ Adler, David (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  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. ^ Trezza, Joe (July 8, 2022). "Reds No. 2 prospect Elly De La Cruz hits three homers in doubleheader". MLB.com. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  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. ^ Nightengale, Bobby (November 15, 2022). "Cincinnati Reds add Elly De La Cruz to roster, cut Aristides Aquino". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  15. ^ "Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Sent to minor-league camp". CBS Sports. March 14, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  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. Associated Press. 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. ^ Rapien, James. "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.
  32. ^ "Reds overcome Sánchez's 480-foot homer to beat Marlins 10-3". Spectrum News. Associated Press. August 6, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  33. ^ Dietz, Matthew (January 28, 2025). "Reds star Elly De La Cruz to grace cover of MLB The Show 25". WLKY. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  34. ^ "Elly De La Cruz redefines greatness with historic 115 extra-base hits and 115 stolen bases in just 300 games". motociclismo.pt. May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  35. ^ Farkas, Brady (May 17, 2025). "Cincinnati Reds Superstar Talent on Verge of Incredible Major League History". SI.com. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  36. ^ Kuffner, Greg (May 23, 2025). "Cincinnati Reds Superstar Elly De La Cruz Makes Major League Baseball History". Yardbarker. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  37. ^ Sheldon, Mark (June 1, 2025). "With heavy heart after sister's death, Elly honors her with homer". MLB.com. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  38. ^ Sheldon, Mark (June 15, 2025). "Elly homers in 4th straight game as Reds continue to surge". MLB.com. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  39. ^ "Elly De La Cruz 2025 Batting Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  40. ^ Randhawa, Manny; Sheldon, Mark (November 20, 2025). "Elly De La Cruz played with quad injury for part of 2025 season". MLB.com. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  41. ^ Towers, Chris (November 21, 2025). "Fantasy Baseball: Of course Elly De La Cruz was playing through a significant injury in the 2025 second half". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
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