Cincinnati Reds prospect Eli De La Cruz, 21, made his major league debut batting fourth. The Cincinnati favorite showed off his potential in his debut, hitting the fastest fastball (180 mph) by a Cincinnati hitter this season.
De La Cruz made his major league debut at third base, batting fourth, against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on July 7.
De La Cruz was recently called up after third baseman Nick Senzel was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right knee injury.
The 6-foot-5 infielder from the Dominican Republic is ranked No. 4 overall and No. 1 in Cincinnati in MLB Pipeline prospect rankings.
In 120 games at High and Double-A last year, he batted .945 with 28 doubles, 28 home runs, 86 RBI, 87 runs scored, 47 stolen bases and a .945 OPS. In 38 games at Triple-A this year, he slashed .297/.398/.633 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI and a 1.031 OPS. According to MLB.com, he “regularly posted elite bat speeds of more than 116 miles per hour, something only a handful of major leaguers have done.”
De la Cruz led off the first inning with a single and runners on first and second. He drew a walk off Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolos to load the bases. He later scored on Tyler Stephenson’s RBI single to tie the game at 3-3.
In his second at-bat of the third inning, he recorded his first big league hit. He hit a double to center field off Gonsolin, which had a bat speed of 112 mph (180.2 km/h). MLB.com wrote, “It was the hardest hit by a Cincinnati hitter this season. De la Cruz sprinted from home to second base in 7.74 seconds at a speed of 30.4 feet per second (elite speed is 30 feet per second), according to Statcast.” He showed his talent as a five-tool player with power and speed.먹튀검증
In the sixth inning, with runners on first and second, he grounded out to the second baseman against Yancy Almonte, but it was a well-placed shot that hit 108.7 mph (175 km/h).
De La Cruz had a satisfying major league debut, going 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and one run scored. Cincinnati rallied from a 6-8 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to win in dramatic fashion.