Fastball

Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays' Stars Sitting at the Top of Impressive Home Run Leaderboard in Early Going

Cincinnati Reds' star Elly De La Cruz hit a massive home run on Friday night, putting him into an exclusive class with Blue Jays' star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. early in the season.
Brady Farkas|
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) crosses home plate after hitting a home run in the
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) crosses home plate after hitting a home run in the | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

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The Cincinnati Reds crushed the woeful Chicago White Sox on Friday night, 11-1, to run their record in the early going to 7-6.

Cincinnati is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the COVID 2020 season and winning games like this against bad teams is one of the things you have to do if you are going to make a playoff run.

Speaking of crushed, Reds' young slugger Elly De La Cruz smoked a home run that went 449 feet in the win, putting him in exclusive company early in the season.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

players with multiple 445+ ft HR so far this season:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr
Elly De La Cruz

Known for his superb athleticism and traits, De La Cruz is hitting .333 thus far. He went 2-for-4 in the win on Friday with two runs scored and three RBI. He's posted an OPS of 1.104 which was the second-highest in the Reds' lineup on Friday, behind only Spencer Steer (1.199).

De La Cruz made his debut last season and while the talent is undeniable, he had some things to clean up this season. Hopefully this good start is an indication that he has done that.

The Reds and White Sox will play again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET. Left-hander Nick Lodolo (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his season debut for the Reds, while the 2-11 White Sox send ace Garrett Crochet to the mound. The Opening Day starter for the Sox, he's a strikeout machine, entering the game at 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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