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Elly De La Cruz Stands Alone Atop This Statcast Era Cincinnati Reds Leaderboard

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz continues to do things that people usually just don't do.
Brady Farkas|
Elly De La Cruz Stands Alone Atop This Statcast Era Cincinnati Reds Leaderboard
Elly De La Cruz Stands Alone Atop This Statcast Era Cincinnati Reds Leaderboard

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Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Washington Nationals on Friday, falling 6-3 in 10 innings.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Reds, which puts them at 59-53 and 0.5 games back in the National League Central race.

Even losses can have bright moments though and that's exactly what Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz provided.

He went 1-for-4 in the loss with a home run, his first one as a right-handed hitter.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

113.0 mph! most 113+ mph HR, Reds in single season under Statcast (2015): 

2023 Elly De La Cruz: 3 

2021 Joey Votto: 2

Yes, the Statcast Era is not even 10 years old, but the bottom line is this: De La Cruz hits the ball hard, really hard. And for a rookie to be posting numbers like that? That's why he's one of the most exciting young prospects that we've seen in baseball in the last several years.

He's now hitting .268 this year with nine homers, 22 RBI and 17 stolen bases.

Despite not debuting until the middle of June, he's sure to get some votes for the National League Rookie of the Year, although it looks like Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks will win that.

The Reds will take on the Nationals again on Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

First pitch is set for 4:10 p.m. as Joan Adon (WAS) pitches against rookie Andrew Abbott (CIN)

Adon is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA while Abbott is 6-2 with a 2.35 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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