Fastball

Cincinnati Reds Call-Up Top Prospect Elly De La Cruz, Place Nick Senzel on Injured List

The Cincinnati Reds are calling up one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Elly De La Cruz, while placing Nick Senzel on the injured list.
Brady Farkas|
Cincinnati Reds Call-Up Top Prospect Elly De La Cruz, Place Nick Senzel on Injured List
Cincinnati Reds Call-Up Top Prospect Elly De La Cruz, Place Nick Senzel on Injured List

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Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are making one of the most anticipated moves of the entire season, bringing up top prospect Elly De La Cruz.

The infielder will take the place of Nick Senzel, who is being placed on the injured list.

De La Cruz is the No. 4 prospect in all of baseball, armed with some of the most absurd metrics in the sport. He hits with ferocious exit velocities, has great speed and has a great throwing arm.

He's hitting .297 at Triple-A Louisville this year with 12 homers, 36 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Here's more on him from his MLB.com prospect profile:

There are few prospects more dynamic than De La Cruz, both in terms of his five-tool potential and the joy and passion he brings to his game. The switch-hitter’s plus bat speed has been amplified as he’s added strength, and he has legitimate plus power, especially from the left side of the plate. He can still be over-aggressive at times, striking out in more than 30 percent of his plate appearances in 2022, but he showed improved patience while more than holding his own in the Dominican Winter League against much older competition.

Because of his size, he’s drawn some comparisons to the Pirates’ Oneil Cruz, and like Cruz, De La Cruz is eager to show he can stick at shortstop. He has the actions and plus arm to stay there for sure while also having no problems playing third and saw time at second with Licey this past winter. Just 21 for the 2023 season, he’s the kind of player who should have no ceiling placed on him, with the chance to be a true five-tool All-Star sooner rather than later.

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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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