Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz Makes Baseball History in Major League Debut
Cincinnati Reds super-prospect Elly De La Cruz made his major league debut on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
We told you the impressive stat, about how after just one game, De La Cruz is already atop a Reds leaderboard. You can read about that here.
Well, it turns out, that De La Cruz also made baseball history in Tuesday's 9-8 win over LA.
Per OptaSTATS on Twitter:
Elly De La Cruz of the @Reds is the only MLB player in the modern era to draw multiple walks and have his team's only extra-base hit(s) in his debut.
That's pretty amazing because the Reds had 14 hits in all on Tuesday night, but only De La Cruz had an extra-base hit. It was a double off of Tony Gonsolin. He finished 1-3 on the night.
He is the No. 4 overall prospect in baseball and the Reds top prospect.
He is one of several young players that the Reds have brought up this year including Matt McLain, Brandon Williamson and Spencer Steer.
For more on De La Cruz, here's a portion of his 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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