CINCINNATI – This was a day that everyone knew was coming, but also one that many couldn’t believe was actually here. Elly De La Cruz was finally a big player, starting at third base for the Cincinnati Reds. Oh, and the 21-year-old struggled to clean up.
MLB debuts were a topic for the 2023 Reds — De La Cruz on Tuesday became the eighth player to earn that special call for Cincinnati this season, more than any other team. Fellow infielder Matt McLain and left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott are two recently called players who have already made immediate impact as well-regarded talents. But De La Cruz’s arrival would always be different — because, in a word, De La Cruz is different.
EDLC is the age of a college junior. But while touted collegiate stars like putative No. 1 overall and LSU outfielder Dylan Crews (a month younger than De La Cruz) compete in the NCAA superregionals this weekend, De La Cruz will be traveling to St. Louis to Cardinals to compete against the NCAA. Additionally, many of the best college juniors in this year’s draft class had been known to scouts since high school, but EDLC was a relative nobody just two years ago, underscoring their absurdly rapid development into one of the game’s top players -Outlook.
After signing from the Dominican Republic in July 2018 for just $65,000, De La Cruz was just another backfield project in his early years in pro ball. It’s been less than two years since De La Cruz made his pro debut in the United States, going 4-0 with three strikeouts in the Arizona Complex League. But a growth spurt and amazingly rapid development of natural skills made De La Cruz much more than an oddity. In 2022, EDLC hit 28 home runs and stole 47 bases in 121 games, earning a Double-A. In just one year, he jumped from the depths of the Reds organizational structure to the top of industry prospect lists. During a rebuild that saw numerous star veterans traded for top candidates from other teams to reload the farm system, it turned out that a potential homegrown superstar was in the Reds’ system all along.
Ahead of the game, coach David Bell hesitated to answer whether De La Cruz reminded him of other players he’d seen in and around the game during his long career and life. This downplaying tactic is common among managers, who shy away from putting more pressure on a player than they often already have as a top contender when there is a lot of hype around them. But in De La Cruz’s case, it’s also entirely understandable that Bell — or anyone else — would struggle to find a reasonable comparison for a 6-foot-5 shortstop capable of hitting baseball balls with breathtaking exit velocities (remember). The, The, The And The) from both sides of the plate, which is also one of the fastest players you will ever see.
In turn, the hype surrounding De La Cruz’s nomination wasn’t just about the rising Reds adding another talented young player to a team that’s held up reasonably well in the first two months of the season in the National League Central. It was about hiring a player who would be able to draw people into the ballpark to witness a spectacular sporting marvel in action – and hopefully help the Reds win a few ball games in the process.
As expected, the batting training was a spectacle. Early arriving fans were treated to EDLC slinging balls down the second deck with his right hand before underscoring his final turn from the left with a slam to the seats just below the video panel in right field. That level of juice from both sides of the plate is rare to say the least, its fierce swings that can result in thunderous impacts are nearly unmatched. As Jeff Pickler, the Reds’ infield coach and pitcher for frequent hitting practice, put it, De La Cruz is “the guy you wouldn’t want to throw BP to if you had two L-screens.”
Of course, many players can deliver a great performance in batting practice. But how would a 21-year-old, taking on the hopes and dreams of a baseball-starved fan base, react when the game actually begins?
The hype and circumstances gave De La Cruz every reason to step out of his shoes in his first career at bat. It probably didn’t help that De La Cruz came to the plate with two runners on base and Cincy with three runners. It was only the first inning, but you could understand his penchant for trying to end the game with a mighty punch and start his career with a bang. Almost the entire crowd stood and turned up the volume as EDLC settled into the pits before an eerie, eager silence fell the split second before each pitch from Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin.
In fact, De La Cruz knocked out Gonsolin’s first attempt – a curveball low-in – with wild intent. Could you blame him? hit one
But what followed in the next five pitches was a testament not only to De La Cruz’s maturity as a player and batsman, but also to an understanding of what his first batting career really meant. Because as much as a player wants to make a strong impression on the first batter’s box in a major league, it’s the first bat, not the last. And for a player like EDLC, who has so much potential to become one of the game’s greats, he knows as well as anyone that there are many more at-bats – hundreds, thousands – to come. It didn’t all have to happen at once.
And so, De La Cruz spat on four break pitches that weren’t near the zone and calmly took his base. The crowd of 22,602 spectators erupted. OBP check: 1,000.
Coming out swinging in the third inning, De La Cruz unleashed vicious hacks on a center-cut fastball followed by a typical Gonsolin splitter, quickly dropping him 2-0 down. Capitalizing on the newcomer’s obvious aggressiveness, Gonsolin used the tried-and-true technique of throwing a heater well over the zone to get an overzealous De La Cruz chasing. In theory, Gonsolin had successfully accomplished his mission: EDLC was pursuing him. The problem for Gonsolin? The 1.90 meter tall De La Cruz can cover that relatively easily.
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In no time the ball was on the warning track. Almost as quickly, De La Cruz rushed toward second base with the idea of moving forward. Had the ball not been hit so hard – at 112 mph, to be precise, the hardest ball hit by a Reds batter all season – it might not have rebounded off the midfield wall fast enough for Jason Heyward to take the Getting ball back would have been in so quickly. Unfortunately, EDLC hit the brakes and opted for his first career success with a double.
On De La Cruz’s third record appearance, Gonsolin wanted nothing to do with the newcomer. A five-pitch walk followed, in which only a 3-0 fastball made for a harmless hit. Just as he proved earlier in the night — and last month in the Triple-A — De La Cruz was ready to wait for his pitch.
His sixth-inning showdown with Yency Almonte resulted in a groundout to second base to end the inning. It was a disappointing result, especially with two runners on base, only De La Cruz still managed to show off with this otherwise uneventful 4-3 putout: his exit speed of 108.7 mph was the second hardest hit ball of all Both teams’ batsmen ever night behind his own double in the third inning.
On his fifth and final plate appearance, De La Cruz struggled for five throws against substitute Evan Phillips before losing to a perfectly placed outside-half sweeper for a K back. Even on a night when De La Cruz was clearly stuck in his approach, sometimes the best pitchers in the world win. Welcome to the big leagues, boy.
While that strikeout look ended De La Cruz’s night at the plate, it turned out the game was far from over. A Dodgers bullpen that was unusually shaky progressively screwed up his five-run lead over the course of four innings, including coughing up three runs at the bottom of the ninth in ugly ways: walk, single, popout, walk, walk, hit by pitch, walk-off hit. The Reds’ dramatic 9-8 comeback was capped off by a deep fly ball from rookie McLain, who had spent the day literally in the shadow of De La Cruz while guiding his good friend and infield mate on his first day at The the ropes showed show.
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The Reds’ second baseman Jonathan India was on deck when McLain finished the ball game. The 2021 NL Rookie of the Year figured his services would not be needed in the ninth game.
“I told some people on deck that he was going to win,” India said of McLain after the game. “I didn’t even rock on deck. I had complete confidence in Matty that he could do it.”
Although McLain ended the day a hero, everything about De La Cruz’s debut demanded respect. It’s rarely common for a player to do a cleanup on their MLB debut. Only a handful of players are doing this this century, including future MVPs Kris Bryant, Jose Abreu, and Justin Morneau. At 21 years and 146 days, EDLC is younger than all three when they debuted and is the youngest debut cleanup hitter since Andrés Mora in 1976.
Furthermore, its place in the Order was reflected in the way it was set up. It wasn’t just the two walks; All three pitchers facing De La Cruz recorded their highest fastball speeds of the evening against the young phenom: Gonsolin at 94.3 mph, Almonte at 97.2 and Phillips at 97.5 mph.
All in all, De La Cruz’s arrival electrified and invigorated a stadium that less than two months ago drew the fewest spectators in its 20-year history (7,375). His renewed spirit and enthusiasm could be felt not only during EDLC’s five plate appearances, but throughout the entire epic ninth-inning comeback in which he was not even involved.
As the elated, refreshed fans poured out of the Great American Ballpark on a Tuesday night in June, a raucous chorus of “Let’s Go Reds!” ensued.
“It was incredible,” said India. “Elly is making his debut and has brought a lot with him. That’s pretty sick.”
Jordan Shusterman is half of it @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He has covered baseball throughout his adult life, most notably for MLB.com, DAZN and The Ringer. He’s a Mariners fan and lives in the Eastern Time Zone, which means he loves the first pitch at a good 10pm. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.