The most thrilling prospect in baseball at this time is on his manner to the key leagues. Elly De La Cruz, a 21-year-old shortstop within the Cincinnati Reds gadget, is being referred to as up after a scorching-hot get started to his season at Triple-A Louisville.
De La Cruz hit .298/.398/.633 with 12 house runs and 11 stolen bases in 38 Triple-A video games sooner than his promotion. If he had been to come what may take care of that tempo over 150 contests, he would end with a 43-43 season. For the ones questioning, no participant within the historical past of Major League Baseball has ever achieved that feat. How’s that for a testomony to the dynamic, explosive nature of De La Cruz’s sport?
Oh, and did we point out that he is a switch-hitter? Or that he is indexed at 6-foot-5? Add all of it in combination, and De La Cruz is about as intriguing as a prospect can also be at this level. Indeed CBS Sports indexed De La Cruz on the No. 2 spot in our up to date MLB prospect scores, trailing handiest Baltimore Orioles shortstop Jackson Holliday. (Holliday, the No. 1 pick out in remaining yr’s draft, has hit .358/.483/.606 throughout two ranges as a 19-year-old.)
If you don’t seem to be already accustomed to De La Cruz, it is time to make amends and get to know extra about him. We’re right here to lend a hand. Below we’ve got touched on 3 things price realizing about his sport and his long term.
Hits the ball extraordinarily onerous
The upward thrust of ball-tracking knowledge method one of the best ways for a tender hitter to give a boost to their status internally is to display an inherent ability for impacting the ball. Exit pace is not the end-all, be-all, however by no means within the historical past of the sport has crushing the ball been thought to be a foul factor. Besides, a batter who hits the ball onerous ceaselessly most probably possesses a mix of fascinating characteristics, together with bat velocity, energy, and barrel consciousness.
De La Cruz, it is truthful to write, hits the ball onerous. Take a glance: On the season, De La Cruz ranks 2nd amongst certified Triple-A batters in two necessary classes: reasonable go out pace and share of batted balls with go out velocities exceeding 95 mph. (In each instances, he trails Boston Red Sox infielder Bobby Dalbec.) De La Cruz entered Sunday wearing marks of 93 mph and 53.8% in the ones classes. His reasonable release perspective, in the meantime, was once 6.8 levels. If you might be questioning how that stacks up towards big-league hitters, here is a have a look at the certified batters this season with single-digit reasonable release angles and reasonable go out velocities exceeding 93 mph:
- Ronald Acuña Jr. 95.1 mph 7.6 levels 157
- Yandy DÃaz 94.6 mph 8.8 levels 175
- J.D. Davis 93.1 mph 8.5 levels 129