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Cincinnati Reds top prospect Elly De La Cruz sets records in Triple-A game

Bobby Nightengale, Cincinnati Enquirer
·4 min read
23

Elly De La Cruz is still working toward his first promotion to the major leagues, but he did something at Louisville Slugger Field on Tuesday that no MLB player has accomplished in the last nine years.

De La Cruz, the Cincinnati Reds’ star prospect, had two home runs and a double in Triple-A Louisville’s 10-9 comeback win over the Columbus Clippers. What made his night unique was how hard he hit the ball, registering exit velocities of 118.8 mph (double), 117.1 mph (428-foot homer) and 116.6 mph (456-foot homer).

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It was the first time any player – or even any MLB team – hit three balls at an exit velocity above 116 mph in the same game since Statcast began recording data in 2015, according to MLB.com’s research. De La Cruz’s double at 118.8 mph was the hardest-hit ball by any player in the majors or Triple-A this season.

Elly De La Cruz became the first player since 2015 to hit three balls with an exit velocity above 116 mph in a game. He hit two homers and a double.
Elly De La Cruz became the first player since 2015 to hit three balls with an exit velocity above 116 mph in a game. He hit two homers and a double.

If that wasn’t notable enough, the 6-foot-6 switch hitter homered from both sides of the plate and drew a walk-off walk.

“You hit the ball that hard, that’ll lead to walks, for sure,” Reds Manager David Bell said Wednesday. “I don’t know who the pitcher was or anything, but that’s a tough spot to be in after three balls hit that hard. It’s like what do you do? Throw a strike or not? Walking, there is discipline involved and knowing the strike zone and all that, but sometimes you just flat out earn the ability to walk by the way you hit the ball.”

De La Cruz, 21, is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in the sport and Tuesday was another example of his potential. There are only two players who have ever hit two balls at 116 mph in the same game: Giancarlo Stanton (six times) and Aaron Judge (once), according to Bally Sports Ohio statistician Joel Luckhaupt.

There have been only two balls put in play by Reds hitters above 116 mph since 2015. Michael Lorenzen hit a 116.5 mph line drive single as a pinch-hitter, and Aristides Aquino hit a 118.3 mph home run during his first full month in the majors.

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“Everyone has known the harder you hit the ball, the more hits you’ll get, the more damage you’ll do, the more home runs you’ll hit, the more runs your team will score,” Bell said. “We get caught up in new numbers and everything. A lot of it is just a way to track things we’ve known forever.”

Elly De La Cruz owns the fastest throw by an infielder this year at any level (99.2 mph) and the third-fastest time running home-to-third.
Elly De La Cruz owns the fastest throw by an infielder this year at any level (99.2 mph) and the third-fastest time running home-to-third.

There is a difference, however, when 116 mph is regularly showing up. The seven MLB players who have hit a ball at 116 mph this year: Matt Olson, Willson Contreras, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Joc Pederson and Yordan Alvarez.

De La Cruz has four 116-mph hits within the past week, per Baseball America, and he had a 113.8 mph lineout in Wednesday’s game.

“There is no question that says a lot,” Bell said. “That’s where a number like that can point something out that needs to be paid attention to. That’s a big deal. That’s really hitting the ball hard consistently.”

Elly De La Cruz is hitting .345 with five homers, four doubles, 13 RBI and 12 runs in his last 12 games.
Elly De La Cruz is hitting .345 with five homers, four doubles, 13 RBI and 12 runs in his last 12 games.

De La Cruz missed the first few weeks of the season recovering from a hamstring strain and he opened his time in Triple-A with a 2-for-22 slump with 11 strikeouts. In his last 12 games, he’s hitting .345 with five homers, four doubles, 13 RBI and 12 runs.

He already recorded the fastest throw by an infielder this season (99.2 mph) and the third-fastest time running from home-to-third (11.19 seconds), according to Baseball America.

The Reds need to see De La Cruz become more consistent defensively – he has three errors in 12 games at shortstop – and cut down on his strikeouts before he reaches the majors, but the raw talent is immense.

De La Cruz headlines a talented group of prospects at Louisville that includes middle infielder Matt McLain (.336 batting average, 11 homers and 10 doubles in 34 games), first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand (.364 batting average, seven homers and 16 RBI in 15 games) and starting pitcher Andrew Abbott (2.05 ERA in 30 2/3 innings with 60 strikeouts).

“We have players that are fun to follow right now,” said Bell, a former minor league manager and San Francisco Giants farm director. “We’re focused on our major league team and at some point, we anticipate a lot of guys from the minor leagues are going to factor into that. It’s fun. We’re all part of the same team. I feel like it’s important for me to know what is going on and follow those guys.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds prospect, sets exit velocity record