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Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz scores on 3 straight stolen bases as electric season continues

Jack Baer
Staff writer
·2 min read
145

Cincinnati Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz continued an electric rookie year Saturday, with what we could call a slow-developing inside-the-park home run, though no specific part of it could be described as slow.

The fun began with a single in the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. With a runner on third, De La Cruz singled to drive in TJ Friedl and break a 5-5 tie. Not content to just drive in a run, De La Cruz proceeded to steal second base. Then third. Then home. All in the span of about a minute.

The Brewers barely knew what hit them:

Per MLB.com's Sarah Langs, De La Cruz's circuit around the bases was only the second time in the expansion era (rsince 1961) that a player stole three bases in a single plate appearance, joining Rod Carew in 1969.

The Reds won the game 8-5, improving their record to 50-40 and pushing their NL Central lead over the second-place Brewers to two games.

Elly De La Cruz pushing for Rookie of the Year honors

Twenty-nine games into his MLB career, De La Cruz has shown himself to be nothing if not a showman.

He hit the Reds' hardest hit of the year in his first game, then their hardest hit in several years with his first home run one game later. He proclaimed himself the fastest man in the world after scoring from first on a double, and the numbers at least support the argument that he's the fastest man in baseball. He led a 12-game win streak. He hit for the cycle. He beefed with a team, then immediately homered against said team.

And he did all that while hitting .325/.365/.539 entering Saturday. There might be some concerns about his 29.4% strikeout rate, but De La Cruz is most definitely delivering on his hype as a top-five prospect.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 07: Elly De La Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds looks up after a attempted pick off on first base in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on July 07, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
Elly De La Cruz is showing why he was a top-five prospect for the Reds. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

It remains to be seen if De La Cruz can win NL Rookie of the Year, though, as Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll, another top prospect entering this season, has been excelling as well. He entered Saturday hitting .291/.366/.556 with 18 homers and 26 steals in 84 games, more than double the games De La Cruz has played. Carroll also has Arizona in first place in the NL West.

If De La Cruz can keep hitting and running at his current pace, we might be in for an all-time great Rookie of the Year race.