Cincinnati Reds infielder Elly De La Cruz is the type of prospect who comes along once in a generation. In the first three weeks of his big league career, he accomplished a feat that hadn’t been seen in Reds history since 1989.
De La Cruz hit for the cycle on Friday night in an 11-10 win — their 12th in a row — against the Atlanta Braves. He hit the hardest ball of the Reds’ season for a double, homered on a high fly ball that would have been a routine fly out for someone who didn’t have De La Cruz’s power, hit a flare single and tripled on a line drive into the gap that would have been a double for most.
The Reds honored De La Cruz during a pitching change for the Braves, and he pumped up the crowd.
No Red had a hit for the cycle since Eric Davis in 1989. De La Cruz wears the same jersey number as Davis, the former All-Star who’s also one of the most frequent comparisons for the Reds’ rookie.
“I can’t really put it into words right now,” De La Cruz said through a translator. “I’m happy and excited. It is fortunate Eric Davis is one of the legends of this game and in Cincinnati, too. Sure enough he let me wear that jersey No. 44 and to be the (first) one since him to do that, is incredible.”
The expectation is that De La Cruz will become an MVP candidate, and he’s showing that he has the tools to be the best player in baseball.
Fewer than five years ago, De La Cruz was considering quitting baseball because no MLB team was even showing interest in scouting him in the Dominican Republic. The Reds found him by accident while they were scouting a player who De La Cruz trained with. The Reds signed him for $65,000, and De La Cruz at the time didn’t look like he was on track to become an elite athlete with arguably the best power and speed in the game.
When most athletes become stronger, they lose some of their speed, athleticism and burst. Those traits scaled up with De La Cruz, giving him a unique skill set as a 6-foot-5 shortstop.
De La Cruz was in High-A at this point last year. He was the best player in that league. In the second half of the 2022 season, he was the best player in Double-A. Over the first two months of this season, he was the best player in Triple-A.
The Reds made De La Cruz one of the youngest players in baseball. He still has only played affiliated professional baseball for less than two years. He’s still making adjustments, figuring out his game and improving.
His cycle was another example of the steps he has been taking. De La Cruz faces fewer fastballs than almost any MLB hitter. Pitchers throw around him like they did to Reds first baseman Joey Votto during his prime. De La Cruz sees a steady diet of off-speed pitches and changeups that are low-and-away. While De La Cruz’s homer was on a high fastball, his other two extra-base hits were on perfect low-and-away off-speed pitches that he still crushed.
De La Cruz doesn’t try to hit homers. Even though he has the talent to be the best power hitter in baseball, he looks for his pitch, makes his best, most consistent swing and lets his strength and speed make up the difference.
The Reds aggressively pushed De La Cruz through their minor league system, and they were preparing for his arrival months before his debut. The Reds embraced an athletic style of baseball and built a roster around that strategy. They added veterans who prioritized mentoring young players like De La Cruz. They made changes to the coaching staff, adding new voices with a proven track record in player development.
The Reds have also surrounded De La Cruz with one of the best young cores in baseball. Matt McLain and Spencer Steer haven’t looked like rookies and have become two of the best young infielders in baseball. Jonathan India has become the team leader in just his third season and is playing much better even than he did in 2021 when he was the NL Rookie of the Year. TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Will Benson have thrived in their roles.
This young core has led a Reds team with extremely low expectations into first place in the NL Central and to the franchise’s longest winning streak since 1957.
De La Cruz is the potential superstar in the group. If the Reds ever win another World Series, De La Cruz’s star power will likely be the biggest reason why. If the Reds ever make it to the stage where they’re competing against a player like Aaron Judge, then De La Cruz is the player the Reds believe can help them hold serve.
For a franchise that hasn’t won a postseason series since 1995, De La Cruz offers new hope. The Reds sold out Friday night’s game and had their most electric crowd in a decade. There’s a buzz around the Reds that reflects the excitement around the Super Bowl-contending Cincinnati Bengals because the Reds’ young core looks like a group that can develop into a long-term force in the division and the National League.
The young 2023 Reds’ roster keeps taking steps to prove that they might be ready to make a push at the playoffs ahead of schedule, and De La Cruz’s cycle was the latest example.
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds’ Elly De La Cruz hits for the cycle against Braves