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 base. Then home.
All in the span of about a minute.
The Brewers barely knew what hit them:
ELLY DE LA CRUZ STOLE EVERY BASE@ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/FrDKGn3pwl
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 8, 2023
29 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 to be the fastest man in the world after scoring from first on a double, and the numbers at least support the argument 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 that all while hitting .325/.365/.539 entering Saturday. There might be some concerns about a 29.4% strikeout rate, but De La Cruz is most definitely delivering on his hype as a top 5 prospect.
