No Cincinnati Reds prospect has opened more eyes this season than 19-year-old infielder Elly De La Cruz.
In one month, he transformed from a player who made his Stateside debut in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League to a guy who is considered a consensus top-10 prospect in the organization. He’s a potential five-tool talent who seemingly came out of nowhere.
De La Cruz, the youngest player at Low-A Daytona, has 19 extra-base hits (eight doubles, six triples and five homers) in 29 games. There are still a lot of raw areas of his game, batting .274 with nine walks and 52 strikeouts in 117 at-bats, but the upside is stunning with his speed, his arm and his power.
“I’m a scout and I don’t even know what to say,” Reds farm director Shawn Pender said. “I get a phone call about every two weeks or something going, ‘hey, man, who the hell is Elly De La Cruz?’”
For an organization that desperately needed to improve in the international market over the past decade, the Reds may have found a hidden gem in De La Cruz, who signed in 2018 out of the Dominican Republic. He's ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the farm system by MLB.com and Baseball America.
