Ask those in the know and they’ll tell you: Reds infielder, Elly De La Cruz, is the most exciting rookie in Major League Baseball and among the brightest young stars in the game.
A 6’5″ lightning bolt, De La Cruz is the fastest player in the league and recently uncorked a 98-MPH dart from third to first to retire Brewers outfielder, Joey Wiemer.
It was the hardest throw for an infield assist ever tracked by Statcast.
Earlier this season, De La Cruz stole second, third and home to lift the Reds to a win in Milwaukee.
Against big leaguers, the 21-year-old De La Cruz threw the first punch.
The Brewers punched back.
Over the weekend, Brewers pitching wrote the book for how to get the young phenom out. In three games against the Brewers in Cincinnati, De La Cruz went 0-12 with five strikeouts.
Still the darling of Major League Baseball, you won’t see any reporting on Elly’s struggles in the Brewers three-game sweep – it’s not as sexy as the other stuff above.
De La Cruz will be a perennial all-star and is clearly exactly what baseball needs in terms of star appeal, but he’s also human. He may have thrown the first punch, but the league – as it always does – is punching back.
