Eli De La Cruz made a spectacular entrance into the big leagues.
The fourth-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, earned his first call-up to the Reds on Tuesday and immediately made an impact with a third-inning double.
De La Cruz walked in his first plate appearance and then really announced himself with a 112 mph extra-base hit.
The 21-year-old received an 0-2 pitch above the strike zone from Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin and hit it into right-center field.
He came around to score his first run on a Tyler Stephenson single, hitting a 30-foot-per-second home run. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.
At the time of the double, it was one of only two hits in Major League Baseball Above 110 mph on Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-5 shortstop with both excellent power and speed was promoted to the Reds when Nick Senzel went on the injured list with a knee injury.
De La Cruz was assigned to the Reds Triple-A for Columbus to start the six-game series, but Louisville Bats manager Pat Kelly pulled the youngster aside as the team waited for its bus to depart.
Kelly asked De La Cruz if he had all his luggage before the road trip, but then pointed out that some bags were off the side and not on the team bus.
“Here are your bags. You have to go to Cincinnati,” Kelly said before De La Cruz was greeted with applause and hugs by his teammates.
Hailing from the Dominican Republic, De La Cruz has flashed his elite skills at all levels of the minors since 2019.
This season, he hit 12 home runs and stole 11 bases while maintaining an impressive 1.031 OPS before his first call-up.
