The Reds announced on Tuesday they called up top prospect Elly De La Cruz to the major leagues, placing Nick Senzel on the injured list to make room.
De La Cruz, primarily a shortstop, is the No. 4 ranked prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. The 21 year-old infielder first signed with Cincinnati in 2018 and has spent the past four seasons in the team’s minor league system.
In 38 games for AAA Louisville, De La Cruz has a 1.031 OPS with 12 home runs, 36 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He is known for hitting the ball extremely hard, as he had one game in the minors with three hits with an exit velocity over 116 MPH earlier this year, something that has never happened at the Major League level.
🚨 ANNOUNCING ELLY DE LA CRUZ 🚨
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 6, 2023
Welcome to The Show, @ellylacocoa18‼️ pic.twitter.com/LcXKZcOLtk
The Reds are currently 27–33, which is good enough for third in the NL Central. De La Cruz will join Matt McClain and Jonathan India to form a very young and talented Cincinnati infield.
De La Cruz will make his debut in Cincinnati as the Reds host the Dodgers for a three-game series this week. He is the third top 10 prospect on MLB.com’s list to debut this year, joining Jordan Walker and Eury Pérez.
