The day that Reds fans have long been waiting for finally came on Tuesday, as star prospect Elly De La Cruz made his first career start in the big leagues.
The 21-year-old third baseman, who recently hit a home run over a scoreboard in the minors, got on base twice with walks and also got his first career hit—a scorched double that he made look way too easy.
Even better for the Reds, they were able to score three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9–8.
Let’s get back to De La Cruz’s first hit because all of it was impressive. Check this out:
We used to only see baseball players who could hit a baseball this hard and run this fast in video games.
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 7, 2023
112 MPH off the bat, to 2nd base in under 7¾ seconds!😮 pic.twitter.com/Kdkt7Ca601
Those numbers should have Reds fans even more excited about the future.
Here’s another look at his hit:
A 112-mph double for Elly De La Cruz's first big league hit! pic.twitter.com/jOMrfgAFSF
— MLB (@MLB) June 7, 2023
MLB fans loved it:
This just looks fake https://t.co/HLuVnBMnMR
— Nic Civale PT, DPT (@NicoCiva1) June 7, 2023
this is INSANE https://t.co/41IYHFDF2Q
— Connor Toomey (@Connor2me_) June 7, 2023
Jesus. Amazing speed https://t.co/qiTGVrCLr2
— Legendary Edition Fem Shep (@Cubsfanatic76) June 7, 2023
Elly is UNREAL. https://t.co/BEJ8S36lVm
— k. (@ThaSoapBox) June 7, 2023
there is just no way this is a human. this is an alien. https://t.co/EM8PQPJlrc
— TheBroph (@TheBrophyShow) June 7, 2023
Baseball players are ridiculously explosive these days... Great for the game... https://t.co/3MIEnYSMzZ
— Jordan (@Jsullhart) June 7, 2023