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Eli de la Cruz unloads a 458-foot-high mammoth for the first time in HR
One of the Reds’ top prospects, Eli de la Cruz, continues to impress as he hits his first career home run leaving the bat at 114.8 mph and nearly out of the field entirely.
With fellow rookie Matt McLean at second base in the first inning, De La Cruz, 21, smashed an 0-1 fastball that left the bat at 114.8 mph and landed in the last rows of right-field stands at Great American Ball Park .
A day after making his big league debut, De La Cruz, picked by ESPN’s Kelly McDaniel in his updated rankings last month, was named the MVP in baseball and had the second-hit home run since Statcast began tracking it. 2015. He was a homer by the Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on August 21, 2020, at 115.9 mph.
De La Cruz tripled on a curveball in the third, a drive that went to the wall at right center on four hops.
He finished third in 10.83 seconds, the fastest time in the major leagues this season, according to Statcast. It was the team’s second-fastest since the start of the 2020 season, after 10.75 seconds with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll last October 3.
De La Cruz was 1-for-3 with two walks in his debut on Tuesday night. The Wednesday night home run came in his sixth plate appearance.
Shortstop Dominican Republic hit . 298 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 38 games with Triple-A Louisville this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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