Major League Baseball has a new prodigy. Eli De La Cruz, 21, of the Cincinnati Reds, has been in the spotlight since his major league debut.
MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball (MLB), described De La Cruz on Monday as a “new genius who hits like a jersey, runs like a trey, and throws like no other.
In other words, he’s comparable to the New York Yankees’ “Home Run King” Aaron Judge in terms of hitting and the Philadelphia Phillies’ giant shortstop Trey Turner in terms of running. That’s high praise indeed.
After setting the American League home run record last year, Judge opted to remain a free agent, signing a mammoth nine-year, $360 million contract with the Yankees. Last year, Judge batted .311 with a .425 on-base percentage, .686 slugging percentage 토토사이트, and 1.111 OPS, along with 62 home runs, 131 RBI, 133 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases. He led the American League in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and OPS. On the year, he’s still leading the league in home runs, RBIs, and OPS with 19 homers, 40 RBIs, 42 runs scored, and three doubles to go along with a .291 batting average, .404 on-base percentage, .674 slugging percentage, and 1.078 OPS.
Turner also hit the free agent jackpot, signing an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies. While he hasn’t lived up to expectations this year with a .237 batting average, .282 on-base percentage, .389 slugging percentage, and .671 OPS with seven home runs, 19 RBIs, and eight stolen bases, last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers he was a slugger with a .298 batting average, .343 on-base percentage, .466 slugging percentage, and .809 OPS with 21 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases. In 2021, he swept three individual titles with a .328 batting average, 195 hits, and 32 stolen bases.
Could De La Cruz really be the next superstar to join Judge and Turner? In his three games since making his major league debut, De La Cruz is hitting .364 with a .462 on-base percentage, .909 slugging percentage, and 1.371 OPS with one home run, two doubles, and one triple.
De la Cruz has been able to adapt quickly, especially since he hit his first career home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 8. De La Cruz’s home run hit a whopping 114.8 mph (185 kilometers). It was the second-fastest bat speed for a player to hit his first big league home run since Major League Baseball adopted the Statcast system. The previous record was 115.2 mph (185 km/h) by Jake Berger in 2021.
It’s not just power. On the same day he hit his first home run, De La Cruz also hit his first career triple, and it was a spectacular one. It took De La Cruz just 10.83 seconds to get from home to third base. It was the fastest time of any player to hit a triple this year. The entire major leagues are buzzing about the emergence of the next all-around superstar.
