In recent seasons, MLB coaches, analysts, and instructors have encouraged pitchers to challenge hitters with fastballs up in the zone.
This is especially true if their fastballs have the so-called “rising” effect.
Yeah, well, be very careful if you are a pitcher and try to blow a high fastball past Elly De La Cruz.
The Cincinnati Reds rookie made his MLB debut on Tuesday and it went as impressively as you might expect.
He went 1-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
The hit was a double, but not just any double.
“No MLB batter in the entire Statcast era has hit a pitch so high so hard. It just doesn’t happen (well, until yesterday). This pitch is over 4 feet high. Elly De La Cruz hit it at 112 MPH for a double. Totally and completely insane,” Codify Baseball tweeted.
No MLB batter in the entire Statcast was has hit a pitch so high so hard. It just doesn’t happen (well, until yesterday).
This pitch is over 4 feet high.
Elly De La Cruz hit it at 112 MPH for a double.
Totally and completely insane. pic.twitter.com/lxZnNgZJkF— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 7, 2023
Just look at that.
Most hitters would have taken that ball, and some of them would have swung and missed at that incredibly high pitch.
De La Cruz is not just any hitter, though.
He has legendary bat speed and hit a 112-mph rocket for a double.
How does he do it?
It’s incredibly impressive.
Of course, he then put on another show, this time a baserunning one, after making contact.
This guy has more tools than just about any other prospect, and seems destined to succeed.
He might be strikeout-prone, but he didn’t luck into 40 homers and 58 stolen bases since the start of the 2022 campaign in the minors.
He is the real deal, and will be the symbol of the Reds’ rebuild for years to come.
NEXT:
Reds Analyst Hypes Up The Legend Of Elly De La Cruz
