Baseball’s new star Elly De La Cruz shows ridiculous speed to batter a ground ball to FIRST base – after claiming he’s ‘the fastest man alive’
- Elly De La Cruz, the top-ranked Cincinnati Reds prospect, showed his pace on Sunday
- He dove headfirst into the bag on a ground ball that was lined up on a sliding stop
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Elly De La Cruz, the Cincinnati Reds’ top-ranked prospect, once again showed full speed in the team’s 9-7 win over the Houston Astros.
With one out and a man on second base early in the sixth inning, De La Cruz reached first base incredibly safely, as he dove headfirst into the sack on a ground ball that was fielded on a sliding save by Astros first baseman Jose Abreu.
“He’s just a great base runner,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He’s got incredible instincts… (and) he’s got the speed to go with it.”
Recently, De La Cruz claimed ‘I’m the fastest man in the world’, while joking with Reds broadcasters during a post-match interview.
And he certainly showed his impressive pace on Sunday.
Reds prospect Elly De La Cruz showed off his wheels again in Sunday’s game
De La Cruz reached the first goal safely on a ground ball lined up at first base by Jose Abreu (L)
The win also marked the Reds’ eighth straight win, which is also the longest active streak in major tournaments and the longest for the team since winning 10 in a row in July 2012.
“The magic you see is just a culture that has been created. … You just see what has been specifically worked on and we’ve been trying to cultivate since the start of spring training and quite honestly since towards the end of last year,” left fielder Jake Fraley said.
Since making his major league debut on June 6, the No. 4 ranked prospect in all of MLB has dazzled fans not only with his explosive speed, but also with the power he has displayed when he rolled up a ball 458 feet long against the Dodgers.
The Reds would win the game 9-7 against Houston and extend their winning streak to eight
He also had an impressive list of team stats over the six games, according to Baseball America’s JJ Cooper, including: the two hardest hit balls by any Reds player this year, the six speeds of fastest sprint recorded by any Reds player this year, and the hardest throw of any Reds infielder this year.
Along with Fraley, De La Cruz also kicked a run in the third inning.
“Today’s game was impressive,” added Bell.
“It was a great road trip, but today wasn’t a perfect match. We overcame the mistakes with a lot of good play. That’s the whole story.’
