Top prospect De La Cruz goes 458 feet for 1st HR

CINCINNATI — Reds newcomer Elly De La Cruz hit his first major league homer with a 458-foot, two-run drive off the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Noah Syndergaard and later tripled Wednesday night in an 8-6 win.

With fellow rookie Matt McLain on second base in the first inning, De La Cruz, a 21-year-old switch-hitter, smashed an 0-1 fastball that left the bat at 114.8 mph and landed in the last rows of the right-field stands at Great American Ball Park.

A day after making his big league debut, De La Cruz, who was named baseball’s top prospect by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel in his updated rankings last month, had the second-hardest-hit home run by a player 21 or younger since Statcast started tracking in 2015. A homer by the Toronto Blue Jays‘ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on Aug. 21, 2020, had an exit velocity of 115.9 mph.

De La Cruz, who finished 2-for-4, tripled on a curveball in the third, a drive that went to the wall in right-center on four hops

He reached third in 10.83 seconds, the fastest time in the major leagues this season, according to Statcast. It was the second fastest since the start of the 2020 season, behind 10.75 seconds for the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ Corbin Carroll last Oct. 3.

De La Cruz was 1-for-3 with two walks in his debut Tuesday night. Wednesday night’s home run came in his sixth plate appearance.

The Dominican Republic shortstop hit .298 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 38 games for Triple-A Louisville this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.