How did Elly De La Cruz do in MLB debut? Stats, highlights & more to know from Reds rookie's standout game

Edward Sutelan

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How did Elly De La Cruz do in MLB debut? Stats, highlights & more to know from Reds rookie's standout game image

Elly De La Cruz has arrived.

The Reds phenom came to the big leagues with plenty of acclaim after lighting up the minors, posting some of the hardest exit velocities, fastest sprint speeds and quickest throws in the 2023 season.

What did he do in his big-league debut against the Dodgers? He posted the hardest exit velocities, fastest sprint speeds and zipped a quick throw as he shined in his first taste of major league action.

The hype started simply with the posting of the lineup card, as De La Cruz was listed as batting cleanup in his big-league debut, a feat rarely accomplished for a player of his age.

But how did he do during the rest of the game? The Sporting News tracked updates throughout his first game in the majors, and provided analysis following the contest.

MORE: Can Elly De La Cruz win NL Rookie of the Year?

Elly De La Cruz stats

AB H 2B 3B HR BB K R RBI SB-CS
3 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0-0
  • Led the game with two hardest exit velocities
  • Posted two sprint speeds over 30 feet per second
  • Walked twice and swung and missed at only two pitches

How did Elly De La Cruz do in his MLB debut?

MLB debuts don't always go according to plans. This one, however, certainly lived up to the hype — and perhaps then some. De La Cruz did just about everything right on Tuesday. He showed off impressive plate discipline, crushed the ball when he made contact and put the burners on when he was going around the bases.

Players are likely apt to be a little on edge in their first MLB at-bat, hoping to get that first hit out of the way early. After coming up empty on a breaking ball down and in, De La Cruz settled in, and laid off the rest of the pitches outside the zone, drawing an impressive walk in his first AB. He later put on the burners, hitting 30 feet per second scoring from second base on a single from Tyler Stephenson.

His next time up, De La Cruz got a pitch above the zone and rocketed it to the right-center field gap for his first big-league hit. The ball was scorched with an exit velocity of 112 mph, the hardest-hit ball of the day and the hardest-hit ball of the season by a Reds player. While reaching second, he reached 30.4 mph, the fastest time of any Cincinnati player this year.

In the fifth inning, De La Cruz again exhibited plenty of patience, drawing a five-pitch walk for his second free pass of the day. And though he came up empty on an RBI opportunity in the sixth inning, he still crushed a grounder to the right side, with the exit velocity hitting 108.7 mph, the second-hardest hit ball of the day.

De La Cruz struck out in his final at-bat, watching a sweeper from Evan Phillips perfectly dot the corner down and away. 

There were plenty of concerns surrounding De La Cruz's plate discipline regarding his transition to the majors. The tooled-out shortstop has had questions about only whether he would be prepared to handle big-league pitching after striking out above 30 percent at nearly every level of the minors — a concerning rate with little track record of success for players going to the big leagues.

While Tuesday was only one game, the heightened pressure De La Cruz faced in making his MLB debut made his plate discipline all the more impressive. He tallied only three swinging strikes on 23 pitches faced during the day, and resisted the urge to chase a bevy of pitches down and in as Tony Gonsolin and Yency Almonte, in particular, tried to get him to chase those often tempting pitches.

Elly De La Cruz
Baseball Savant

The De La Cruz era in Cincinnati has only just begun. But if Tuesday is any indication, the Reds have a gem on their hands, and someone who will bring must-see baseball to the Queen City.

Elly De La Cruz updates, highlights from MLB debut

(All times Eastern)

10:19 p.m.: De La Cruz doesn't get a sixth shot at the plate, but another young Red delivers as McLain hits a walk-off single to drive in a run and deliver the Reds a 9-8 win.

9:58 p.m.: De La Cruz gets his first chance to make a throw on a grounder off the bat of Will Smith, and he slings a perfect throw over to first to record the out. 

9:50 p.m.: Two quick groundouts from McLain and India bring up De La Cruz. He swings and misses at the first pitch, but lays off the next two. He just gets a piece of a cutter and then is caught looking at a sweeper that hits the down-and-away corner for his first MLB strikeout.

9:48 p.m.: The Reds are set to bat in the bottom of the eighth trailing by a pair of runs. Due up are Matt McLain, Jonathan India and De La Cruz.

9:19 p.m.: In this big moment, De La Cruz lays off a pair of breaking pitches low before taking his first hack at a pitch in the zone and fouls it away to bring up a 2-1 count. He continues to exhibit great plate discipline. De La Cruz hits a hard grounder, but it is right at second baseman Miguel Vargas for a groundout. Even the grounder was hit hard at 108.7 mph with an xBA of .630. Just unlucky for him.

9:17 p.m.: Big opportunity coming up for De La Cruz, who bats in the bottom of the sixth with runners on the corners and two outs in an 8-5 game. He's the tying run.

8:47 p.m.: De La Cruz continues to show improved discipline. The first pitch of his third plate appearance was well inside, but he then watched a fastball that just missed the low and inside corner and then laid off a tough breaking ball down and in before Gonsolin threw his first strike of the AB. He then watched another good breaking ball hit the dirt for his second walk of the game.

8:42 p.m.: Routine popup in foul territory for De La Cruz as he records the final out of the top of the fifth. He'll be due up third to hit for Cincinnati in the bottom half of the frame.

8:09 p.m.: And of course, De La Cruz put the burners on for his first MLB hit. He got to second base in 7.74 seconds, according to Codify.

8:07 p.m.: After a foul and a swing and a miss on a splitter, De La Cruz crushes a high fastball to right-center field and legs out a double, his first MLB hit. The exit velocity on that? 112 mph, the hardest hit ball of the day and the hardest hit ball for a Red in all of 2023.

8:07 p.m.: De La Cruz is back up to the plate.

7:41 p.m.: De La Cruz's speed scoring from second? 30 feet per second, according to Baseball America's J.J. Cooper. That is the third-fastest speed by a Red this season.

7:34 p.m.: Tyler Stephenson lines a single into center with De La Cruz on second, and the shortstop puts that blazing speed to the test, flying around the bases to score the tying run. He immediately reaches the majors as one of the fastest players in the sport.

7:30 p.m.: De La Cruz takes a big hack at a curveball and comes up empty on the first pitch he sees, but lays off a nearly identical pitch in the same location. After a foul ball, he watched three pitches go by to walk.

De La Cruz, who has had some strikeout issues in the past, talked about the adjustments he made at Triple-A to improve his plate discipline. And he made it sound easy.

“It’s all about just stopping swinging at bad pitches, waiting for my pitch and taking my walks when I can,” he said via Reds team translator Jorge Merlos, according to MLB.com.

7:29 p.m.: A huge ovation for the 21-year-old as he steps into the batter's box for his first MLB at-bat.

7:29 p.m.: De La Cruz is coming up for his first big-league at-bat.

7:13 p.m.: They say the ball will find you, and that's just what happened to De La Cruz. Mookie Betts hits a hard chopper down the third-base line. De La Cruz gets a glove on it to keep it from going down the left-field line, but he can't make the play. Single for Betts.

7:12 p.m.: The MLB career of Elly De La Cruz is officially underway as Tuesday's game has started.

How to watch Elly De La Cruz's MLB debut

  • Date: Tuesday, June 6
  • Start time: 7:10 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. PT
  • TV channel: Bally Sports Ohio (Cincinnati) | SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
  • Live stream: Bally Sports app | SportsNet app | MLB.TV | Fubo

The Reds and Dodgers will face off on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Luke Weaver will be the Reds starting pitcher, while Tony Gonsolin will pitch for the Dodgers against De La Cruz and Cincinnati.

The game will not be carried on national cable, but will be available in the local Cincinnati and Los Angeles markets on Bally Sports Ohio and SportsNet LA. Local cable subscribers can also stream the game on either the respective streaming apps or on Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Out-of-market viewers can find a stream of the game on MLB.TV. Local fans will be blacked out from viewing the game on MLB's streaming service.

Elly De La Cruz minor league stats

Here's a look at De La Cruz's stats in the minors:

Year Level PA AVG/OBP/SLG HR SB/ATT BB% K%
2019 Rk 186 .285/.351/.382 1 3/9 7.5% 24.2%
2021 A, Rk 265 .296/.336/.539 8 10/15 5.3% 30.2%
2022 A+, AA 513 .304/.359/.586 28 47/53 7.8% 30.8%
2023 AAA 186 .298/.398/.633 12 11/17 14% 26.9%
Career -- 1,150 .298/.359/.550 49 71/94 8.2% 29%

Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.