Elly De La Cruz

[mth123]

Ripken and Arod were 6'4" as I recall. I see SS as less taxing than CF. We see the wear and tear CF had on players like ED and Griff Jr. Both were worn down by the time they were 30, whereas CR Jr went on to set an Ironman record at SS. Let's leave him at SS until he can't

They were worn down by Astroturf fields though.

[WrongVerb]

Tom Nichols
@TomNichols02

In my 15 years with @DragonsBaseball, I do not remember ever hearing the level of praise from scouts for a player headed our direction out of spring training as I am hearing for 20 year old infielder Elly De La Cruz.
7:47am · 30 Mar 2022

[Old school 1983]

I’m from Dayton. Last time I heard this kind of buzz for a prospect in Dayton it was Kearns and Dunn. IMO Elly has the tools to blow away either.

[*BaseClogger*]

I’m from Dayton. Last time I heard this kind of buzz for a prospect in Dayton it was Kearns and Dunn. IMO Elly has the tools to blow away either.

What about Jay Bruce?

[podgejeff_]

.

[NeilHamburger]

Yeah, Jay Bruce was the #1 prospect in all of baseball for a period. He was compared to a young Larry Walker. It's a bit absurd to act like Elly is rated higher.

[Mitri]

Yeah, Jay Bruce was the #1 prospect in all of baseball for a period. He was compared to a young Larry Walker. It's a bit absurd to act like Elly is rated higher.

But didn't Bruce become the #1 prospect after his performance in Dayton (at that time A ball) in 2007 and then tearing up A+ through AAA in 2008? I agree we should pump the brakes on Elly, but I think it's fair to say Elly's hype train heading into this season is stronger than Bruce's was early in his minors run.

I don't think it's at all absurd to think EDLC could be a top-10 prospect by this time next year.

[Old school 1983]

What about Jay Bruce?

Bruce was a big deal. I felt more buzz around Dunn and Kearns for whatever reason. Billy Hamilton too, honestly. It felt like the buzz for Bruce got bigger when he was in the higher levels of the minors.

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Yeah, Jay Bruce was the #1 prospect in all of baseball for a period. He was compared to a young Larry Walker. It's a bit absurd to act like Elly is rated higher.

I’m not acting like he’s rated higher. Just talking about the feelings and buzz I’m hearing around Dragons fans I know.

[PepperJack]

Bruce was a big deal. I felt more buzz around Dunn and Kearns for whatever reason. Billy Hamilton too, honestly. It felt like the buzz for Bruce got bigger when he was in the higher levels of the minors.

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I’m not acting like he’s rated higher. Just talking about the feelings and buzz I’m hearing around Dragons fans I know.

My guess would be that’s because Elly has already created buzz last season before the trip to Dayton. Bruce and others, were first full season spent in Dayton, little buzz created yet.

Meaning, they built their buzz through their time in Dayton.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Part of that is that Dayton used to be low A-- that's typically where buzz gets to be buzz.

[FlightRick]

I remember my mom having a quarter-season ticket package for the Dragons' first year (and having the pair passed to me about half the time), and Kearns and Dunn were somehow big stars, bigger than the team itself. I have bobbleheads of both of them as Dragons, which doesn't happen without some level of demand. Front office might have been marketing them harder, too, trying to use the "first year of the team" buzz to rub off on some players nobody heard of. Maybe keeping them down here in low-A slightly longer than they otherwise would have. I dunno.

But regardless, I don't remember anyone else passing through 5/3rd Field matching that buzz, for whatever reason. Everybody else, no matter how talented (Votto, Bruce, Bailey, Cueto, etc) Dayton was just a stop on the path to Cinci... I definitely remember feeling it was different for Kearns and Dunn (and that was the same year that Pujols was in the Midwest League, too, and the MWL All Star Game was at 5/3rd! I was there, and it was a different vibe from most all other low-A ball I've seen).

Here's to EdlC bringing it back.

[Brisco]

Here's to EdlC bringing it back.

EdlC is a bit of a mouthful. I prefer L.E.D. (Elly D) since he is about to light it up.

[FlightRick]

I've been mentally calling him "Deli" for no real reason. Maybe "Free 400-foot-longs for all" (an actual promotion where Penn Station gives away full size sammiches if you have a ticket stub from a game where EdlC hits a certified 400 footer!)? Or just as a crappy catchphrase, "He's Got the Meats"? If he comes up as a bench player, he's "A Sub Above"? I need help here.

[WrongVerb]

I've been mentally calling him "Deli" for no real reason. Maybe "Free 400-foot-longs for all"? Or "He's Got the Meats"? If he comes up as a bench player, he's "A Sub Above"? I need help here.

He can hit the cheese, as well as a pitch with some mustard on it.

[JCM11]

Thought I would bump the thread seeing as Elly is on a tear in May after a so so April.

.324 .419 .595 1.013 slash line so far in May to bring the season OPS up to .859. Also encouraging is the much improved BB/SO rate in May with 5 BB and 9 SO.

The highlights I've seen remind me of Tatis Jr. No guarantees in baseball, but Elly is the best chance the Reds have had at a freak of nature difference maker coming up through the system on offense in a while.