The Cincinnati Reds will have two players heading to Los Angeles next weekend to play in the Futures Game. Shortstop Elly De La Cruz and left-handed starter Andrew Abbott will head west to represent the Reds in the game.
One year ago Elly De La Cruz was a player that most of the baseball world hadn’t even heard of. He had played six games in the United States. He had done well, hitting .423/.483/.808 in those six games out in the greater Phoenix area around the complex league, but it was also just six games. He would only spend another eight days in the league before being promoted to Daytona where he really began to catch the attention of the prospect and scouting world. A year later he’s already found himself in High-A where he’s currently hitting .294/.349/.561 with 25 stolen bases, 13 doubles, 6 triples, and 15 home runs in 67 games played for the Dayton Dragons. He’s gone from an absolutely unknown prospect to the top prospect int he entire organization in a year.
Joining Elly De La Cruz will be a teammate he had with Dayton earlier in the season, Andrew Abbott. The left-handed starter was dominant with the Dragons, throwing 27.0 innings in five games and allowing just two runs while striking out 40 batters, allowing 16 hits, and walking 7.
He was promoted to Double-A Chattanooga in mid-May and he struck out 12 batters in 5.2 shutout innings in his debut with the Lookouts. He’s slowed down a bit from there, and has had one atrocious start where he allowed eight earned runs in 0.2 innings that’s helped skew his ERA at the level. Still, he’s posted a 6.11 ERA in 10 starts at the level, giving up 49 hits and walking 17 batters in 45.2 innings while striking out 59 batters. Between his two stops he’s 7-4 with a 4.09 ERA in 72.2 innings with 24 walks and 99 strikeouts.
When and Where to Watch
The game will take place on Saturday July 16th at 7:00pm ET. The game will be live on Peacock for television, and will be on delay starting at 8:30pm ET on MLB Network.