Cincinnati Reds prospect Elly De La Cruz keeps on doing things that are nothing short of impressive. Last month he put up incredible numbers for Double-A Chattanooga and for his performance he was named the Southern League Player of the Month.
The Lookouts infielder played in 24 games and had 13 doubles, 6 home runs, and 6 stolen bases while hitting .355/.425/.688 during the month. De La Cruz walked 12 times, setting a career best for walks in a single month.
August was the first full month in Double-A for Elly De La Cruz. He was promoted to Chattanooga on July 22nd after a big first half with the High-A Dayton Dragons. It was an incredible first full month, too. 19 extra-base hits in 24 games is some kind of video game cheat code.
While there’s a whole lot of impressive things that De La Cruz did during the month, it was probably his 491-foot home run that cleared the batters eye in Madison, Alabama on August 17th that tops the list. In the 3rd inning of the game against the Rocket City Trash Pandas the shortstop got ahead in the count 3-0 and the coaching staff gave him the green light. The 20-year-old did not miss and put the Lookouts ahead 3-1 with the 2-run shot that may have landed in another state (don’t fact check this part).
Noelvi Marte is heating up
After being acquired from Seattle in a trade at the deadline, Noelvi Marte was sent off to join the High-A Dayton Dragons. He hit two home runs in his second game with the club, but over his first 15 games he had some struggles as he posted a .222/.307/.370 line. If you’re slumping and you still have an OPS of .677, it’s probably a good sign.
On August 19th the shortstop went 2-3 with a walk and a home run. Starting there and going through yesterday he’s played in 14 games and he’s hit the cover off of the ball, going 18-48 (.375) with 12 walks and just 8 strikeouts in 60 plate appearances. His on-base percentage in that 14 game stretch is a cool .500 and he’s slugging .542. Not to be overlooked is that Marte has also stolen 6 bases in 7 tries. After that slow start he has raised his line with the Dragons to .294/.402/.451 in his 29 games played.
Marte still showing great zone awareness. Could that mean he moves up quickly? I’m aware of the concern that he’s peaking, but how will they know without pushing? Seems he’s maxing his performance while ELDC is still finding his max. Good problems to have.
I don’t think enough gets said about the adjustments being asked of players in their late teens or very early 20’s to make, especially coming from another country, with or without language barriers.
Marte has been in the US parts of three years, in Modesto, CA, Everett, WA, and Dayton OH. Three very different regions. Then, he was traded at age 20 while his team’s top prospect. Then tasked with earning a new league, pitchers, teammates, and living situation. That’s a pretty large set of adjustments for a 20 year old.
Have seen bits and pieces about EDLC cooling off a bit but I say that has to do with the competition at AA as much as anything, not to mention being just his first full season. I always say give pitchers two or three times around the league to see if they are as effective as when first coming into the league and haven’t really been seen much. Same with hitters, see how the league adjusts and how the better adjusts in kind.
With Elly, in his first full season, in AA, and Marte, second full season, it’s hard to see either of these kids only continuing to get better and better. With McLain, Incarnation-Strand and Arroyo, Collier and Stewart, Acosta, Balcazar, and Jorge, the talent is just ridiculous. Breathtaking, really.
Batter, not better. Sheesh, typos
I agree with all lf this, and while the results aren’t always as great as we hope for, many of these guys are playing 1 to 2 years above their age
Yeah, besides that. And, my performance at 19 or 20 wasn’t especially notable.
I’m ready for spring training and cleaning up the 40 man roster.
Let’s just fast forward and get it done.
LoL, I think you are not using your time machine to it’s full advantage. I am way more excited for the offseason than I am about any remaining games this year. The 40 Man, what the FA approach will be, I’m still a believer that we will have a payroll in the 110M – 120M range. At the very least it should be an informative offseason.
Mbs, if the peaks and valleys comment is to have been believed then I think you do see some admixture of fa and trade activity with the corresponding dfa and 40 man churn. The players they are linked to that they miss out on will be some indication of their internal constraints. IMO, players like Drury, Solano and Fraley are who they expect to put a floor under the roster. They hope/expect their stars to be from within. It’s their pitching staff they need to fix and prove they can fix. Flat out ruined 2021.
I agree @Tom. Many think the Reds won’t spend, but there really has been no indication that that’s the case. Also agree the talent needs to come from within, but the holes need real money spent on them. The most important thing for me would be a closer, setup man, back up catcher, and an outfielder. There should be 50M available, how much, and how they spend it, is the interesting question. I’m optimistic by nature, but we can only wait and see.