With his Cincinnati Reds up 14-0 over the visiting Texas Rangers, shortstop Elly De La Cruz stepped to the plate a triple shy of the cycle.
To be sure “a triple shy of the cycle,” typically qualifies as overdramatic phrasing. Three-baggers are exceedingly hard to come by in the contemporary era, so they’re quite often the missing component of the cycle. Usually, they remain missing. De La Cruz, though, is an uncommon combination of speed and power, so he’s more likely to get that elusive triple than most hitters are.
Speaking of which, let’s roll tape of what he did to the 1-1 fastball from Gerson Garabito:
Rather than a triple, De La Cruz launched a 436-foot homer, his second of the night, that left the bat at more than 110 mph. No, that does not count as a cycle, but a night with two homers, a double and a single (and a stolen base, for good measure) for a career-high seven RBIs is objectively better than a cycle.
Of note is that De La Cruz on this night was using the much-discussed “torpedo” bat, which was a bit of a game-time decision for him:
And here’s what he did at the plate in more detail:
- Single, 103.2 mph off the bat;
- Home run, 107.2 mph off the bat;
- Fly-out, 99 mph off the bat;
- Double, 102 mph off the bat;
- Home run, 110.2 mph off the bat.
That fourth-inning fly-out, by the way, traveled 355 feet and had an expected batting average of .470. Maybe there’s your missing triple?
Framed another way, De La Cruz came into Monday night’s game with a disappointing .273/.333/.273 slash line through the first three games of the season. After the Reds’ 14-3 mollywhopping of the Rangers and his 4-for-5 performance, his slash line was up to .438/.471/.875.
This was the De La Cruz experience writ small. The 23-year-old emerging superstar is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he racked up 71 extra-base hits, including 25 home runs, and stole an MLB-leading 67 bases — all while pinning down the premium position of shortstop. For those efforts, he earned his first career All-Star selection and placed eighth in the National League MVP vote.
If Monday night is any guide, De La Cruz is in line for a much higher finish in 2025.
