Elly De La Cruz and His Arm Keep Re-Writing the Record Books
On Sunday night, we saw a historic double play turned in the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves game.
It turns out that wasn't the only great defensive play that happened on Sunday because once again, Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz showed off his elite arm.
De La Cruz threw out Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks at home as he was going for an inside-the-park home run with a throw that registered nearly 100 mph.
Since being called up in early June, De La Cruz has completely re-written the baseball record books defensively.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
most 95.0+ mph assists as infielder, career under Statcast (2015):
Elly De La Cruz: 8
Fernando Tatis Jr.: 4
Oneil Cruz: 3
Didi Gregorius: 2
The throw to get Carroll was 99.7 mph, which is the second fastest-throw from any infielder this season, trailing only De La Cruz himself.
While the Reds have slumped in the second half of the season, falling to 1.5 games back in the chase for the final wild card spot in the National League, De La Cruz has continued to impress.
One of the "toolsiest" prospects in recent memory, he's hitting .245 since his call-up with 11 home runs and 33 RBI. He's also got 22 stolen bases and has flashed all parts of his game: Speed, power and arm strength.
The Reds are now 68-64 on the season and will take on the San Francisco Giants for a series beginning on Monday.
The Giants and Reds are tied in the battle for the final wild card spot.
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