It’s well known by now that Elly De La Cruz has an absolute cannon of an arm. It wasn’t that long ago that De La Cruz broke the record for the hardest-thrown infield assist — since 2015 in the Statcast era — on a ridiculous 99.8 mph heater.
And now, De La Cruz is making these plays look routine, as the Cincinnati Reds rookie made yet another outstanding play on Sunday. With the Reds facing the Arizona Diamondbacks, down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, likely National League Rookie of the Year leader Corbin Carroll went deep with a ball that hit off the top of the wall in center field. The Reds were able to get the ball to De La Cruz as the relay man, but Carroll was booking it for an inside-the-park home run attempt.
And somehow, De La Cruz was able to rocket in a 99.7 mph ball that seemingly curved at will to catcher Tyler Stephenson for the tag out to rob Carroll of the inside-the-park home run.
.@ellylacocoa18 nails the runner at home with a 99.7 MPH throw! đŽâđ¨ pic.twitter.com/XYaROfjqkF
— MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2023
What an absolutely magical throw. And it’s no wonder both De La Cruz and Carroll are frontrunners for the NL Rookie of the Year. Between Carroll’s blistering speed and De La Cruz’s stunning arm strength, the sport of baseball has a bright future ahead of it.
MLB fans were wowed at De La Cruz’s highway robbery of an inside-the-park home run with his scorching throw home.