Reds' Elly De La Cruz hits first big league homer 458 feet

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Elly De La Cruz's first MLB hit Tuesday night — a 112-mph rocket — left quite the initial impression with the Reds.

He found a way to eclipse that one day later.

The 21-year-old shortstop blasted his first big league homer 458 feet with a 114.8 mph exit velocity in the first inning of Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

"Oh goodness, that ball had a family," Reds broadcaster John Sadak said as the ball flew over the right-field fence. "In game two, his first home run."

After De La Cruz connected on Noah Syndergaard's 0-1 pitch, he paused and watched the ball go to the back of the bleachers before tossing his bat and motioning toward the dugout.

That homer tied the Pirates’ Rodolfo Castro for the 17th-longest in the majors this season — 24 feet behind the Mariners’ Jarred Kelenic in the top spot, according to Baseball Savant.

Only five Reds players have hit longer home runs in the Statcast era, Codify Baseball tweeted.

ELLY DE LA CRUZ CRUSHED458 ft114.8 mph pic.twitter.com/QtnEQF3Yip

De La Cruz also added a triple in the third inning against Syndergaard, sending a ball into the right-center gap and sliding into third base just ahead of the relay throw.

He ran from home to third base in 10.83 seconds, the fastest time in 2023, according to MLB Pipeline.

De La Cruz's big second game followed a 1-for-3 performance — with two walks — in his MLB debut against Los Angeles.

The Reds believe in De La Cruz's ability to acclimate and live up to the hype he built in the minors.

"We believe he's ready," Reds manager David Bell said before De La Cruz's debut, according to The Athletic. "Just like any young player, he has things to work on and he's going to keep continuing to get better.

"We’ll make sure of that. He's just as ready as you can be. I also believe there's something to trusting these guys and putting them right in there and letting them experience everything."

While De La Cruz continues his impressive introduction to the big leagues, Syndergaard — once a top prospect himself — has spiraled this year.

After he allowed five runs across five innings in his last start, the right-hander said he feels like the "weakest link on the team."

"I would give my hypothetical firstborn to be the old me again," Syndergaard added. "I’ll do anything possible to get back to that. I’m expected to go out there and compete, and today I just fell behind a lot of hitters."

Though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't originally commit to having Syndergaard make his next scheduled start, the 30-year-old opened Wednesday's game at Great American Ball Park and promptly surrendered six more runs across three innings.

Syndergaard's ERA jumped to 7.16 after another disastrous outing.