"I played with Tatis... definitely a lot of similarities" - Reds reliever compares Elly De La Cruz's playing style to Padres star

Elly De La Cruz, the rising star of the Cincinnati Reds, is turning heads with his exciting skill. Recently, Reds reliever Emilio Pagan, who has previously played alongside Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres, made a comparison between the two young players.

Pagan said:

“It’s just unbelievable the stuff he can do. He’s just so creative. I played with Tatis. There’s definitely a lot of similarities. They should have a little bit of a baseball combine. It’d be cool to see them match up."

Both Tatis Jr. and De La Cruz are known for their speed. They can steal bases with ease and surprise everyone with their range on the field.

This season, Tatis holds a batting average of .256 and an RBI of 22. He has had 22 home runs so far and has an OPS of .781. He is also one of the fastest sprinters in the world of baseball, with an average speed of 29.3 feet per second. He was an All-Star in 2021 and also won two Silver Slugger Awards.

While Tatis is a feared slugger, Elly De La Cruz is developing gradually. He is considered to have one of the strongest arms in baseball. He is one of the tallest players in the sport, standing 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and is also considered one of the fastest runners in baseball, just like Tatis Jr.

According to MLB analyst Bob Nightengale, De La Cruz once wowed his teammates at Chase Stadium. On a dare given by Jonathan India, De La Cruz threw a ball across the outfield of the stadium, which landed on the stadium concourse and traveled a distance of about 440 feet, proving his immense power.

Another Cincinnati Reds player praised Elly De La Cruz

Besides Emilio Pagan, another Reds player has praised Elly De La Cruz. Pitcher Nick Martinez said about the infielder, per USA Today:

“The guy is a freak of nature. You watch him play, and you forget he’s just 22 years old. You watch him, and almost every day he’s making some insane catches, he runs like a deer, and then you see the pop in his bat."

De La Cruz currently has a batting average of .258 and holds an RBI of 21. His excellence was apparent when he recorded the fastest-tracked in-field assist in the Starcast era last year. His throw reached a velocity of about 97.9 miles, and he also hit a hard home run of about 458 feet in 2023.

With such skills, we can expect more surprises from Elly De La Cruz.