De La Cruz named Reds’ minor league player of the year

De La Cruz became the first player in Minor League Baseball with at least 25 home runs, 40 stolen bases and a .300 average since George Springer in 2014. He became the third Dragon to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season.

De La Cruz is the 15th-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com.

“It would be hard to find a prospect who has gone from unknown quantity to Top 100 more rapidly than De La Cruz,” the MLB.com scouting report on De La Cruz reads. “Receiving a modest bonus of $65,000 at the start of the 2018-19 international signing period, the Dominican infielder performed well during his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2019, but nothing that tipped anyone externally off about what was to come. He showed that the Arizona Complex League was no challenge for him with a 1.235 OPS in 11 games, then kept on hitting with a push to full-season ball to close out his United States debut in 2021, then kept going by hitting his way to Double-A in 2022.”

Former Reds General Manager Jim Bowden, who now writes for The Athletic, ranked De La Cruz the 22nd-best prospect.

“Oh my goodness, do you want to talk about tools?” Bowden wrote in August. “De La Cruz is like Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz because of his impossible-to-ignore athleticism, power and strength. His ceiling is unlimited, and if he hits, watch out. De La Cruz is another Reds prospect who can probably stay at shortstop despite his frame but will likely end up at third base or in the outfield. He has great passion for the game.