Cincinnati Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz blasts first career home run, a 458

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz (44) takes an at-bat during a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Cincinnati, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The 21-year-old switch-hitting shortstop hit his first career home run Wednesday night against the Dodgers, a 458-foot blast to right field that nearly left the Reds' Great American Ballpark. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)AP

CINCINNATI – In just his second Major League Baseball game since being promoted on Tuesday, Cincinnati Reds top prospect Elly De La Cruz hit his first career home run on Wednesday -- and man was it a blast.

The 21-year-old switch-hitting shortstop launched a 458-foot, 2-run homer off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard in the first inning of Wednesday's 8-6 win for the Reds. That marks the seventh-longest home run any MLB player has hit for his first career home run in the past 15 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info. It was also the fifth-furthest home run hit by any left-handed hitter at the Reds’ Great American Ballpark in the Statcast Era (since 2015), according to The Enquirer's Charlie Goldsmith.

What's more, the 458-foot blast nearly left the stadium, with the baseball landing in the top row of the right field seats.

"The first thing I thought was that ball's gone," De La Cruz said through a translator, according to ESPN. "I didn't know where it landed. I was looking at my teammates. They told me it almost left the building."

Two innings after De La Cruz hit his first career home run, he followed with his first career triple in the third inning.

Through De La Cruz's first two career MLB games, he is 3-for-7 at the plate with one double, one triple and one home run along with two walks and two RBI.

De La Cruz, prior to his MLB promotion on Tuesday, was ranked as the No. 4 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com.

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