Elly elevates for first Louisville roundtripper

Typically, when a hitter pops up a ball to center field, that's about the easiest play in the game. But most hitters aren't Elly De La Cruz.

The Reds' top prospect -- No. 8 overall in baseball -- crushed one high in the air on Saturday, and it just kept going and going until it left the park for his first home run for Triple-A Louisville.

De La Cruz seemed to initially think he mishit the ball as he turned his head in disgust after contact. He launched the ball at a 37-degree angle, according to Statcast, but with how hard he crushed it (107.3 mph) and the windy conditions in Des Moines, Iowa, that was enough to carry out.

The sky-high bomb wasn't enough to carry the Bats, who fell 18-2, but it was another chance to show why the 21-year-old shortstop looks like one of baseball's next stars.

The moment you’ve been waiting for.

Home run No. 1 flies off the bat at 107.3 MPH for Elly! pic.twitter.com/vnOT6tOGNL

— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) April 30, 2023

Prodigious power is nothing new for De La Cruz, who uses his 6-foot-5 frame and plus bat speed to display his 60-grade power. In his breakout season last year, he hit a combined 28 home runs between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga.

The Reds are challenging De La Cruz at Triple-A -- he's the second-youngest player at the level and almost six years younger than the league's average player. He's taken his fair share of lumps so far, but five of his seven hits have gone for extra bases, which gives him an odd-looking .189/.231/.432 line.

Cincinnati is expecting many more home runs out of De La Cruz, and it may not be long before he's surprising people in the Majors with how far his popups can carry.