Cincinnati Reds fans amazed as Elly De La Cruz executes fastest infield assist in MLB this year: "Elly has De La Cruz missiles" "Kid is a cheat code"

Cincinnati Reds rookie infielder Elly De La Cruz continues to wow fans since his call-up from the minors in June.

In Thursday's 5-4 win against the Washington Nationals, De La Cruz executed the fastest infield assist in MLB this season.

Playing third base, he picked a infield grounder off the bat of Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and flung a 95.6 mph throw across the diamond to first baseman Kevin Newman to beat the fleet-footed Abrams by a step and end the sixth inning.

The Cincinnati Reds called up Elly De La Cruz from Triple-A Louisville on June 6. Since then, the 21-year-old has been nothing short of a force of nature for the big league club. In 114 at-bats over 27 games, De La Cruz is hitting .325 with four home runs, 15 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and 25 runs.

With Elly De La Cruz splitting his time between third base and shortstop, the Cincinnati Reds have surged to the top of the National League Central with a 49-39 record.

After both Cincinnati and the Milwaukee Brewers won on Thursday, the Reds own a two-game lead on the Brewers and an eight-game lead on the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Elly De La Cruz smacked a 455-foot home run in the Cincinnati Reds' 9-2 win against the Nationals on Wednesday after umpires forced him to remove an empty plastic sensor cover from the knob end of his bat. Washington manager Dave Martinez had questioned the use of the plastic cap.

De La Cruz told reporters through an interpreter:

"It's something that we use in spring training. It's just a sensor that we use, but it's just the plastic that covers the bat. There's nothing else besides that. I started using it back in 2021. It just felt more comfortable using that, and from there on out, I asked for more of those plastic shells."

Umpires later allowed him to return the plastic to the knob of his bat.

The Reds have become quite a story in MLB this season as De La Cruz and his fellow youthful Cincinnati teammates have been on a tear since the start of June.

Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds remain on a tear

Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds slides safely into third base in the second inning against the Washington Nationals.

In spite of not making his MLB debut until June, De La Cruz is making a strong case as a contender for NL Rookie of the Year. However, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll – hitting .292 with 18 homers and 46 RBIs through 82 games – will prove to be tough to top.

WIth the Diamondbacks and Reds both leading their divisions heading into the final weekend before the All-Star break, there is a chance that fans will get to see Corbin and De La Cruz battle it out in the playoffs this autumn.