Categories: Minor Leagues

Phillies prospect Carlos De La Cruz has power surge in Reading

Carlos De La Cruz hit three homers last series. (Cheryl Pursell)

Philadelphia Phillies prospect Carlos De La Cruz — the 6-foot-8 first baseman with tantalizing exit velocities — found his power stroke for Double-A Reading this past week.

The 23-year-old right-handed slugger launched his first three home runs of the campaign for the Fightins as they picked up the first two wins of their season in a six-game set against Hartford at FirstEnergy Stadium.

De La Cruz homered on back-to-back days on Wednesday and Thursday, Wednesday’s coming as part of a three-hit performance:

He followed it up with his third of the year on Sunday into the left-field deck in Baseballtown.

The recent surge only continued what’s been a red-hot start to the season for De La Cruz, an undrafted free-agent acquisition by the Phillies in 2017. He’s taken advantage of the friendly confines on the Eastern League in his nine games, hitting .343/.410/.657/1.067 with three homers, two doubles and five RBIs.

A relatively unknown name at the start of his career, De La Cruz broke out in High-A Jersey Shore in 2022 and earned the promotion to Reading last summer, clubbing 17 home runs in 102 minor-league games. His status as a prospect is only on the rise as he continues to hit the ball hard and produce at the Double-A level.

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Ty Daubert

Ty is a writer for Phillies Nation, covering the minor-league system and Phillies news.

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