The tall tale of Carlos De La Cruz: How the Phillies’ 6-9 slugger has become an unlikely top prospect

READING — Alex Agostino needed to get home.

It was the middle of August in 2017, two months after the MLB draft, and the longtime Phillies scout just finished watching a workout for amateur players in Toronto. In a few days, 50 relatives and friends would gather at his house in suburban Montreal for his mother-in-law’s 85th birthday party. He couldn’t miss it.

But there are always more players to see. And before Agostino could leave, Phillies director of amateur scouting administration Rob Holiday called in a favor: Could he check out a high school pitcher — “the son of a friend of a friend of a friend,” as Agostino recalls now — seven hours away at a tournament in New Britain, Conn.?

» READ MORE: Phillies questions at midseason: Bryce Harper’s power outage, trade deadline outlook, and more

Agostino arrived early the next day and caught the last few innings of the preceding game. One player grabbed his attention. The 6-foot-9, paper-thin, 17-year-old right fielder for New York Nine, an amateur travel program, made a shoestring catch and a strong throw, then lined a double to the gap in left-center field, and ran the bases with long, athletic strides.

“I remember saying to somebody, ‘Is that Dave Winfield in right field?’” Agostino said by phone this week. “Game’s over, I go see the coach, and I say, ‘Hey, what’s up? Who’s that right fielder?’ He goes, ‘Oh, that’s Carlos De La Cruz.’”

Agostino phoned his wife. He explained that he needed to watch this Carlos De La Cruz play a few more games. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to get the kid out of his head. She understood. They’ve been married for almost 40 years.

And that’s how the most unlikely prospect in the Phillies’ farm system got discovered.

“It’s a great story,” Agostino said. “Carlos, I’ve got a soft spot for him.”

Not familiar with De La Cruz? You will be. Undrafted and signed for $50,000 on Agostino’s recommendation, the 23-year-old is in his fifth pro season. Through Thursday, he had 14 home runs for double-A Reading, ranking second among Phillies minor leaguers. He was batting .294/.365/.498 in 312 plate appearances and recently reached base in 38 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Reading player since at least 2009.

It validates De La Cruz’s breakout season last year, when he batted .271/.333/.482 with 17 homers between high-A Jersey Shore and Reading, then hit .307/.368/.516 in the Arizona Fall League.

De La Cruz debuted in Baseball America’s preseason rankings as the Phillies’ 20th-best prospect and moved up to No. 17 on their midseason chart. He recently cracked the Phillies’ top 10, according to MLB Pipeline.

“It’s different, for sure,” said De La Cruz, ducking his head to enter a Reading dugout that wasn’t built for 6-9 players before a recent game. “Not getting recognized to now being recognized, to see your name coming up, it’s great that it’s happening. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for me.”

» READ MORE: Three trade proposals that could address some of the Phillies’ biggest needs

There may not be a more intriguing hitter in a Phillies farm system that hasn’t produced a slugger since Rhys Hoskins in 2017. But because of De La Cruz’s size — there has never been a major league hitter taller than 6-foot-8 — there are questions. Any team could have picked him last winter in the Rule 5 draft. None took the bait.

It’s almost impossible to project how good De La Cruz will be. But few believed he would even get this far.

De La Cruz didn’t get drafted in 2017 for good reason: Teams didn’t see him play.

Although he went to George Washington High School in New York, alma mater of Manny Ramírez and Rod Carew, De La Cruz returned late after training in the Dominican Republic and was ineligible as a senior. He played summer travel ball and was likely headed for junior college when Agostino saw him that day in Connecticut.

De La Cruz played a doubleheader, the second game coming against the pitcher Agostino had come to watch. He put on a power display in batting practice, but Agostino was struck more by the ease of his motions considering his size.

Whereas Aaron Judge has the height of a power forward (6-7) and the bulk of a defensive lineman (282 pounds), De La Cruz, listed now at 210 pounds, has a narrower frame, more reminiscent of former sluggers Tony Clark (6-8, 205) and Richie Sexson (6-7, 205). Agostino expected De La Cruz to be gangly and awkward. Instead, he saw fluid, athletic movements in the outfield and on the bases.

“He was different,” Agostino said. “There’s not a lot of 6-foot-9 guys out there. I thought he did things that he shouldn’t be doing for his size. I was like, ‘Wow. This is somebody I would take a chance on.’”

At the direction of then-amateur scouting director Johnny Almaraz, Agostino went to Long Island the next day to watch De La Cruz play again, then arranged a private workout at a nearby field in Queens. Finally, Almaraz signed off on taking a flier.

» READ MORE: The Phillies’ Darick Hall lost his big-league spot when he got injured. Now he’s trying to earn it back.

“I got lucky enough and caught some eyes from scouts,” De La Cruz said. “[The Phillies] took the chance. They took the risk, and I’m glad it’s paid off.”

The real payoff is still two phone calls away.

Hitting is mostly about timing, and when you’re 6-9, with long arms and legs, it’s more difficult to be on time for a 95-mph fastball.

“I’ve got long levers,” De La Cruz said. “For me, it’s how can I get to the exact point that I need to get.”

For a while, it seemed like De La Cruz wouldn’t. In 2019, his first full season in pro ball, he struck out 159 times in 461 plate appearances. The pandemic wiped out the minor league season in 2020, and when De La Cruz returned in 2021, he batted .181 with 87 strikeouts in 237 plate appearances.

De La Cruz said he never considered giving up. But he also knew he needed to make changes. He widened his stance to get a longer look at pitches and increase his reaction time. It worked. The results improved last season.

It’s a constant battle. Fastballs, in particular, tend to present a problem, as velocity only increases with each level. If De La Cruz can’t catch up to that heat, there’s no sense in slowing his bat by throwing him breaking balls.

Reading hitting coach Tyler Henson has set a goal for De La Cruz. According to Henson, data shows that major league hitters start to swing when the ball is about 19 feet in front of home plate.

» READ MORE: The scout who signed Scott Rolen is suing the Phillies and MLB for age discrimination

“We’re trying to challenge him to get to 20,” Henson said. “Because he’s got to be earlier than 90% of the guys in baseball to allow him to get to full extension.”

And when he does, look out. Although De La Cruz has “all-fields power,” as Henson said, tales of his moon shots to left field are legendary. A few weeks ago, he hit one that cleared everything at First Energy Stadium in Reading. His longest came last season at high-A Jersey Shore.

“I believe it was 460 [feet],” he said. “Pull-side homer. Pretty fun.”

De La Cruz still strikes out at a high rate. It’ll always be that way. But he has made progress. Through Thursday, he had whiffed 75 times in 312 plate appearances, a 24% rate that is down from 29.8% last season, 36.7% in 2021, and 34.5% in 2019.

“If he can handle a good fastball above 95, he’s in a good spot,” Henson said. “Early on in the year, we battled with getting him on time for the heater. He was driving breaking balls that were hung in the zone. But he’s gotten to a better spot where he’s getting better swings off on good velo heaters in the zone. That’s the main focus, keep him on time, allow that big frame to get to the barrel, and good things happen.

“I’d say the past couple of weeks have been a lot better. His walks have went up; he’s taking the tough sliders that are down and away; he’s giving himself a chance to see the ball. He’s starting to put it together a little bit more.”

De La Cruz is a candidate for a second-half promotion to triple A. It will be another test, a chance to face more experienced pitchers who can use his size against him.

» READ MORE: How the Phillies’ Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suárez have turned around their seasons

“It’s mostly about reps, getting to know myself, just because there aren’t as many ballplayers at my height,” De La Cruz said. “It’s more trial and error, which is going to happen, and not getting too emotional, knowing I’m going to have to fail eventually to know who I am and who I’m going to become in the future as a ballplayer.”

The Phillies lack power, especially right-handed, throughout the organization. They moved De La Cruz to first base early in the season. Lately, he has played more outfield. If De La Cruz hits, the Phillies will find a spot for him.

And if that happens, the scout who found him will know whom to thank.

“I always tell Rob Holiday and my wife, ‘I really pushed for this kid. If he plays in the big leagues, you deserve an assist for me to be at that game,’” Agostino said. “My wife, that day I was like, ‘I’ll be there late, I’ll be there the next day, but I can’t just leave this.’ I’m just happy that Carlos is in a good place. I’m happy that I ran into that game.”

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Andrew Painter to take another (small) step in his return from injury