The Braves handed out seven bonuses that were six figures or more in the 2014-15 international signing period, but De La Cruz wasn’t one of them. They inked the right-hander for just $55,000 close to the end of the period, in June 2015. It hasn’t been a rapid ascent, with De La Cruz not making it to full-season ball until his fourth summer of pro ball in 2018. It started to click for him in 2019, pitching across three levels of the Minors and spending most of the season in Double-A. He was rewarded with a spot on the 40-man roster after the season.
De La Cruz has a really live arm and the chance to have a three-pitch mix that could allow him to stay in a rotation. He’ll sit in the mid-90s with his fastball, but shows regularly there’s more in there, touching 98-99 mph. His slider has improved and more consistently flashes above-average. He’s gained more feel for his changeup, with some thinking it will become an average third pitch for him. He’ll have to throw it more, especially now that he’s at the upper levels, with more reps leading to better usage of the offspeed offering.
More than anything, De La Cruz needs more experience on the mound. The 2019 season was the first time he had topped 100 innings. He didn’t get hit hard in Double-A, but after making strides with his strike-throwing in A ball, his command backed up a bit against better hitters. Letting him start could allow him to refine those rough edges, with the Braves knowing his stuff would be nasty in shorter stints out of the pen.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 45
The 2014-15 international signing period could end up being a very productive one for the Braves. The star of their crop of players is obviously Ronald Acuna Jr., but it also includes Izzy Wilson and De La Cruz on this Top 30 list. De La Cruz has been slow to advance, spending two summers in the Dominican Summer League and parts of two in the Gulf Coast League before finally getting the chance to move to full-season ball in 2018. The results have been up-and-down, but the Braves are still bullish on his stuff and the right-hander took a big step forward in 2019.
De La Cruz has a live arm with a fastball up to 95-96 mph, a slider that flashes plus and misses bats and some feel for a changeup. What he hasn't shown to date is an ability to command his pitches or sequence them consistently. He falls in love with his fastball too much, thinking he can blow it by any hitter he faces. He needs to learn to trust his secondary stuff more, which in turn will help his fastball play up. That, plus dialing down his fastball a tick or two in order to achieve more consistent command, will help make him a more complete pitcher.
De La Cruz has a long way to go in order to reach his ceiling. He surpassed the 100-innings plateau in a season for the first time in 2019 and needs those innings to take the next step in his development. He'll remain in a rotation, with no talk of moving him to a bullpen at this point.
While the Braves have some exciting young arms getting ready to impact the big leagues, there's another wave coming from further down below. De La Cruz has the chance to be a part of that with exciting raw stuff, though he is still in the nascent stages of figuring out how to use it.
The young right-hander, signed back in 2015, has moved slowly since signing, spending parts of two summers in the Dominican Summer League (2015-16) and two in the Gulf Coast League (2016-17). He has a power arm that is capable of firing fastballs up to 95-96 mph, though he is still learning how to consistently maintain that velocity. His slider has the chance to be at least average and can miss bats on occasion. He shows some feel for a changeup, but he'll need to work on making it a more usable weapon moving forward. Like with many young pitchers, command is an issue, but when he's down the zone, he's shown a propensity for generating ground-ball outs.
At this point, De La Cruz doesn't always repeat his delivery, which leads to the control problems and fluctuating stuff. He's still very much a project, but one who could end up having starting pitcher potential down the line.
