2022 Bowman Chrome 1st Bowman Prospect Autograph Superfractor #CPA-ED Elly De La Cruz - PSA 10 & PSA/DNA Autograph 10 | 1 of 1 | On-Card Autograph

A scintillating talent, Elly De La Cruz has come to define what “electric” looks like on a baseball diamond.

Boasting a genuine five-tool skill set, Elly has turned heads by combining top end speed with light tower power. In 2023, De La Cruz boasted the fastest recorded sprint speed in the majors clocking at over 30 feet per second as well as one of the hardest hit balls of the season, a mammoth 467 foot blast that traveled off his bat at over 119 mph. This season, Elly has proved those who dreamt of his potential right by making the first All-Star team of his career and leading all of MLB in stolen bases, at the time of cataloging.

The card commemorates Elly’s debut autograph in an officially MLB licensed card product and ascendance in the Reds farm system. Despite being an under-the-radar pick up in the 2018 international class, earning an unremarkable $65,000 signing bonus, De La Cruz has since morphed into one of the most eye-catching talents in sports. In the 2022 season represented by this card, De La Cruz slugged 28 homers, stole 47 bags, and maintained an average above .300 across two levels of the minor leagues. In addition to his tantalizing statline, the visual appeal of his game made Elly a household name for prospectors. Just weeks after the release of this card, he drove collectors into a frenzy when he displayed mythical levels of power by launching a ball 512 feet in Double-A ball, longer than any recorded MLB home run over the last two decades. His feats on paper as well as those on viral highlights were enough for MLB Pipeline to name Elly as the Reds’ top prospect and one of the best in baseball.

One of the most significant card sets currently in production, Bowman’s history in the hobby is nothing short of legendary. A timeless brand, Bowman was founded in 1948 and came to prominence in 1951 with its Mickey Mantle rookie card that stands today as one of the most substantial prints in card history. In the modern day, Bowman and Bowman Chrome, the latter introduced in 1997, have been among the first stops in a baseball player’s card journey from the time they are a prospect and project out to stardom, with the “Bowman 1st Chrome” recognized as the ultimate prospect card in the modern hobby.

This card has been authenticated and deemed to be in Gem Mint condition, receiving a grade of 10 from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). The autograph was graded and received a 10 from PSA/DNA.

The PSA certificate number for this card is: 65465992.

Going Deeper - Elly De La Cruz

“That ball had a family!”

Befitting a juggernaut prospect of his stature, the major league curtain call for Elly De La Cruz was one of the most memorable debuts in the sport in recent years.

Though now an unmissable athletic talent at 6’5”, Elly wasn’t always viewed as the next great baseball unicorn. De La Cruz came on to the radar as a skinny, barely six-foot tall “lottery ticket” prospect when he signed with the Reds for $65,000 in July 2018. Most publications at the time did not consider him to be among the best international talents of the year, with MLB.com not even mentioning him among the top 30 players to sign. Through his first year of Rookie Ball in 2019, the pundits were not wrong to miss him, as he managed just one homer and three steals as a 17 year-old.

However, when baseball’s minor leagues shut down for the 2020 pandemic, Elly took the opportunity to focus on his body and the results speak for themselves. After he hit a timely growth spurt during the stoppage, he returned to the minor leagues in 2021 and would pave his way to prospect superstardom. Over three years and five levels of the minor leagues, De La Cruz would carry a pace of over 35 homers and 50 steals per 162 games and graduate from prospect lists as the top young talent in the game. 

As such, when Elly said goodbye to the minor leagues and arrived in Cincinnati, the eyes of the baseball world were upon him. While his debut game on June 6, 2023 was undeniably a success, his first hit coming as a double among three trips to the bases, he would truly arrive as a star the next night. In his first trip to the plate, Elly unloaded on a fastball from Dodgers starter Noah Syndegaard that nearly cleared the entirety of the right field stands. The 458 foot shot set the tone for Elly’s prodigious power and left Reds announcer John Sadak in some state of shock and peril as he exclaimed “that ball had a family!” As if that weren’t enough, De La Cruz would leave fans in disbelief in the third inning when he stretched out his first career triple, showcasing unparalleled speed with the fastest home-to-third time recorded in the major leagues in 2023.

Today, Elly remains a human highlight factory and continues to make good on the true five-tool promise he has shown. After making his first All-Star game in 2024, Elly is set to lead a handful of young superstars into the MLB’s next great era of shortstops.