After long road in the minors, Marlins’ Bryan De La Cruz happy to say ‘I’m a big leaguer’
The moment finally arrived, and all Bryan De La Cruz wanted to do was let out all of his emotions.
It’s July 30, two days after the Houston Astros traded him to the Miami Marlins. The 24-year-old outfielder had spent seven-and-a-half years toiling through the Astros’ minor-league system, making it up to the Triple A level in 2021.
But on this day, his first playing with his new team, De La Cruz wasn’t going to the minor leagues. He started in right field at loanDepot park, batting seventh for the Marlins in a 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees for his MLB debut.
“I wanted to cry,” De La Cruz said Friday, reflecting on his first three weeks with the Marlins. “I wanted to yell really loud ‘I’m a big leaguer!’ But I’m new here. I didn’t know anybody, so that wasn’t something that I could do in the middle of the clubhouse. It was something I really wanted. Inside, I felt it. When I went to my hotel, I just screamed ‘I’m a big leaguer!”
And De La Cruz is not taking it for granted. Every moment up here is a learning experience and a chance to further his dream.
Every at-bat — every base hit, grand slam or strikeout.
Every fly ball hit his way — ever big catch or big throw from his big right arm or mistimed route.
Every conversation with his new teammates or coaches, the ones helping ease his learning curve as the game speeds up.
No wasted opportunities.
“He looks comfortable,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
And early results have come with that early comfort.
De La Cruz, who said hitting is his favorite part of the game, entered Saturday with a .319 batting average, tied for the 19th-highest mark among players with at least 70 plate appearances since he made his debut on July 30. His .435 batting average on balls in play ranks fifth behind only Brandon Marsh (.486), Rafael Ortega (.468), Tyler O’Neill (.467) and Teoscar Hernandez (.451).
After going without a hit in his first two games, De La Cruz has recorded at least one hit in 14 of his last 17 starts. That includes six multi-hit games and a pair of three-hit outings.
“This guy’s got a really good swing,” bench coach James Rowson said. “He can drive the ball to all fields and really stays inside the ball well. He has some power but can also have impact to all fields.”
Defensively, he has primarily played right field but has gotten two starts apiece in left and center field as well. He has made just one error defensively and is credited with three defensive runs saved, according to Fangraphs.
“His defense has been right on with his routes and what he’s able to do out there,” Mattingly said.
De La Cruz grew up playing vitilla, a version of stickball, in the Dominican Republic. He didn’t envision himself as a future professional baseball player — at least not early on — but he signed a professional deal as an international free agent with the Astros in 2013 for $170,000.
Seven and a half seasons, 497 games, 2,045 plate appearances, 500 hits and one trade later, De La Cruz has made a dream he never thought he would have a reality.
“Now that I have it,” De La Cruz said, “I’m just enjoying every moment of it. There’s a saying that in the DR. ‘I’m living the movie.’ It’s something that is just about enjoying the moment that we have right now.”
The Marlins are going to give him every opportunity to keep the moment alive. Miami’s hopes of making the playoffs are all but gone. This final month and a half of the season is about development and getting as much of a feel for how up-and-coming players like De La Cruz can fare at the big-league level.
Away from the field, De La Cruz describes himself as a “laid back guy” who likes to laugh, hang out and play video games.
The game of choice: MLB The Show, of course. He spent plenty of time during his minor-league career playing the “Road to the Show” portion of the game where you create your own player and guide him through a professional baseball career. It gave De La Cruz a virtual glimpse into what could be while he worked in reality to get there himself.
“I used to have to create myself,” De La Cruz said, “but the real one is here now.”
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