Carlos De La Cruz Embracing Change Amongst Hot Start

(Reading, PA) - If you take a stroll around FirstEnergy Stadium on a gameday afternoon, you wouldn't miss Carlos De La Cruz. His six-foot, eight-inch frame towers over all his teammates, coaches and most people he comes in contact with these days.

But, what you'll also notice is, De La Cruz, first-base mitt in hand, getting extra defensive work in at first base. Fightin Phils' Manager Al Pedrique swinging away with the fungo bat, hitting all sorts of ground balls to De La Cruz. Routine grounders, short hops, long hops and everything in between. It's that daily extra work that is helping De La Cruz get acclimated to a whole new territory.

An outfielder most of his career, De La Cruz began the transition to first base last summer after being approached by the Phillies with the idea. While a change, it was an idea De La Cruz took in full stride, excited for the new challenge and opportunity ahead.

“I feel like it’s going in a good direction," De La Cruz said on the move to first base. "The more reps I get, the better I am at it. I’m glad I’m there and it's starting to feel like home."

As of April 19th, De La Cruz has started at first base in 10 of the 11 games the R-Phils have played. It's safe to say the Yonkers, New York, native will become quite familiar with the corner opposite the hot corner. De La Cruz has also come quite familiar with the third spot in the Fightin Phils lineup.

In that spot at the plate, De La Cruz has looked dominant so far. Through 10 games, he is hitting north of .300 with three home runs, all of which came in last week's six-game series with the Hartford Yard Goats. In that series, De La Cruz hit homers in back-to-back games. It is the fourth time in his young career De La Cruz has gone yard in back-to-back games. Even with his early-season success, De La Cruz is keeping his approach simple and focusing on one day at a time.

“I'm trying not to put too much ahead of myself," De La Cruz said. I'm taking it day by day, controlling the little stuff and having fun with my guys.”

Even though De La Cruz has quickly established himself with the Reading faithful, he is still fairly new to the community. De La Cruz finished last season by playing 38 games for the R-Phils. That came after playing his first 64 games of 2022 with the Phillies high-A affiliate, Jersey Shore BlueClaws. Over those 102 games, De La Cruz hit 17 home runs, including seven with Reading to cap off the season. The community support in Reading quickly stood out to De La Cruz.

“It’s a great experience and great crowd," De La Cruz said. "Thank you to the fans for coming out and supporting us. It’ a great town and stadium to play in.”

If early returns are anything, De La Cruz could top that number from last season and then some. He already has three home runs in the season's first ten games. Which would pace for about 41. Whether he keeps up with that pace remains to be seen, but the power has certainly been showcased by De La Cruz so far. For what it's worth, Reading's season home run record is 40, which was set by Dylan Cozens in his memorable 2016 season.

The Phillies and their fans are certainly well aware of De La Cruz's power. He had the opportunity to appear in big-league Spring Training games and contributed a home run and double over 15 at bats this spring.

“It was a blessing playing with the Phillies and the great talent of big league players," De La Cruz said. "It was a great experience to be there to play ball and have fun.”

Having fun is something De La Cruz prioritizes on the baseball field. That is one of many valuable lessons he took away from Spring Training. One player he looked up to was Phillies Edmundo Sosa. One of the many things he learned was to keep the game as simple as he can.

Amongst many changes for De La Cruz this season is playing under a new manager in Pedrique, who joined the Phillies organization this past offseason. De La Cruz has loved playing under Pedrique so far and loves how he is as a manager.

“He’s a great person, human being and great manager," De La Cruz said. "He wants us to do this together and work hard. Play baseball the right way and always be on time and do what you have to do.”

Under Pedrique's leadership, the R-Phils and De La Cruz will look to stay hot offensively. De La Cruz has been a key cog in that early-season success and it's been a simple approach at the plate that's driven his strong production.

"I stay on my pitch and wait for what I want," De La Cruz said.

De La Cruz and the R-Phils remain on the road this week at Portland before returning home next week. Reading welcomes the Altoona Curve to town from Tuesday, Apr. 25 to Sunday, Apr. 30. Tickets to all games remain on sale, including our 20th Annual Morning Game on Tuesday. All tickets are still available at rphils.com/tickets and you can get tickets to Tuesday morning's Beer Fest at HERE.

The 2023 R-Phils season is presented by Pepsi. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter @ReadingFightins, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram @Fightins.