Is Elly de la Cruz a bust?

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by packs

How could he ever be a bust? He was totally unknown until he had a huge year last year. The Reds haven’t spent any money on him and he hit his way into the line up at 21 years old.

This is a great point. De La Cruz' signing bonus was only $65K. Lot's of guys get over a Million.

So it seems like just him getting to the major leagues at 21 is already a pretty good accomplishment compared to the money they've paid him/expectations.

"Not until after the lost pandemic season of 2020 did the Reds realize they'd hit the jackpot. Between the growth spurt and a newfound appreciation for weightlifting, De La Cruz morphed from the 17-year-old who hit one home run in 186 Dominican Summer League plate appearances to the rarest sort of player: someone with three scale-breaking tools."