Elly De La Cruz will be the best Reds player to wear No. 44 since Eric Davis

Cincinnati Reds fans are anxiously awaiting the promotion of minor league sensation Elly De Le Cruz. Cruz is the No. 1 prospect in the Reds organization and in the eyes of some talent evaluators, the best prospect in all of baseball.

De Le Cruz is a stat track darling and a five-tool prospect, who has delivered some of the hardest hits in all of baseball his season.

De Le Cruz combines that power with incredible speed on the base paths and a cannon for an arm in the field. De La Cruz's skill set and charisma have already made him the favorite amongst Cincinnati fans.

Elly De La Cruz will be the best Reds player to wear No. 44 since Eric Davis.

Elly De La Cruz, though yet to set foot foot on a major league diamond, has been assigned No. 44. That number has been popular throughout the annals of Cincinnati Reds baseball, yet the player that comes to mind most often when you think of No. 44 is Eric Davis.

Can De La Cruz surpass the Reds Hall of Famer? Davis was a star outfielder for the 1990 wire-to-wire World Series championship team. Davis joined the Reds in 1984 as a 21-year-old rookie. Ironically, De La Cruz is the same age right now.

In 1987, Davis would have one of the best statistically seasons of any player in Reds history. Davis hit just below .300, while crushing 37 home runs and stealing 50 stolen bases. No one would surprised if De La Cruz was able to reach such heights.

Outfielder Aristides Aquino last wore No. 44 and received some comparisons to Eric "The Red" during his rookie season in 2019. Adam Dunn also wore No. 44 on his way to two All-Star selections. Mike Cameron donned No. 44 during his lone season in Cincinnati.

Yet, the overwhelming feeling around the clubhouse is that Elly De Le Cruz will surpass all of those players. With so much hype surrounding De La Cruz there are probably some who believe he'd be the greatest baseball to ever No. 44.

That fraternity includes such greats as Reggie Jackson, Willie McCovey, and Hank Aaron. Let's not go nuts. First, he's got to get to the major leagues.